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Cologne’s “fifth season” opens at 11:11 on 11 November and explodes onto the streets in the days before Lent, when costumed crowds shout “Kölle Alaaf!” and more than a million people watch the Rose Monday parade throw sweets from its floats.
The fifth season
The carnival season is officially opened on the 11th of the 11th month at 11:11, on the Alter Markt and Heumarkt, with performances by well-known carnival bands in front of thousands of spectators and the presentation of the new Dreigestirn. After a quieter Advent and Christmas, the season picks up again after New Year with musters of the carnival corps, balls and Sitzungen — stage shows of speeches, music and dance — and the prince is proclaimed in early January.
Street carnival begins on Weiberfastnacht, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, again at 11:11 on the Alter Markt. From then on people celebrate in pubs and on the streets until Tuesday night. On Carnival Sunday the schools and neighbourhoods parade, and the best groups win a place in the Rose Monday parade, the official highlight. On the night before Ash Wednesday neighbourhoods burn the Nubbel, a straw figure that hangs above many pubs during carnival.
Prince, peasant and maiden
Each year three people are chosen as the Dreigestirn: the Prince, the Peasant and the Maiden. The trio has existed as a group since 1883. The Prince is the most important figure of the carnival and his float is the last in the Rose Monday parade; the Peasant carries the keys of the city; and the Maiden, who stands for Colonia, the city’s mother figure, is traditionally played by a man.
From 1220 to 1823
Written records of carnival in Cologne go back to 1220. The city council repeatedly tried to rein it in — in 1341 it stopped paying for it from the city purse, and in 1487 it banned masking. French occupiers forbade carnival in 1795 and allowed it again in 1804. The modern carnival was reorganised in 1823 by a new carnival society, which held the first Rose Monday parade on 10 February that year; the Festkomitee Kölner Karneval still runs the official parades and balls. According to the German UNESCO Commission, it was from Cologne that this civic form of carnival — with its prince, carnival societies and dialect songs — spread to other towns of the Rhineland.
Когда проходит
The season opens on 11 November at 11:11. Street carnival starts at 11:11 on Weiberfastnacht, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, and lasts until the evening of Carnival Tuesday; the Rose Monday parade is the highlight. Because it depends on Easter, the street carnival falls between early February and early March.
- 11 ноября 2026 г.Opening of the season, 11 November at 11:11Рассчитано
- 4–9 февраля 2027 г.Street carnival, Weiberfastnacht to Carnival TuesdayРассчитано
- 11 ноября 2027 г.Opening of the season, 11 November at 11:11Рассчитано
- 24–29 февраля 2028 г.Street carnival, Weiberfastnacht to Carnival TuesdayРассчитано
- 11 ноября 2028 г.Opening of the season, 11 November at 11:11Рассчитано
- 8–13 февраля 2029 г.Street carnival, Weiberfastnacht to Carnival TuesdayРассчитано
- 11 ноября 2029 г.Opening of the season, 11 November at 11:11Рассчитано
- 28 февраля – 5 марта 2030 г.Street carnival, Weiberfastnacht to Carnival TuesdayРассчитано
Уважительный визит
Безопасность
- Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Germany, including at crowded public gatherings. Stay aware of your surroundings.
- Take care against pickpockets and bag-snatching in the crowds and at railway stations.
Источники
Статья написана по следующим источникам.
- Rheinischer Karneval mit all seinen lokalen VariantenDeutsche UNESCO-Kommission · просмотрено 17 сентября 2026 г.
- Kölner KarnevalWikipedia (German) · просмотрено 17 сентября 2026 г.
- Cologne CarnivalWikipedia · просмотрено 17 сентября 2026 г.
- Germany travel advice: safety and securityUK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · просмотрено 17 сентября 2026 г.
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