Carnival 2023: Shrove Monday on the Rhine – D'r Zoch kütt

Enlarge image

1/12

Alaaf!

A blue spark throws camels at the Rose Monday parade in Cologne: after almost two years of a corona break, celebrations are back as they used to be.

Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa

Enlarge image

2 / 12

Hundreds of thousands - like here in Cologne - line the streets and cheer for the revelers on the carnival floats.

Cologne is celebrating an anniversary this year.

On February 10, 1823, the first Rose Monday parade took place here.

The motto this year is: »200 years of Cologne Carnival: Ov krüzz oder quer«.

Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa

Enlarge image

3 / 12

Cologne train conductor Holger Kirsch on a carnival float: He organizes the Frohsinn, in which there are Strüßjer (flowers), Kamelle (sweets) and sometimes Bützchen (kisses) for the spectators at the edge.

Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa

Enlarge image

4 / 12

Also present at the parade: the Cologne triumvirate of maiden, prince and farmer, embodied by men, here in conversation with moderators Sabine Heinrich and Guido Cantz.

Most recently, Cologne's Mayor Henriette Reker had spoken out in favor of a female prince or a triumvirate made up entirely of women.

Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa

Enlarge image

5/12

Celebrities like Johannes B. Kerner also celebrate.

This year, the train started for the first time on the right bank of the Rhine in Deutz, so for many people in Cologne it was on Schäl Sick, the wrong side of the Rhine.

For Kerner, taking part was a "little lifelong dream" come true.

It was the first time he was allowed to ride in one of the cars, he said – it was probably the only time.

The 58-year-old was born in Bonn and lived in the Rhineland for the first 14 years.

Photo:

Jonas-Erik Schmidt / dpa

Enlarge image

6 / 12

The Düsseldorf carnivalists again have particularly scathing messages for the fool crowd: Russian President Vladimir Putin is bathing in blood on a float – in a bathtub in the Ukrainian national colors of yellow and blue.

Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa

Enlarge image

7/12

The car builders around Jaques Tilly had already revealed the topic of a car in advance: climate activism.

There had previously been speculation that activists could become stuck on the train route.

Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa

Enlarge image

8 / 12

The carnivalists are also dealing with Economics Minister Robert Habeck.

The Green politician is shown with big toads: nuclear power or armament, Habeck has to swallow one after the other.

Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa

Enlarge image

9/12

Almost a classic in the carnival: The mockery of the handling of the Catholic Church with the abuse scandal.

Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa

Enlarge image

10/12

The Bundeswehr with a bicycle-based tank: whether Scholz's turning point in the army's equipment will change anything substantially?

Wagenbauer Tilly says: »I think that in bad times you need good subversive satire«.

Photo:

Federico Gambarini / dpa

Enlarge image

11/12

The protests for women's rights in Iran are also a topic in Düsseldorf: a hairy affair for the mullah.

Photo:

FRIEDEMANN VOGEL / EPO

Enlarge image

12 / 12

But how do celebrations and war go together?

The Cologne Carnival has found its own answer to this: "The Corona period in particular has shown us all how important it is to experience personal closeness and community with other people," said the President of the Cologne Carnival Festival Committee, Christoph Kuckelkorn.

"The Cologne Jecken don't just sway past the world's problems, they know very well how closely joy and sorrow are linked."

Photo:

Oliver Berg / dpa

The reconciliatory power of carnival was shown at the start of this year's Shrove Monday parade - it began in Cologne for the first time on the right side of the Rhine, also known as Schäl Sick, which was actually frowned upon by the city's residents.

In general, the fools do not seem to have forgotten how to celebrate after several years of Corona break.

Hundreds of thousands line the streets.

Cologne is also celebrating an anniversary this year: on February 10, 1823, the first Shrove Monday procession took place here.

The motto this year is: »200 years of Cologne Carnival: Ov krüzz oder quer«.

In Düsseldorf, where the parade only starts at 12 o'clock, the carnival people celebrate under the motto "We celebrate life" and in Mainz it is "Fastnacht to the full - for peace, freedom, tolerance".

Politicians, athletes and artists are also represented in the Cologne Rose Monday procession this year.

Among other things, coach Steffen Baumgart, managing director Christian Keller and several football players were announced for the float of 1. FC Köln.

Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) and State Interior Minister Herbert Reul as well as NRW Home Minister Ina Scharrenbach (both CDU) were also expected on a car, as the festival committee announced, as was ex-soccer goalkeeper Toni Schumacher.

In Düsseldorf, Jacques Tilly's cars made headlines even before the train started.

The wagon builder's pastiches, which had been kept secret for a long time, came to light when the train was set up.

Among other things, you can see how Russian President Vladimir Putin bathes in blood – in a bathtub in the Ukrainian national colors of yellow and blue.

In another car, an Iranian mullah gets tangled in the hair of an Iranian woman.

Tilly: »In bad times you need good subversive satire«

In 2023, the Düsseldorf carnivalists will be snappy and highly political again.

"I think that good subversive satire is what you need in bad times," said Wagenbauer Tilly in advance.

For once, the wagon builders had already revealed one topic because they feared climate activists could block Rose Monday trains: Tilly revealed on Friday that a wagon would support the concerns of the climate activists of the “Last Generation” group.

There had previously been speculation that activists could become stuck on the train route.

The motto car asks: »Who are the climate terrorists?« You can see an activist of the »last generation« trying to stop the destroyers of the global climate, embodied by lignite excavators, industry and traffic, with his body.

AreaCarnival, Mardi Gras, Shrovetide - what now? open

The extravagant hustle and bustle is called differently in different regions: In the Rhineland the custom is called Carnival, in Mainz and the surrounding area Fastnacht, in the Swabian-Alemannic area Fasnet and in the Bavarian-Austrian area Fasching.

The word »Fastnacht« has been known since the 12th century and already refers to the content onomatopoeic: the 

 which ends at Easter.

Before this phase of deprivation, people come together happily to feast, dance and celebrate again.

At first it really only meant the night before, later this phase was increasingly extended to a longer period of time.

The term »Fasching« has a similar meaning.

It is derived from the Middle High German »vaschanc«, which has been documented since the 13th century, especially in southern Germany, and probably  means

 .

Carnival is borrowed from the Italian 

 which may be derived from the Middle Latin »carnelevale« and means something like 

 .

The derivation »Meat, farewell!« from »Carne vale!« probably belongs in the realm of fools.

Carnivalists on Shrove Monday 2016 in Düsseldorf

Photo: Maja Hitij/ dpa

AreaWhat are you actually celebrating?open

Whichever way you look at it, you keep coming back to the 

 .

Be left out again before the quiet time of penance and abstinence sets in!

With dancing, games and parades, the recognized order is overridden and mocked in disguise and jesters' garb.

This is particularly evident today in the Rhenish carnival with the "counter-government" of the Elferrat or the storming of the town hall on Weiberfastnacht.

Since the 19th century, the so-called session has traditionally opened on 

 In Düsseldorf, the Hoppeditz is awakened.

The fact that Martin's Day of all things marks the beginning is probably mainly due to the fool's number eleven.

After the rather quiet Advent and Christmas season, the organized carnival only really picks up speed in the festival tents and halls from January 6th (Epiphany).

Finally, on Weiberfastnacht, the carnival takes over the streets.

The session ended after six days of street carnival on Ash Wednesday.

There is no evidence that the customs have pagan, Germanic, Celtic or Roman origins such as spring or fertility festivals.

Evidence of the carnival celebrations can be found in the High and Late Middle Ages.

Since the 13th and 14th centuries, banquets, drinking bouts, equestrian games and dancing have been part of the regionally different customs of the 

.

Around 1500, the figure of the fool gained importance for the authorities with his pranks and mockery, which were initially understood to be devilish.

The 

 of temporary anarchy and outspoken criticism of those in power developed particularly after the French Revolution.

In the 19th century, the bourgeoisie brought the carnival, which was excessively celebrated by the lower classes, into a fixed order.

Newly formed carnival societies introduced parades, meetings, and staff like the prince, which continue to shape the face of carnival to this day.

The time of the Reformation had previously caused a kind of 

 .

The custom is still more firmly anchored in the predominantly Catholic regions than in the Protestant ones, where fasting has lost its importance.

SectionWomen's Carnival – a day just for women?open

Everything is allowed in the carnival and old 

 The tradition, according to which women symbolically assume power on the Thursday before Shrove Monday, is said to go back to the Middle Ages.

