Cologne and Düsseldorf: Mostly peaceful carnival start in the Rhineland

Start video, cancel with Escape Safety in carnival Image source: Oliver Heisch Current hour . 11/11/2026. 25 min. 2 sec. UT. Available until November 11, 2028. WDR. By Oliver Köhler.

Even if the weather didn't cooperate, people in Cologne, Düsseldorf and other NRW cities did it on November 11th. celebrated the start of the carnival session. Mostly it remained peaceful.

It was cold and rainy, so it was anything but fool-friendly. But a few showers couldn't dampen the party spirit.

Many people had taken precautions in the carnival strongholds of Cologne and Düsseldorf - for example with rain capes or thick fur costumes - and didn't let the bad weather stop them from celebrating on the streets. Still others looked for a dry place under umbrellas, canopies or directly in a bar if there was still space there.

Ticker to read: Jecke celebrated the start of the carnival | More police in Cologne draw positive interim conclusions about the carnival. "So far we have only had to intervene very occasionally," said Sascha Wallmeroth from the Cologne police to WDR in the evening. There were individual assault offenses and several people were taken into custody "because of course the mood is changing a bit now, which is probably due to the alcohol." Nevertheless, the balance so far has been positive.

11:11 a.m. at the Heumarkt - the party can begin.

The Jeck knows various ways to combat the rain - from an umbrella to simply hiding it...

...or you can choose a rainproof costume.

Colorful soap bubbles also help against cloudy weather.

All three Cologne carnival hotspots are really crowded in the morning, like here at Chlodwigplatz.

You can celebrate dry under the Severinstorbogen...

Hotspot No. 2, Zülpicher Straße, was also well filled before 11:11 a.m. despite the rain.

Many young people in particular celebrate here - the most creative costume is not always the focus.

But there are also some elaborately disguised Jecken on Zülpicher Straße.

Hotspot No.3: The Heumarkt - this is where the Cologne triumvirate around Prince Marius I presents itself to the celebrating carnival people.

Cologne artists give each other the microphone here all day long...

... to pop duo Blumengarten with singer Rayan as king.

And King Football in front of the stage also likes it.

Whether Kwatier Latäng or Südstadt: The queues in front of most bars are long, like here in front of the bar “Coellner”.

Inside it's narrow but shaky, like here in the Torburg...

It is still crowded on Zülpicher Straße.

Many people also leave behind a lot of rubbish.

The police are currently out in the city with a large number of emergency services.

Almost as difficult as getting to a bar: Finding a seat on a train. Security personnel are required around the stops.

From early in the morning, carnivalists arrive at the main train station - usually in good spirits. The station forecourt is correspondingly full.

...in the middle of it all is this music band - all the way from the Netherlands.

The “Lotta” pub right on Chlodwigplatz.

Three colorful DJs in front of the cathedral in the morning looking for Cologne songs...

... and enough referees to warn the entire old town.

If things get too busy, these three women have everything they need to relax a bit.

11:11 a.m. at the Heumarkt - the party can begin.

The Jeck knows various ways to combat the rain - from an umbrella to simply hiding it...

...or you can choose a rainproof costume.

Colorful soap bubbles also help against cloudy weather.

All three Cologne carnival hotspots are really crowded in the morning, like here at Chlodwigplatz.

You can celebrate dry under the Severinstorbogen...

Hotspot No. 2, Zülpicher Straße, was also well filled before 11:11 a.m. despite the rain.

Many young people in particular celebrate here - the most creative costume is not always the focus.

But there are also some elaborately disguised Jecken on Zülpicher Straße.

Hotspot No.3: The Heumarkt - this is where the Cologne triumvirate around Prince Marius I presents itself to the celebrating carnival people.

Cologne artists give each other the microphone here all day long...

... to pop duo Blumengarten with singer Rayan as king.

And King Football in front of the stage also likes it.

Whether Kwatier Latäng or Südstadt: The queues in front of most bars are long, like here in front of the bar “Coellner”.

Inside it's narrow but shaky, like here in the Torburg...

It is still crowded on Zülpicher Straße.

Many people also leave behind a lot of rubbish.

The police are currently out in the city with a large number of emergency services.

Almost as difficult as getting to a bar: Finding a seat on a train. Security personnel are required around the stops.

From early in the morning, carnivalists arrive at the main train station - usually in good spirits. The station forecourt is correspondingly full.

...in the middle of it all is this music band - all the way from the Netherlands.

The “Lotta” pub right on Chlodwigplatz.

Three colorful DJs in front of the cathedral in the morning looking for Cologne songs...

... and enough referees to warn the entire old town.

If things get too busy, these three women have everything they need to relax a bit.

In the afternoon, Cologne police chief Johannes Hermanns said that from his point of view the city was “relatively full”. But “the police situation is very manageable.” Everything has been relatively peaceful so far.

In Cologne, a good 1,000 police officers, 450 employees of the public order office and around 1,200 employees of private security companies were supposed to ensure a safe process. As in previous years, the police tried to get excesses under control - especially among young people.

“I see checks all the time, every few minutes,” reports WDR reporter Estella Mazur in the evening from the Zülpicher district in Cologne. The main reason is the protection of minors: “There are very, very many minors here who drink hard liquor, have mixed something for themselves and bring it with them.” And the security forces absolutely wanted to prevent that so that things remained peaceful.

In Düsseldorf, a hundred police were on site in the old town, but initially had a relatively quiet carnival operation. The officers initially stayed very much in the background. “We have not had any significant incidents so far,” said a spokesman in the early afternoon.

Police officers and fools in Düsseldorf in exchange

A few hours later it was still quiet: even compared to the other number of operations on November 11th. the day was less intense for the police in Düsseldorf. It was also said that this was probably due to the bad weather.

“The mood is great here, the weather could be better”: This is how WDR reporter Christina von Below summarized the situation in Düsseldorf’s old town in the evening. But later in the evening, the alcohol levels of the partygoers rise, which is why the police often have more work to do. The Düsseldorf police reported that night that there were no major operations.

The carnival session also got off to a quiet start in the Aachen region. Police were not aware of any major incidents as of 11:30 p.m. The largest event in Eschweiler was attended by around 500 Jecken - but they quickly retreated to the bars after the stage program ended, said a police spokeswoman.

The police control centers in Aachen and the region no longer expected any major operations around the start of the session because of the weather.

From a police perspective, it was a quiet start to the session in Bonn. The emergency services did not have a single operation, explained a spokesman when asked by WDR. However, there were only 150 Jecke in the market square. Apparently many people were put off by the rain.

Broadcast: WDR television, current hour, 6:45 p.m.