KARNEVAL IN KÖLN. Wie alles begann…
An exhibition of the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum in cooperation with the Festkomitee Kölner Karneval von 1823 e.V.
Guest at the MAKK – Museum of Applied Arts Cologne (An der Rechtschule 7)
June 2 – July 30, 2023
Tue. to Sun., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: 5 euros, reduced 2.50 euros
The Cologne Carnival: It is the attitude to life of a whole region and an integral part of the Cologne identity!
This year, Cologne’s Fastelovend celebrates a milestone birthday. 200 years ago, on February 10, 1823, the first organized masquerade parade passed through Cologne’s Neumarkt. The procession was a reaction to the sprawl of the carnival celebrations and the impending ban by the Prussian rulers. The aim was to steer the wild hustle and bustle into orderly channels and to establish rules. The reorganization of the carnival and its dramaturgy was henceforth the responsibility of a “Festordnendes Comité,” today’s “Festkomitee Kölner Karneval.
©RBA
Already in the first years, the committee defined the essential organizational elements and characteristics that still characterize the “fifth season” today. These included the Rose Monday parade, then still called the “Masked Parade,” as the highlight of the jecken Tage, as well as the appointment of the “Hero Carneval,” later called “Prince Carnival,” as the central figure. Splendid masquerade balls organized by the festive committee took place in the Gürzenich as early as 1824; specially created carnival orders were awarded in Cologne for special services as early as 1838. Speech and song gradually found their way into the “committee meetings,” from which the carnival meetings later evolved.
From the beginning, the “fifth season” was a crowd puller far beyond the city limits and thus an important economic factor. Initially by steamship, then by rail, thousands of people traveled to the Shrove Monday procession even back then. On Shrove Monday in 1866 alone, the Rhenish railroad carried 16,907 people to Cologne.
The exhibition invites visitors on an extraordinary journey back in time to the year 1823, to the roots of the carnival that is still celebrated today. Look forward to unique exhibits and entertaining insights into the origins and development of our world-famous Cologne Fastelovend over the past 200 years!
Kölle alaaf!