Basel Events & Festivals

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Basel Events & Festivals

"Events and Festivals

Basler Fasnacht

This is Basel's version of Carnival, and a premier event during the year, lasting for three straight days, beginning on the Monday following Ash Wednesday. Don't confuse it with the more raucous festivals in traditionally Catholic areas, such as the German Rhineland (Karneval) and Munich (Fasching), or Carnival in Rio or Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It can actually have a kind of somber feel, although with a distinct poetry and subtle humour, which you may learn to like. Many locals are dead-serious about it, often preparing their costumes and practicing their skills on the traditional musical instruments (military drums and piccolo flutes) throughout most of the year. If you are not a Basler, avoid dressing up silly or putting on make-up, as this is neither customary nor appreciated by locals - who mostly prefer to stay among themselves for what many consider "the three loveliest days" of the year. But that's no reason to be discouraged (thousands of tourists aren't anyway), just have the right approach:Fasnacht starts Monday morning with an eerie procession called Morgestraich (MOR-GUE-SHTRICH): At precisely 4:00 AM, street lights are turned off, and hundreds of traditional bands (cliquen), dressed up in elaborate costumes and masks ("larven"), parade through the densely packed streets of the old town. Arrive well in advance - and on foot - or you will not get through to the city center. It's not recommended for the claustrophobic, although it is peaceful, despite the masses. Absolutely DON'T use flash photography! It ruins the atmosphere, marks you as a tourist and creates hundreds of instant enemies. Morgestraich lasts for about 2-3 hours, during which restaurants are open - if mobbed - and you can warm up with a traditional zibelewaie (a kind of quiche) and a mählsuppe (a soup made of sauteed flour). It's an acquired taste, so perhaps wash it down with a glass of white wine. Almost all of the restaurants mentioned in the Eat section below are open during Morgestraich - but perhaps don't choose McD. After Morgestraich, everyone goes home to get some hours of sleep - or sometimes to work, if you are a Basler.There are similar parades, the cortège, by the cliquen on Monday and Wednesday afternoon, along a predetermined route through most of the inner city. Note again the elaborate costumes and masks, and the large hand-painted lanterns ("ladäärne"), the pride of each clique, often designed by a local artist. Each clique chooses a sujet (SU-SHEA), a motto that typically pokes fun at some (often local) political event of the past year and which is reflected in the costumes and lanterns. You don't need to understand the sujet to appreciate the beauty of the artistic renderings. The lanterns are also on display on Tuesday nights, at Münsterplatz. In the evenings, the cortège route is all but abandoned, and large and small cliquen roam through the smaller alleys of the old town (gässle). It is common for spectators who like the look or sound of one of the cliquen to follow it around on foot for a while. As the pace of the cliquen is a slow stroll, and as the music CAN be lovely, this may even be kind of romantic, particularly if you are holding hands with a date. But note that Fasnacht is nothing like Mardi Gras, so don't expect ladies baring their breasts. Overt sexuality is a no no, and aggressive attempts at picking up are frowned upon, as is binge-drinking. Remember: it's an almost somber if poetic affair. Try to blend in with locals, perhaps express some friendly curiosity about a costume or a sujet when talking to someone, and you are likely to have a much better time.Tuesday is the day of the children, and of the Guggemusig (GOOCKE-MOOSIC), noisy brass bands that intentionally play off key. On Tusday night at 10:00 PM, dozens of these bands play on two stages, at Claraplatz and Barfüsserplatz. This is the one day where things get much merrier, particularly in the more proletarian neighborhoods of Kleinbasel, where many of the Guggemusige have their home.

* Chienbäse. Combine Fasnacht with the amazing fire spectacle of Chienbäse (KHEAN-BA-SE) parade in nearby town of Liestal, capital of the neighboring canton Basel-Landschaft (15 minutes by train from the SBB Station), which starts at 7:15 PM on the Sunday evening preceding Morgestraich. Locals clad in (kind of) fireproof garb parade through the narrow and spectator-lined streets of the town, carrying large burning wooden brooms (bäse) above their heads. Other groups are drawing iron carts with huge bonfires - which they even rush through some of the old town gates, as the flames lick the structures above. There are a number of inconclusive interpretations of this pagan-seeming custom but, again, you don't necessarily need to understand any of them to appreciate the eerie and even mildly threatening beauty of the parade.

* Fasnachtsbummel. The three sunday afternoons following Fasnacht, the cliquen tour the countryside and small towns around Basel and return to Basel for a final large evening parade - the bummel (BOOM-MEL, engl. stroll). No costumes, just music."