Carnival in Germany 2027: dates, Rose Monday parades and sessions

Carnival 2027 in Germany comes early: street carnival starts on Weiberfastnacht (Women’s Carnival Day), Thursday 4 February 2027, the big parades roll on Rose Monday, 8 February, and it all ends on Ash Wednesday, 10 February 2027.

The Rose Monday parades 2027 set off at 10:00 in Cologne, 11:11 in Aachen, 12:00 in Bonn, 12:11 in Koblenz and around 12:30 in Düsseldorf; Mainz has not given its 2027 start time yet (2026: 11:11). Rose Monday is not a public holiday, but schools in Bavaria, Saarland, Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are on holiday that week.

Checked 9 November 2026. Not published yet: when Cologne’s grandstand tickets go on sale, the 2027 start times in Mainz and Münster, Mainz’s Weiberfastnacht programme and Cologne’s 2027 glass-ban zones.

When is carnival 2027 in Germany? All the dates

The 2026/27 carnival season opens on Wednesday 11 November 2026 at 11:11 and ends on Ash Wednesday, 10 February 2027; street carnival runs from Weiberfastnacht, 4 February, to Shrove Tuesday, 9 February 2027 (City of Cologne, Mainzer Carneval-Verein).

Why is carnival so early in 2027?

Carnival is early in 2027 because Easter is early: Easter Sunday falls on 28 March 2027, and Rose Monday is always 48 days, Ash Wednesday 46 days, before Easter Sunday. That makes the 2026/27 season only 91 days long, from 11 November to Ash Wednesday.

Because Easter falls between 22 March and 25 April, Rose Monday is never earlier than 2 February and never later than 8 March. In the next few years Rose Monday is on 28 February 2028, 12 February 2029 and 4 March 2030.

Rose Monday parades 2027: start times by city

Germany’s big carnival parades in 2027 run from Sunday 31 January (Munich) to Shrove Tuesday, 9 February 2027 (Mönchengladbach), most of them on Rose Monday, 8 February, when Cologne’s parade is the first to set off, at 10:00.

The table gives each parade’s day, start time and starting point as the organisers had published them on 9 November 2026; the parade’s name links to its organiser.

You need no ticket to watch from the street; for the Hanover parade and Munich’s Fasching parade, for example, entry is expressly free. What is sold are grandstand seats, for example in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz; in Mönchengladbach seats on the Alter Markt grandstand are on Evenitto as NEW Tribünen grandstand tickets.

Berlin no longer has a Fasching parade: the parade on the Kurfürstendamm has not taken place since 2017 (berlin.de).

Cologne Carnival 2027: Rose Monday parade, grandstands and Schull- un Veedelszöch

The Cologne Rose Monday parade 2027 sets off at 10:00 on Monday 8 February 2027 from Severinstraße and runs via Hohe Straße, Schildergasse, Neumarkt, Rudolfplatz, Hohenzollernring, the Heumarkt and the Alter Markt, past the cathedral to Gregorius-Maurus-Straße; it takes about 3.5 hours to pass any point on the route (Festkomitee Kölner Karneval).

In 2026 about 11,500 people took part in Cologne’s parade, the parade was more than 8 kilometres long on a 7.5-kilometre route, and 300 tonnes of sweets were thrown (parade in numbers).

Cologne’s 2027 motto is “Morje es, wat do drus mähs!” (Cologne dialect for “Tomorrow is what you make of it”), and Cologne’s Dreigestirn, the trio that reigns over the season, are Prince Marius I, Farmer Alex and Maiden Johanna of the Kölner Narren-Zunft von 1880 (motto, Dreigestirn).

• Grandstand tickets in Cologne: sales for the Festkomitee’s grandstands have not started yet (9 November 2026); the Festkomitee announces the date in its newsletter (Rose Monday parade 2027). Children’s tickets are for ages up to 12 and only on the Heumarkt and the family grandstand on Hohenzollernring; only the Heumarkt stands are covered (questions and answers).
• Schull- un Veedelszöch: on Carnival Sunday, 7 February 2027, Cologne’s schools and neighbourhood groups parade through the centre, usually from 11:11, on almost the same route as the Rose Monday parade, with more than 8,000 people taking part (Festkomitee).
• Geisterzug (ghost parade): Cologne’s Geisterzug walks as a demonstration on the Saturday before Weiberfastnacht, in 2027 that is 30 January; the organisers announce the start and route in November 2026. In 2026 it set off at 19:00 in Nippes, and anyone can join, dressed as a ghost (geisterzug.de).
• Glass ban: glass is banned along Cologne’s parade route; you may bring food and drinks, but not in glass, and the streets on the route close to traffic from about 5:00 (Festkomitee).

For everything else on in Cologne that month, see our page Cologne in February.

