Karneval Club Otterstadt – Sitzung

The Karneval-Club-Otterstadt-Sitzung on Ash Wednesday is an extraordinary carnival event. While most carnival sessions take place in the weeks before Ash Wednesday and reach their climax on Shrove Tuesday with the big parades, the Karneval Club Otterstadt e.V. (KCO) traditionally organizes a session in the Remigiushaus on Ash Wednesday as well – as a symbolic conclusion of the campaign.

Remigiushaus as the Venue

The venue is the Remigiushaus, the Catholic community center of the Otterstadt parish. It is named after Saint Remigius of Reims (c. 437–533), one of the most important saints of early Christianity in Western Europe. He baptized Clovis I, the Frankish king, around 496 and is considered one of the "Apostles of the Franks." The choice of name underscores the Catholic tradition of the Otterstadt parish, whose roots reach back to the early Middle Ages.

Karneval Club Otterstadt e.V.

The KCO is one of the traditional carnival clubs in the Verbandsgemeinde Rheinauen. It organizes several gala sessions and events during the carnival campaign, including traditionally a session on Ash Wednesday. This makes the KCO one of the most active proponents of the Palatinate carnival tradition in Otterstadt.

Ash Wednesday and the End of the Campaign

In the Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the forty-day Lenten period before Easter – a day of reflection and penance. In carnival, it simultaneously marks the official end of the carnival season, which is symbolically sealed with the herring meal and the "burial" of carnival. A carnival session on Ash Wednesday is therefore a special act: it combines the festive conclusion with the reflective character of Ash Wednesday.

Otterstadt and its 1,000-Year History

Otterstadt was first mentioned in a document in 1014 and celebrated its 1,000th anniversary in 2021. The Catholic parish of the municipality is one of the oldest in the southern Vorderpfalz. The KCO and its Ash Wednesday session are part of this long cultural tradition – carnival and faith, festive activities and Lent form a cultural unit in Otterstadt.