Festive Traditions, Local Color

Düsseldorf, with its glittering boutiques and skyscrapers, is a modern urban center. But visit it or the other big cities along the Rhine: Cologne, Bonn and Mainz, during Carnival, and this world is turned on its head, with parades and revelry and a complete suspension of everyday rules. Even in these cosmopolitan cities, the originally pagan tradition of Carnival lives on.

Germany works hard and plays hard. Moreover, local festivals underline the different characters and customs of the individual German states, which were not confederated until 1871. Its a long way from the showy parades of the Carnival to the grim masks of a Fastnet in the Black Forest.

Some festivals commemorate specific historic events, such as the Dinkelsbühl Kinderzeche in which the town's children march out and plead with the Swedish Army to spare their homes. The world-famous Oktoberfest in Munich, dates back to the celebration of Ludwig I and Princess Therese's wedding in 1810. There are many more beer and wine festivals all over the country. Strong on tradition, too, are the Schützenfeste, the celebrations of the local shooting associations.

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