Karnevalsumzug Ibbenbüren

Carnival in the Tecklenburger Land — Tradition Returns

The Karnevalsumzug Ibbenbüren is the annual highlight of the fifth season in the western Münsterland. On Saturday, February 14, 2026 — the Carnival Saturday before Rose Monday — the procession starts at 2:11 PM from the Oberer Markt and winds its way through Ibbenbüren's city centre. Thousands of revellers from across the Tecklenburger Land line the route.

Bürgerausschuss Ibbenbürener Karneval — Rebirth in 2013

The Bürgerausschuss Ibbenbürener Karneval e.V. (BIK) was founded in 2012 by Dieter Bockstette and Elke Pruß to revive carnival in Ibbenbüren after a break of over 60 years. The first new procession in 2013 was a success — since then, the BIK has organised the carnival procession annually (with the exception of the Corona years 2021/2022). Chairpersons: Benjamin Brewe (1st Chairman), Frank Hillebrandt (2nd Chairman), Dieter Bockstette (Managing Director).

Family-Friendly and Regionally Anchored

Unlike the large Rhenish carnival processions (Cologne, Düsseldorf, Aachen), Ibbenbüren is family-friendly — a manageable route, plenty of space for children, and candy for everyone. Floats and marching groups come from Ibbenbüren itself, as well as from Tecklenburg, Mettingen, Westerkappeln, Recke, and neighbouring municipalities. Clubs, schools, kindergartens, carnival societies, and private groups make up the procession — colourful, creative, and with a local touch.

Ibbenbüren — Town in the Tecklenburger Land

Ibbenbüren is a medium-sized district town in the north of the Steinfurt district in North Rhine-Westphalia, on the border with Lower Saxony's Emsland region. With around 53,000 inhabitants, Ibbenbüren is the economic centre of the Tecklenburger Land — shaped by former hard coal mining (RAG), mechanical engineering, and logistics. The city centre around the Oberer Markt and St. Mauritius Church forms the stage for the carnival procession.

Carnival is a Late Development Here

Unlike in the Rhenish carnival heartland, carnival has historically been less deeply rooted in the predominantly Protestant Westphalia. Ibbenbüren is an exception — the Catholic tradition surrounding St. Mauritius and the influence of migrant miners from the Ruhr area and Silesia ensured that carnival was already celebrated here in the first half of the 20th century. After its decline in the 1960s, its revival in 2013 is a cultural-historical statement.