Carnival

On November 11th at 11.11am the carnival session in the region of the Lower Rhine begins every year. The highlight of the season is Rose Monday (Rosenmontag) and Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch), after which Carnival on the Rhine ends.

If the festival is sometimes attributed to pagan cults, where the evil spirits should be driven out, carnival is more of an ancient Catholic-Christian festival. this can already be deduced from the german name  Fastnacht or Carnival, since these already indicate the upcoming Lent.

Carnival

The carnival session in the region of the Lower Rhine always starts on November 11th at 11.11am. In Düsseldorf, for example, the Hoppeditz awakens. At 11.11 a.m. he climbs out of a mustard pot at the Rathausplatz and opens the carnival session with his speech.
In the carnival session, numerous carnival events take place in the towns and communities in the region of the Lower Rhine. At these meetings, people laugh, dance, drink and celebrate. At the carnival, the handmade speakers also have high season, then use your tongue to tackle politics, VIPs and contemporary history. Furthermore, there are exuberant celebrations in numerous pubs, ballrooms and clubs, and dancing and singing to carnival music.

he street carnival finally begins on Old Women Thursday. The highlight is on Carnival Monday with carnival parades and the hustle and bustle on the streets and in the pubs and ballrooms on the Lower Rhine. On Ash Wednesday everything is finally over. The most popular carnival parades include : Kappessonntagszug Neuss, Rosenmontagszug Düsseldorf, Rosenmontagszug Krefeld, Rosenmontagszug Duisburg, Veilchendienstagszug Mönchengladbach.

At Carnival there are often “feasts” that end abruptly on Ash Wednesday and then Lent is heralded until Easter. But until then the party on the Rhine is exuberant. The time of cheerfulness begins on Thursday of the Old Women. On this day, the so-called old women hold the scepter. The highlight of every carnival season is the Rose Monday with its colorful carnival parades and the hustle and bustle on the streets. The end of the carnival goes hand in hand with the cremation or burial of the Hoppediz in many places in the Lower Rhine at midnight on Ash Wednesday, but until then there was a lot of celebrations.

Carnival

On the old women Thursday (Altweiber Donnerstag) , the so-called old women take over the scepter on the Rhine and storm the town halls of the towns and municipalities. It is also a tradition that women cut off men’s ties on this day.

In addition to the carnival parades , many regulatory agencies have banned bottles in the city.

Where many people celebrate exuberantly and think of no evil, there are pickpockets among others. Therefore, pay attention to your valuables.

It is also advisable to leave your car at home at Carnival and to use public transport or taxis, because parking in cities is usually scarce.

Note: We try to keep the train routes up to date, but we cannot give any guarantee, as short-term changes are possible, for example due to construction sites! Last update 2020 !