The long-standing tradition began as always on the first Monday after Ash Wednesday. Festivities started at 4am when the streetlights were switched off in the centre of the city and the sound of flutes and drums filled the air for what’s known as ‘Morgestraich’.
External Content
People lined the city’s streets to watch thousands of participants – costumed bands of musicians and groups wearing masks – pulling large decorative lanterns. The Basel carnival runs until 4am on Thursday.
The start of this year’s Fasnacht, which enjoys UNESCO world heritage status, was special as the previous two years had been cancelled due to the pandemic.
Prior to the outbreak of the virus, Basel’s carnival attracted around 200,000 spectators every year. There was a large turnout on Monday morning with the narrow streets packed.
The colourful carnival goes on for 72 hours. In addition to bands, groups of performers known as “schnitzelbängg” travel throughout the city’s locales performing songs and poems that poke fun at well-known people and events.
Black humour has been part of carnival since the Middle Ages, when the lower classes seized the opportunity to mock their rulers from the safety of their disguises. The jokes and decorated lanterns at Fasnacht tend to reflect local and world events.
It’s carnival season in the rest of Switzerland, too. The Lucerne Fasnacht carnival, the second-biggest in the country, finished with a bang last week, i.e. with the traditional parade of loud and masked “Guggenmusig” players.
Swiss-EU treaties: signatures handed in for Kompass initiative
This content was published on
The committee behind the Compass Initiative submitted the signatures it had collected to the Federal Chancellery on Friday.
This content was published on
Esther Grether has died aged 89. Considered one of Switzerland’s leading entrepreneurs, the owner of the Basel-based Doetsch Grether Group was also a major shareholder in the Swatch Group and an art collector.
This content was published on
The flag of the Swiss Wrestling Federation has been received at the start of the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival in Mollis, canton Glarus.
Figurine heads in Zurich school not considered discriminatory
This content was published on
The 16 carved figurine heads in the auditorium of the Hirschengraben school building in Zurich are not discriminatory, according to an independent expert report.
Swiss political parties report income of CHF22.4 million for 2024
This content was published on
Ten parties reported income totalling CHF22.4 million for 2024, less than in the 2023 election year. The reports are based on the regulations for transparency in political financing.
FIFA loses multi-million lawsuit against Blatter and Kattner
This content was published on
Former FIFA officials Joseph Blatter and Markus Kattner do not have to pay back their own bonuses or the bonus totalling CHF 23 million paid to another FIFA official to FIFA. This was decided by the Zurich Labour Court.
How cancer cells makes healthy cells work for them
This content was published on
Cancer cells manipulate neighbouring cells for their own purposes: a research team at ETH Zurich has discovered that they can reprogram neighbouring cells in such a way that they help the tumour to grow.
This content was published on
The ban on non-residents entering the swimming pool in Porrentruy, canton Jura, expires on Sunday and would be extended until the end of the season, the mayor said.
Natural disasters: most Swiss back forced resettlement
This content was published on
The authorities should be allowed to order forced relocations if there is a medium-term risk of a natural event, according to 58% of participants in a survey.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Hundreds gather for Basel carnival despite ban
This content was published on
Although major events are banned due to coronavirus, several hundred people met to mark – and mourn – the cancelled carnival.
Switzerland bans major public events to slow spread of virus
This content was published on
Switzerland has banned public events with more than 1,000 people until at least March 15 in response to the coronavirus threat.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.