Cologne Street Carnival 2027

Cologne's street carnival, known locally as the "mad days," runs for six days and kicks off on Weiberfastnacht, the Thursday before Rose Monday. Across the city, streets, trains, trams and pubs fill with revelers, many in costume, who drink, flirt, sing and sway together. On Sunday afternoon, school groups and neighborhood districts hold their own parades, while the high point of the festivities is the kilometre-long Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) procession. The celebrations wrap up in the night between Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, when straw dolls called Nubbel are burned at midnight throughout the city. The Nubbel stands in as the scapegoat for all the sins committed during the carnival days.