Düsseldorf: Rose Monday parade, Kö-Treiben and grandstand 2027

The Düsseldorf Rose Monday parade 2027 sets off around 12:30 on Monday 8 February 2027 from Herzogstraße and covers almost 5 kilometres via Graf-Adolf-Straße, the Königsallee, Heinrich-Heine-Allee, Burgplatz and Marktplatz to Bilker Allee (Comitee Düsseldorfer Carneval, route, Visit Düsseldorf). Düsseldorf’s motto for the season is “Karneval – Grenzenlos vereint” (carnival, united without borders).

• Kö-Treiben: on Carnival Sunday, 7 February 2027, people in costume celebrate on Düsseldorf’s Königsallee all day from 11:00, free of charge (Comitee Düsseldorfer Carneval).
• Grandstand at the town hall: seats on the grandstand on Düsseldorf’s Marktplatz cost €77–111, with entry from 10:15 and a reception in the town hall; seats were still available on 9 November 2026 (CC ticket shop).

More for February in Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf in February.

Mainz Fastnacht 2027

The Mainz Rose Monday parade 2027 is on Monday 8 February 2027; the Mainzer Carneval-Verein has not given its start time yet. In 2026 it set off at 11:11 from Josefstraße at Boppstraße, the route was about 7.2 kilometres long and the parade itself about 9 kilometres (Mainzer Carneval-Verein, Rheinhessen).

Mainz’s 2027 motto is “Die Schwellköpp in de Fassenacht gehör’n zu Meenz wie’s singt und lacht”, a nod to the city’s giant carnival heads (MCV).

On Sunday 7 February 2027 the parade of the carnival guards goes through Mainz, and a place on the grandstand at the theatre costs €7 (entry from 10:00). Reserved seats for Rose Monday on the stands at the theatre and on Gutenbergplatz are sold online by the MCV.

Fasching in Munich, Fastnacht in Frankfurt and Fasnet in the south-west

Munich’s Fasching 2027 has three fixed dates (muenchen.de):

• Damische Ritter Fasching parade: already on Sunday 31 January 2027, a week before Rose Monday (start time in the table).
• München narrisch: from Sunday 7 to Tuesday 9 February 2027 the pedestrian zone between Stachus and Marienplatz celebrates; in 2026 it started at 12:00 each day, and the 2027 programme is not out yet (München narrisch).
• Tanz der Marktweiber: on Shrove Tuesday, 9 February 2027, the market women dance on the Viktualienmarkt from 11:00, free of charge (Tanz der Marktweiber).

The Großer Narrhalla Ball 2027 at the Deutsches Theater in Munich on Saturday 16 January 2027 is on Evenitto.

In Frankfurt the Klaa Paris parade winds through Heddernheim on Shrove Tuesday, 9 February 2027, from 14:11 according to its organisers (Klaa Paris); Frankfurt’s big Sunday parade is in the table.

The Swabian-Alemannic street Fasnet in the south-west starts on the Schmotziger Donnerstag, 4 February 2027. In Rottweil the fools leap on Fasnet Monday and Tuesday (times in the table), and in Villingen the historic parade starts at 8:45 on Fasnet Monday, 8 February 2027 (Villingen-Schwenningen).

Weiberfastnacht 2027: town halls stormed and parties

Weiberfastnacht (Women’s Carnival Day) 2027 is on Thursday 4 February; this is how the day starts in the carnival strongholds:

• Cologne: street carnival opens at 11:11 on the Alter Markt (KölnTourismus).
• Düsseldorf: at 11:11 the Möhnen, the women of the carnival societies, storm the town hall on Marktplatz; entry is free (Comitee Düsseldorfer Carneval).
• Bonn-Beuel: the Beuel women’s parade leaves Siegburger Straße at 10:00 for the town hall, which the washerwomen storm at around 12:30 (City of Bonn).
• Mönchengladbach: the party on the Alter Markt starts at 11:11, and the Abtei town hall is stormed at 13:11 (DeinMG).
• Mainz: the Mainzer Carneval-Verein has yet to announce its 2027 programme; in 2026 the city celebrated from 11:11 on Schillerplatz.

Weiberfastnacht parties on 4 February 2027 on Evenitto:

• Weiberfastnacht at Club Astoria – Alaaf am See, Club Astoria, Cologne, from 11:11
• Weiberfastnacht at the Bootshaus with Mickie Krause, Bootshaus, Cologne, from 14:00
• “Tatü Täterä” Altweiber party, Theater im Gründungshaus, Mönchengladbach, from 15:11
• Karnevalscamp, Carlswerk Victoria, Cologne, from 17:30
• Weiberfastnacht at Barmer Bahnhof, Wuppertal, from 18:00

Tickets for carnival sessions 2027

Tickets for carnival sessions (Sitzungen: evening shows with speeches, guard dances and bands) are sold by the organiser, usually the carnival society itself; in Cologne the Festkomitee lists every session, party and parade of the season in its season calendar with a link to the ticket sale. Most sessions fall in January and the first week of February.

