Shrove Thursday to Ash Wednesday are the most important days of carnival in Germany. Here´s a short tour of the carnival capitals Cologne, Mainz and Rottweil. The main carnival events begin on Shrove Thursday. At precisely 11:11 a.m., Cologne's triumverate kicks off the festivities. For six days, the streets, pubs and clubs are filled with merrymakers.<br /><br />More Discover Germany at: http://www.dw.de/program/discover-germany/s-7856-9798<br /><br /> <br /><br /> The Shrove Monday procession is the highpoint of celebrations in Mainz. Carnival Association members pull their floats along a seven-kilometer route through the city center, as some 500,000 onlookers line the streets.<br /><br /> Rottweil's "Fools' Leap" is one of the most colorful parades in southern Germany. Around 4,000 masked participants dance, jump and leap through the historic old town. The parade follows centuries' old strict rules.
