Häfler Samstag — Großer Narrensprung Friedrichshafen

Swabian-Alemannic Fasnet on Lake Constance

While carnival is celebrated in the Rhineland, the Swabian-Alemannic Fasnet thrives on Lake Constance and in Upper Swabia — a different tradition with its own costumed figures ('Hästragende'), bells, wooden masks, and sayings. The Narrenzunft Seegockel Friedrichshafen e.V. is one of the most traditional guilds on the northern shore of Lake Constance; the 'Seegockel' — the lake rooster — is their namesake costume ('Häs'). The Großer Narrensprung on Häfler Saturday, the Saturday before 'Schmotziger Donnerstag' (the Thursday of carnival week), is the highlight of the Friedrichshafen carnival calendar.

From Schwanen to Stadtbahnhof

On Saturday, February 14, 2026, the parade will begin at 1:30 PM at Hotel Schwanen. The route leads through Friedrichstraße — Friedrichshafen's main axis, parallel to the shore of Lake Constance — via Riedleparkstraße, Eugenstraße, and Werastraße back to Friedrichstraße, ending at the Stadtbahnhof. For several hours, hundreds of jesters and witches will pass by: the Seegockel with their distinctive rooster costumes, friendly guilds from Tettnang, Markdorf, Überlingen, Meersburg, Konstanz, Lindau, Wangen, Ravensburg, and Weingarten, as well as Guggenmusik (brass bands) and floats. Tens of thousands of spectators line the streets, many in their own costumes, many with the traditional carnival cries 'Narri — Narro!'

Morning Pint and Friendship Meeting

Before and after the parade, the Volksbank tent on the Uferpromenade serves as a hub for the jesters. From 10:00 AM, the Narrenzunft Seegockel invites you to the traditional 'Frühschoppen' — with refreshments, and from 11:00 AM, music groups take turns on the tent stage. After the parade ends, guest guilds gather in the tent for the 'Freundschaftstreffen' — the indispensable ritual where guilds exchange plaques, give speeches, and sing songs. Other locations for the Häfler Saturday evening are Lammgarten and Beachclub am See — until late into the night.

A City in Carnival Fever

Friedrichshafen, with its nearly 64,000 inhabitants, is completely transformed on Häfler Saturday: shops are decorated, many residents wear costumes or witch masks, schools are closed, and pubs open late. Traffic in the city center is rerouted during the parade — the city recommends using public transport and arriving by train. Those who want to experience Lake Constance at the peak of its carnival activities will find one of the most impressive Alemannic carnival spectacles here — with the special charm that shortly thereafter, the parade continues in the Fischbach district and in the surrounding communities.