Two sessions are on television:

• Düsseldorf: the TV session of the Comitee Düsseldorfer Carneval is at 19:00 on Thursday 7 January 2027 at the Rheinterrasse (Comitee Düsseldorfer Carneval).
• Aachen: Hape Kerkeling receives Aachen’s Orden wider den tierischen Ernst, an award for humour in public life, at 20:00 on Saturday 23 January 2027 at the Eurogress; ARD’s Das Erste is due to show the recording from 20:15 on Monday 25 January 2027 (AKV).

These sessions are on Evenitto (9 November 2026); prices and free seats are on each page.

Carnival with children in 2027

The children’s and youth parades of 2027 are on the weekend before Rose Monday:

• Frankfurt: the children’s Fastnacht parade goes from the Hauptwache to the Römer on Saturday 6 February 2027 from 11:45 (Großer Rat).
• Düsseldorf: the children’s and youth parade goes through the old town at 14:00 on Saturday 6 February 2027 (Comitee Düsseldorfer Carneval).
• Mainz: the children’s and youth masked parade is on Saturday 6 February 2027; a place on the grandstand at the theatre costs €7 (entry from 13:00) (MCV).
• Aachen: the children’s parade starts at 11:11 in the city centre on Tulip Sunday, 7 February 2027 (Festausschuss Aachener Karneval).
• Cologne: Cologne’s schools and neighbourhood groups walk in the Schull- un Veedelszöch on Carnival Sunday, 7 February 2027.

Children’s sessions and family concerts on Evenitto:

• Lachende PÄNZarena 2027, Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Saturday 9 January 2027, 11:30 (also on 16 January)
• “Zirkus Alaaf!”, children’s carnival session, Zirkusfabrik, Cologne-Dellbrück, Saturday 23 January 2027, 15:00
• “Fridolino entdeckt den Karneval”, Haus der Springmaus, Bonn, Saturday 23 January 2027, 14:30
• Düsseldorfer Originale children’s carnival, Henkel-Saal, Düsseldorf, Sunday 24 January 2027, 14:00
• Disco Dinos family carnival concert, Bora, Duisburg, Saturday 6 February 2027, 16:00

Is Rose Monday a public holiday? School holidays 2027 by state

Rose Monday is not a public holiday in Germany, not even in the carnival strongholds: North Rhine-Westphalia’s public holidays act does not list it (recht.nrw.de), and neither do the lists of Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. Shops may therefore open.

Many town halls close all the same: in 2026 the City of Cologne closed its public counters on Rose Monday and from 11:00 on Weiberfastnacht (City of Cologne), and in Düsseldorf the residents’ office and the health department were among the offices that stayed shut (City of Düsseldorf). The 2027 hours are not published yet.

Schools are off on Rose Monday where there are holidays or where the school puts one of its flexible days off on it. In North Rhine-Westphalia every school has to set one of its three flexible days off as a day for a local custom or festival, for example during carnival (NRW holiday rules); the school decides which day.

In Hesse the school authorities set the flexible days off (Hessian school authorities). The holidays are in the school holiday calendar of the Kultusministerkonferenz.

Quick answers

When is Rose Monday 2027? Rose Monday 2027 is on Monday 8 February 2027; Weiberfastnacht is on 4 February and Ash Wednesday on 10 February.

When is carnival 2027 in Germany? Street carnival 2027 runs from Weiberfastnacht, Thursday 4 February, to Shrove Tuesday, 9 February 2027; the season itself opens on 11 November 2026.

What time does the Cologne Rose Monday parade 2027 start? The Cologne Rose Monday parade sets off at 10:00 on Monday 8 February 2027 from Severinstraße.

What is the biggest carnival in Germany? There is no official ranking. Cologne’s Rose Monday parade had about 11,500 participants in 2026 and was more than 8 km long, on a 7.5 km route; the Mainz parade is about 9 km long, on a route of about 7.2 km; and the City of Braunschweig calls the Schoduvel the largest carnival parade in northern Germany (City of Braunschweig).

Is Rose Monday a school holiday in North Rhine-Westphalia? Not across the state: every school in North Rhine-Westphalia sets one flexible day off for a local custom, for example during carnival, and the school decides whether that is Rose Monday.

Which states have school holidays during carnival 2027? Bavaria (8–12 February), Saarland (8–12 February), Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (8–19 February) have school holidays in carnival week 2027.

What is carnival in Germany, and what is the difference between Karneval, Fasching and Fastnacht? Carnival is the festival before Lent, with parades, costumes and sessions, and the three words name the same thing: Karneval is the word in the Rhineland, Fasching in Bavaria and the east, Fastnacht in Mainz and Hesse, and Fasnet in the Swabian-Alemannic south-west.

Do you have to pay to watch a Rose Monday parade? You need no ticket to watch from the street; grandstand seats cost money, for example €77–111 at Düsseldorf’s town hall.

What else is on in the carnival cities is on our pages for Cologne, Düsseldorf and Münster in February. Before that, music for the turn of the year: New Year’s Eve and New Year’s concerts 2026/27.

Cover photo: Cologne Rose Monday parade on Severinstraße, 20 February 2023, Geolina163, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; archive photo.