Cologne Carnival 2026 — Weiberfastnacht & Street Carnival

The Fifth Season in Cologne

The Cologne Carnival is more than a festival — it is the identity-defining major event of the Cathedral City, one of Europe's most significant folk festivals, and Cologne's largest tourist event. The 2025/2026 session began on November 11, 2025, at 11:11 AM and culminates in the peak phase from Thursday, February 12, to Tuesday, February 17, 2026 — six days of collective exceptional times.

2025/26 Session Motto

The official motto is: “Alaaf — Mer dun et för Kölle!” (Alaaf — We do it for Cologne!). It celebrates the city identity of Cologne's residents and carnival-goers — and emphasizes that the carnival functions as a volunteer effort by the entire city.

2026 Dates

• Geisterzug (Ghost Parade): Saturday, February 7, 2026 (alternative carnival)
• Funkenbiwak: Saturday, February 14, 2026
• Weiberfastnacht: Thursday, February 12, 2026 (11:11 AM Heumarkt)
• Carnival Sunday with Schull- und Veedelszöch: Sunday, February 15, 2026
• Rosenmontagszug: Monday, February 16, 2026
• Veilchendienstag / Nubbelverbrennung: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
• Ash Wednesday: February 18, 2026 (End of the session)

Weiberfastnacht — The Kick-off

On Thursday, February 12, 2026, at 11:11 AM, the Dreigestirn (Prince, Farmer, Virgin) traditionally opens the street carnival at the Heumarkt. Then the 'Jecken' (carnival revelers) take over the city — especially the Veedel (neighborhoods) and the Zülpicher Viertel. Schools close early, many shops cease operations. From the morning onwards, carnival songs blare from thousands of pubs and squares — the peak phase has begun.

Carnival Sunday — Schull- und Veedelszöch

On Sunday, February 15, 2026, the Schull- und Veedelszöch parade through the city center — the “little brothers” of the Rosenmontagszug. These are the schools, kindergartens, clubs, and neighborhood communities that present homemade floats, walking groups, and bands here. One of the most charming and authentic carnival programs.

Rosenmontagszug — Europe's Largest Carnival Parade

The highlight of the session: the Rosenmontagszug on February 16, 2026. Over 1 million spectators line the approximately 8-kilometer route through the city center. For several hours, hundreds of floats, bands, walking groups, and equestrian groups pass by, throwing “Kamelle” (sweets) and “Strüssjer” (small bouquets of flowers), and singing the official session songs. Political float parodies are part of the tradition: the parade is the nation's satire stage.

Veilchendienstag and Nubbelverbrennung

On Veilchendienstag (Carnival Tuesday, February 17, 2026), the carnival winds down — smaller parades in the Veedel, the Veedelspatron reception, and at midnight, the Nubbelverbrennung: a straw figure (the “Nubbel”), symbolizing all carnival sins, is ceremonially burned in front of neighborhood pubs — carnival officially over, Lent begins.

Where to Celebrate Carnival in Cologne?

• Heumarkt and Alter Markt — the official hotspots of the peak phase
• Zülpicher Viertel — the student stronghold, excessive and young
• Ehrenfeld, Sülz, Nippes, Mülheim — Veedel carnival, familiar and relaxed
• Severinstor — end point of the school parades
• Event Halls: Tanzbrunnen, Sartory-Saal, Gürzenich — official sessions

Cologne Carnival — History and Significance

The organized Cologne Carnival dates back to 1823, when the Festkomitee des Kölner Karnevals (Festival Committee of the Cologne Carnival) was founded, giving the medieval carnival a bourgeois, organized form. Today, it is a world cultural heritage: hundreds of thousands of active participants in clubs and corps, millions of tourists, its own music scene (Bläck Fööss, Höhner, Brings, Kasalla, Cat Ballou), its own language (Kölsch), its own symbols (Dreigestirn, Funken-Korps, “Kamelle”).