About Cologne
Carnival
On 11 November at 11:11 a.m. the „fifth season" begins. Its climax, the Rose Monday parade, is Germany's biggest street festival.
Cologne carnival is a way of life. The season officially opens on 11 November at 11:11 a.m.; street carnival begins on Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival) and peaks in the Rose Monday parade, watched by around a million people along a route several kilometres long.
The „Dreigestirn" of Prince, Farmer and Maiden leads the season, speeches ring out from the „Bütt", and everywhere the greeting is „Kölle Alaaf". In the neighbourhoods, smaller and more intimate Veedelszöch parades wind through the streets.
Those who want to dig deeper will find tradition, music and a language of its own woven into the carnival.
Sources & links
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-06-30)
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