It has only been common since 1945 for women to take away men's hats or caps or even 

on this day  , thereby reducing male dominance.

Carnivalists celebrate women's carnival in Düsseldorf

Photo: Roland Weihrauch/ dpa

Weiberfastnacht or Altweiberfastnacht has been the prelude to the six-day street carnival since the 19th century 

 In Cologne, for example, at 11.11 a.m. the street carnival is heralded by the triumvirate and the mayor in the old town.

Today’s women’s carnival in the Rhineland is said to go back to washerwomen from Bonn-Beuel.

It went against the grain that carnival was an all-male event.

And so, in 1824, they formed their own Ladies' Committee.

Almost 200 years later, one would think that all that is passé.

But in many clubs - including the traditional Cologne corps - women cannot become members at all, at most as Tanzmariechen or in the equestrian corps.

Nevertheless, women are not like that, men are also allowed to celebrate Weiberfastnacht.

Open areaAre roses thrown on Shrove Monday?

Shrove Monday is the 

 In Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz there is hardly a way around the carnival.

The big Shrove Monday parades (carnival parades) take place.

The inner-city transport system is practically paralysed.

In many offices people don't work, in some they celebrate.

Among the bouquets of flowers (Strüßjer) thrown by the train participants are certainly roses.

But they did not give the day its name.

Where the name comes from is not entirely clear.

 Some people trace it back to Rose Sunday.

Four weeks after Carnival, fasting was broken on this one Sunday.

Rose Sunday got its name either because the pope is said to have consecrated a golden rose on this day or because priests wore pink robes there.

Rose Sunday is said to have served the Cologne festival committee as the day of the general assembly in the 19th century.

The committee was formed to organize the carnival activities.

Around 1830, parts of the name were transferred to the annual procession on the Monday before Ash Wednesday.

Others attempt a 

 In the Lower Rhine, the word »rosen« means 

 A proverbial great Monday.

At first, only the people of Cologne spoke of Shrove Monday, and only later did Düsseldorf and Mainz also adopt the name.

Expand areaWhat happens on Ash Wednesday?

How do you say it in Jupp Schmitz's carnival classic? 

 And that's how it is.

Ash Wednesday marks the end of the mad activity.

The people of Cologne herald the conclusion of the carnival on the night from Tuesday to Ash Wednesday.

And the people of Düsseldorf also bury their model fool, Hoppeditz, on Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday also marks the 

 For 40 days (excluding Sundays) the faithful abstain from meat, alcohol or sweets.

In the early Middle Ages, church penance also began, in which the penitents were sprinkled with ashes, among other things.

This gave rise to the tradition in the Catholic Church of drawing a cross made of ashes on the foreheads of those who go to the altar on Ash Wednesday.

It should remind them of impermanence.

In addition to fools and believers, the parties in Germany also celebrate Ash Wednesday.

 - a kind of reckoning with political opponents -

goes back  to the CSU.

AreaThe organized carnival - what's that about the uniforms and these sessions?open up

In the first half of the 19th century, organized carnivals emerged in many places in the Rhineland.

The bourgeoisie wanted to 

 regulate the often coarse and extravagant celebrations and founded carnival clubs

This was also due to the Prussian occupation, which had to be met with a little more discipline and order, but whose militarism could be made fun of at the same time.

In 1823, the people of Cologne founded the "Festordnungde Comité" and thus shaped the face of the official carnival to this day.

At 

 the Red Sparks, whose uniform goes back to the former Cologne city soldiers, accompanied the parade of the »Hero Carnival« as a guard.

It later became the »Prince Carnival«.

The Prussians made fun of Funken with the Stippeföttche dance (two gentlemen rubbing their bottoms together), which is still practiced today.

The prince was later joined by the peasant and the maiden: the Cologne triumvirate was born.

Traditionally, the virgin is portrayed by a man - like Funkenmariechen originally, which became female during the Nazi era.

The other places in the Rhineland are also ruled by royal couples or princes with court. 

there are now 

 including the uniformed corps societies.

The clubs not only provide the carnival staff and organize the parades, but also hold meetings.

These take place in the session and at the high point of the carnival and combine performances by the garden and dance groups, carnival bands and Bütten speakers.

The latter rhyme from a kind of barrel - the Bütt - in dialect, sometimes more and sometimes less funny about political and social issues.

