Fasching - The Carnival Season in Munich     

The carnival season has different names in germany: in Cologne and Duesseldorf "Karneval", in Mainz "Fasenacht", in other regions "Fasnet" or "Fosnat". The carnival season in and around Munich is named "Fasching".

Carnival was originally a pagan festival, later it has become associated with the catholic church and was celebrated on the day before the beginning of Lent. Nowadays the carnival season begins officially on November 11 with the coronation of a carnival prince and a carnival princess and lasts about three months until Ash Wednesday seven weeks before Easter. The most Fasching events are held in the last four weeks.

The Fasching main season is this year from January 24 to February 25. During this time more than 800 balls will be held in Munich. The biggest ones are parties with thousands of people. Most of these are fancy dress balls, but there are also classical gala balls in dinner jacket and evening dress ("Schwarz-Weiss-Bälle").

To get a first impression we recommend to visit one of the big traditional balls in the "Deutsches Theater" (the first costume ball in the "Deutsches Theater" was organized already in 1897) or in the Hotel "Bayerischer Hof".



  Ball dates Deutsches Theater

  Ball dates Hotel Bayerischer Hof




On February 16 from 1 p.m. the traditional society "Damische Ritter" (Crazy Knights) will organize a small carnival parade starting from Sonnen Str. through the pedestrian zone Kaufinger Str. and ending at Hofbräuhaus, but it is not comparably with the big and magnificent carnival processions in Cologne and Mainz.

"München Narrisch": During the last three crazy days (on Fasching Sunday, on Rose Monday and on Shrove Tuesday - this year February 23, 24 and 25) the pedestrian area in the city center around Marienplatz is turned into a gigantic open air party zone with live music, fancy dresses and dancing.

One of the highlights of the Munich Fasching is the dance of the market women on the "Viktualienmarkt"
(Victuals Market) at 10:30 a.m. on Shrove Tuesday. The market women rehearse for it already months before.

So, now try out the Munich Fasching. You need no expensive costume. Luxurious costumes are the exception here. All you need is good mood and you will have a lot of fun during the carnival season in Munich.