Rosenmontagsumzug Saarbrücken-Burbach

The Carnival Heart of Saarland

The Rosenmontag parade in Saarbrücken-Burbach is an institution. While Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Mainz shape the Rhenish carnival tradition, Saarland has its own firmly established highlight of the "Fifth Season" with Burbach. The Karnevalsgesellschaft "Mir sin do" 1890 – in Saarland dialect for "We are here!" – has been organizing the parade since 1967, and the association itself has existed since 1890. This makes "Mir sin do" one of the oldest carnival societies in Germany.

Up to 200,000 Visitors

The parade attracts a mass audience every year: up to 200,000 visitors line the route. It is *the* carnival moment in Saarland – those who aren't in Burbach at least watch the broadcast on Saarländischer Rundfunk. Families, children in costumes, students from Saarbrücken, commuters from Lorraine and Luxembourg, carnival tourists from the Palatinate and Rhineland: the streets of Burbach become a melting pot.

3.5 Kilometers Through Burbach

The route has been set for decades: starting at the Bürgerhaus Rockershausen, then through Luisenthalerstraße, Bergstraße, past the Burbach high-rise buildings, up to the Burbacher Stern. 3.5 kilometers of assembly and parade route, lined with dense rows of spectators.

Participating: 80 to 100 groups, floats, bands, and majorettes. The spectrum ranges from satirical themed floats with political allusions (Saarland state politics, federal politics, local issues) to school and club groups, as well as guest groups from Luxembourg, France, and Switzerland. Other Saarland carnival societies – like the GKG Saarraketen from Güdingen – are also regularly represented.

1:11 PM – The Magic Hour

As befits a proper carnival parade, it starts at 1:11 PM – the carnival time "eleven past" as a symbolic allusion to eleven, the sacred number of carnival. The procession lasts until late afternoon, after which the event continues in numerous pubs and festival tents in the Burbach area.

Politics Participates

Due to the size of the parade and the experience of recent years, the state capital Saarbrücken regularly establishes a prohibited zone – certain items (glass bottles, pyrotechnics) are forbidden in the area of the route. Police, fire department, and the DRK are present in large numbers to ensure the festival remains safe and peaceful.