The 

 presides over a meeting, hands out Bützjen and medals or calls on the audience to »rocket« (»To the guns!« – command one: clap, command two: additional stamping with your feet, command three: plus whistle).

The stunk session in Cologne has been held since 1984 as a counter-event to the traditional pomp session, the central showpiece gathering of every carnival association.

She parodies the established session carnival and criticizes politics and the church in a cabaret manner.

AreaWhat is the meaning of the Funkenmariechen?open

»Dat Mariechen« should not be missing from any Cologne carnival session.

She accompanies the corps companies, dances solo or with a dance officer and mixes elements of ballet with acrobatics in her dance style.

"Funkenmariechen" is strictly speaking only at the Cologne Funken, but colloquially all dancers in the carnival are often called Funkenmariechen.

Other names are Tanzmariechen, Tanzkathrinchen (a special feature of the Mainz carnival) and Sutler.

The latter is probably also the 

for the uniformed dancers:  in the early modern period,

 went about with the armies.

That is why the Mariechen costume with tricorne hat and wig is based on the uniforms of the 18th century. 

 However, men in women's clothing were a thorn in the side of the National Socialists in the 1930s - and so Mariechen became feminine.

Funkenmariechen at the Shrove Monday procession 2016 in Düsseldorf

Photo: Maja Hitij/ dpa

AreaWhat carnival parades are there?open

"D'r Zoch kütt!" With this exclamation, 

 the largest carnival procession in Germany, which started in 1823, is greeted in

Even in ancient times, people dressed up for special occasions.

With the advent of carnival celebrations in the High Middle Ages, organized masked parades took place in the cities.

The 

 the carnival companies parade through the city with 10,000 participants on foot, on horses or wagons, make music and throw tons of camels and hundreds of thousands of Strüßjer into the crowd.

Around a million spectators sway, sing and waltz along the 7.5-kilometre route – but the Zoch itself is half a kilometer longer.

When the first cars cross the finish line, the last ones haven't even started yet.

Particularly popular are the parody or motif carriages, which take aim at current political and social developments, as well as the prince's carriage, which is the highlight of the procession.

Large Shrove Monday parades also take place in the Rhenish carnival strongholds of 

 , among other places. The Düsseldorf parade is famous for its particularly snappy political motif floats.

On Carnival Sunday, the Schull and Veedelszöch are out and about in Cologne, where the schools and clubs from the Cologne districts, the Veedeln, entertain the revelers with original costumes and music or dance performances.

A somewhat different parade goes through Cologne on Carnival Saturday: When the Shrove Monday parade was canceled in 1991 because of the Gulf War, anti-war demonstrators and revelers got together, marched through the streets on their own and thus revived the old tradition of ghost parades.

Since then, creepy figures have been celebrating the alternative carnival on Saturday evening to samba rhythms - without camels and Strüßjer, everyone can run along.

If you like it even smaller and cozier: In almost every Rhenish town or municipality there are their own parades on the carnival days, where you can let the Rhenish cheerfulness run free.

SectionWhy are the carnival people throwing »Kamelle«?open

What is actually meant is “caramel”.

These are the candies that are thrown into the audience during the carnival processions.

The throwing material no longer only includes sweets, but also chocolate, wine gums and waffles.

In Cologne, around 300 tons of sweets, over 700,000 bars of chocolate, over 220,000 boxes of chocolates, over 300,000 Strüßjer, thousands of rag dolls and other smaller gifts will be thrown at the Shrove Monday parade.

were brought to the people at the first carnival processions 

 .

However, at the time it was more of a select event.

Only later did the volume of the camel rain increase, when other train participants than the prince threw about.

Enlarge image

Carnivalists throw camels

Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa

BereichHelau! Alaaf! – Was rufen die da?aufklappen

Die bekanntesten Karnevalsrufe in den rheinischen Karnevalshochburgen sind »Alaaf« und »Helau«. Grob gesagt jubeln die Jecken »Alaaf« in einem geschlossenen Gebiet zwischen Aachen und dem Bergischen Land über Köln bis Koblenz. »Helau« rufen Karnevalisten im Gebiet rund um Düsseldorf und Wuppertal bis nach Kleve sowie südlich von Koblenz bis nach Mainz. Man sollte tunlichst auf diese regionalen Gegebenheiten achten, denn der eine oder andere Jeck links und rechts des Rheins versteht hier dann doch keinen Spaß.

