Faasenachtsumzug St. Ingbert-Mitte

A Saarland Carnival Highlight

The Faasenachtsumzug St. Ingbert-Mitte is the central carnival parade of the city of St. Ingbert in the Saarpfalz-Kreis. While the districts of Hassel, Rohrbach, Rentrisch, and Oberwürzbach each have their own parades, the Sunday parade through St. Ingbert's city center is the joint major event.

The Numbers

Over 50 walking and float groups participate, with floats, music bands, and walking groups in elaborate costumes. Around 25,000 spectators line the streets around Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße and the pedestrian zone – a number that is impressive for a city of 36,000 inhabitants and shows how deeply carnival is rooted here.

Who Marches

St. Ingbert has a rich carnival landscape with several associations – carnival societies, guards, Schoppe-Gardens, Funken-groups, and independent float groups. In addition, there are guests from neighboring communities in the Saarland and the Palatinate. The floats are elaborately built, some referencing current political or social topics – Saarland carnival with a wink.

Faasenacht in the Saarland

Saarland carnival – Faasenacht or Fastnacht – has its own tradition, standing between Rhenish carnival and Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht. The costumes are often more colorful than the Alemannic ones, less uniform than the Rhenish ones. The parade in St. Ingbert is one of the highlights of this tradition.

Before the Parade: The Town Hall Storm

Three days before the main parade, the Rathaussturm (Town Hall Storm) takes place on Faasenacht Thursday: symbolically, the jesters take the town hall key from Mayor Dr. Ulli Meyer – the prelude to the hot Faasenacht phase.