Tulpensonntagszug Krefeld-Gellep-Stratum

Tulpensonntag – The Rhenish Speciality

While the Rose Monday Parade is the first major parade of Carnival in the Rhineland, some Lower Rhine towns know the Tulpensonntagszug – the parade on Carnival Sunday, the day before Rose Monday. Krefeld cherishes this tradition with several district parades. One of them: the Tulpensonntagszug in Krefeld-Gellep-Stratum.

2026 – Sunday, February 15, 2:11 PM

In the 2026 Carnival year, Carnival Sunday falls on February 15, 2026. The Tulpensonntagszug in Gellep-Stratum starts punctually at 2:11 PM (the carnivalistic numerical magic of eleven holds even the Lower Rhine residents). The organizer is the Karnevalsgesellschaft Gellep-Stratum; the official KG date is also published by the City of Krefeld and the Westdeutsche Zeitung in the carnival calendar.

The Parade Route – Almost Every Main Street

What makes the parade special: It runs through almost all the main streets of the district – a comparatively dense route for the size of the area. This brings the parade directly to the doorsteps of most residents – a clear district festival experience. The exact streets will be published via the KG's communication channels and the city's website.

Atmosphere – "Krefeld's Most Intimate Carnival Parade"

Local reports and city tourism information describe the Gellep-Stratum parade as "Krefeld's most intimate carnival parade" – not an anonymous big-city spectacle, but neighbors seeing other neighbors in costume, children collecting candy ('Kamelle') right in front of their school, music corps playing in their grandfather's carnival club. Those who want to experience the traditional Rhenish carnival feeling in a quieter, more concentrated form will find it here.

Gellep-Stratum – Historic Rhine District

Gellep-Stratum is one of Krefeld's oldest settlements – Roman heritage (Gelduba) and the medieval St. Andreas Church shape the local scenery. Today, it is a district with around 8,000 inhabitants on the Rhine riverbank, southeast of Krefeld's city center. A strong network of clubs supports carnival and marksmen's life.