Wo das Wort »Alaaf« seine Wurzeln hat, ist nicht ganz klar. Manche sehen darin das spanische »alabar« (»loben«) oder den englischen Trinkruf »aloft« (»hoch«). Die Wendung »al aff« in Verbindung mit »colnisch land« ist laut »Etymologischem Wörterbuch« erstmals im 17. Jahrhundert bezeugt. Eine gängige Deutung besagt, dass »all ab« oder mundartlich »all-af« im diskriminierenden Sinne von »alles unterhalb Kölns« beziehungsweise umgekehrt »Köln über alles« meint. Im Kölner Stadtmuseum soll sich der älteste Beleg des Wortes auf einem Trinkkrug aus dem 16. Jahrhundert finden. Seit dem 18. Jahrhundert war »alaaf« als niederrheinischer Trinkspruch verbreitet und wurde erst im Straßenkarneval ein Jahrhundert später zum Narrenruf. Bei Sitzungen in Köln wird etwa das Dreigestirn mit dem Ruf dreifach begrüßt und verabschiedet. Übrigens entzückte auch der damalige US-Präsident John F. Kennedy 1963 mit dem Ausruf »Köllen Alaaf« bei seinem Deutschlandbesuch die Kölner.

Bei »Helau« ist ebenfalls vieles unklar. Laut dem Volkskundler Alois Döring ist das Wort 1603 aus Tirol überliefert. Manche leiten seine Bedeutung eher scherzhaft von hellblau oder halbblau ab (im Gegensatz zum Zustand blau, im Sinne von betrunken) – oder auch vom englischen »hell«. Auch eine Kurzform des himmlischen »Halleluja« wird diskutiert, oder »Hölle auf«. Im Düsseldorfer Karneval war »Helau« schon in den 1830er-Jahren zu hören.

Es gibt zahlreiche weitere Narrenrufe: In Mönchengladbach erschallt beispielsweise »Halt Pohl« (»Bleib standhaft«), in Hüls bei Krefeld »Breetlook« (»Breitlauch«).

BereichWas haben die Narren mit der Elf?aufklappen

Die Zahl hat in den Karnevalshochburgen große Bedeutung. Die Karnevalssaison beginnt seit dem 19. Jahrhundert am 11.11. um 11.11 Uhr. Sitzungen beginnen nicht zur vollen Stunde, sondern elf Minuten später, geleitet werden sie vom Elferrat. Warum genau, ist nicht klar. Ursprünglich galt die Elf als Zahl der Maßlosigkeit und Sünde. Im modernen rheinischen Karneval symbolisiert sie aber auch die Gleichheit der Narren. Dahinter sollen die drei Anfangsbuchstaben der zentralen Schlagworte der Französischen Revolution stehen: Egalité, Liberté, Fraternité (Gleichheit, Freiheit, Brüderlichkeit).

Aber auch die Idee zweier gleicher Zahlen nebeneinander: eins neben eins. Oben gleich unten. Weitere Deutungen: Elf ist eine Schnapszahl, eine Narrenzahl, wie man im Mittelalter gesagt hätte. Eins mehr als die zehn Finger und die zehn Gebote, einer weniger als die zwölf Apostel und als das Jahr Monate hat. Nichts Halbes und nichts Ganzes, also gegen die Norm, wie die Idee des Narren. Außerdem begann am 11. November, dem Martinstag, früher eine vorweihnachtliche Besinnungs- und Fastenzeit. Und da wollte man vorher noch mal richtig reinhauen.

BereichMuss das mit dem Knutschen sein?aufklappen

Küssen erlaubt! Bützen kommt vom Spätmittelhochdeutschen butzen = stoßen, rheinisch für Küssen. Mit geschlossenen Lippen an die Wange gehaucht, manchmal auch auf den Mund. Im Karneval ist »Bützen« keine Sünde. Bützen ist ein Ausdruck des Frohsinns. Keine Anmache, gebützt wird nur freiwillig. »Es ist nicht ernst gemeint und ganz sicher auch nicht sexuell«, sagt Jochen Pöttgen, Sprecher der Karnevalsgesellschaft Reiter-Korps Jan von Werth im SPIEGEL.

Das kann bei Karnevalstouristen schon mal zu Verwirrung führen. »Sosehr wir uns über Karnevalsbesucher von außerhalb freuen, manche haben das nicht verstanden. Ich empfehle eine kurze Internetrecherche zum Thema«, sagt Pöttgen.

Besonders beliebt ist seit jeher das Bützen der Ordnungshüter, notfalls auch der verkleideten.

BereichSind denn jetzt alle jeck?aufklappen

Das Wort »Jeck« ist die rheinische Variante des »Gecks«, also des Narren. In »Biste jeck?!« wird es auch adjektivisch verwendet: »Bist du närrisch?!« Der Narr ist seit dem 19. Jahrhundert eine der zentralen Karnevalsfiguren. Die Jecken feiern wild, während diejenigen, die das ganze Treiben organisieren, einem Komitee angehören oder auf der Bühne stehen, sich ganz ernsthaft Karnevalisten nennen. Die Figur des Narren verband sich im 15. Jahrhundert mit den Fastnachtsbräuchen. Er galt als Symbolfigur des vorübergehenden Ausbruchs aus den starren Normen und Gesetzen der Gesellschaft. Der Narr konnte einmal Wahrheiten ansprechen. Diese Funktion tritt noch heute im rheinischen Karneval, seinen Büttenreden und Umzugswagen zutage.

BereichWarum werden am Ende Puppen betrauert?aufklappen

Nubbel und Hoppeditz personifizieren den Karneval, der vor Fastenbeginn in all seiner Lasterhaftigkeit zu Grabe getragen wird. Sie stehen im übertragenen Sinn auch für die Vergänglichkeit. Im Kölner Karneval ist der Nubbel eine Strohfigur, die an Weiberfastnacht auf Dächern, aus Fenstern oder über Türen hängt und von dort aus das Treiben beobachtet. Der Nubbel ist im wahrsten Sinne der Sündenbock für alle während des närrischen Treibens begangenen Untaten.

Damit sich die Jecken vor der beginnenden Fastenzeit reinigen können, wird der Nubbel in der Nacht zu Aschermittwoch mitsamt seinen Sünden unter großem Geheule verbrannt. Laut Wikipedia ist das Wort »Nubbel« ein kölscher Begriff, der das Ungefähre bezeichnet, also wenig greifbar ist. Gemeint ist ein »Irgendwer« oder ein »Irgendwo«: »Dä es beim Nubbel« heißt dann entsprechend: »Der ist irgendwo.«

Der Düsseldorfer Gegenpart ist der Hoppeditz, ebenfalls eine Puppe, die Aschermittwoch beerdigt, ersäuft oder ebenfalls verbrannt wird. Sein Erwachen wird dann am 11.11. gefeiert. Zum Auftakt springt eine ganz lebendige Hoppeditz-Figur aus einem Senftopf und hält eine Rede. Was der Name bedeutet, ist unklar. Er könnte eine Zusammensetzung der beiden rheinischen Wörter »hoppe« für hüpfen und »Ditz« für Knirps, kleines Kind sein.

Je nach Region gibt es unterschiedliche Namen für die prominente Karnevalspuppe. In Jülich wird sie auch Lazarus Strohmannus genannt, im Alemannischen Jokili.

»Die Sorgen um die Kipppunkte sind berechtigt und die Gefahren real«, sagte Tilly – und appellierte an die Klimaaktivisten: »Ihr braucht den Zug nicht zu stören, das wäre kontraproduktiv. Wenn der Zug 45 Minuten steht, ist er einfach kaputt.« Ob entsprechende Aktionen geplant sind, verrieten die Aktivisten der »Letzten Generation« nicht.

Mit Blasmusik und Helau-Rufen ist auch in Mainz der Rosenmontagszug gestartet. Als erste von 137 Zugnummern setzte sich bei sonnigem Wetter die Mainzer Rittergilde in Bewegung. Auch hier gibt es böse Satire: Der Bundeskanzler ist auf einem Wagen als Scholzomat zu sehen.

In 2022, the Rose Monday trains were canceled again due to the corona pandemic.

There was a peace rally in Cologne last year because of the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, which peaked at 250,000 people.

Apr/AFP/dpa