Over the past week, the city of Lucerne has been preparing for a very important event: Fasnacht. The annual event will take over the city in the coming days and is guaranteed to be a spectacle. Whilst some will be escaping to the quiet mountain peaks, for those that are interested in taking part or watching we have listed below the main events. For a full overview make sure to head to the Luzerner Fasnacht website.
Wednesday 7th: Guuggerbaum
The Fasnacht tree will be placed at Kornmarkt this evening in a procession to mark the evening before Fasnacht. Various bands will put their flags onto this tree. Meeting at 19:00 at Mühlenplatz, the procession will begin at 19.30 and participants are expected to be dressed in black with white gloves.
Thursday 8th: Schmützig Donnstig (Dirty Thursday)
Bruder Fritschi and his entourage will arrive by boat at the Schweizerhofquai at 05:00 and, with a big bang and a rain of oranges, Fasnacht will officially begin.
The first main procession (the Lucerne parade / Fritschiumzug) will begin at 13.45 from the Hofkirche and end at Hirschmattstrasse. You can find a map of the route here.
Smaller processions and celebrations will take place throughout the city the rest of the day.
Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th: the city celebrates
Various events in the city centre will be taking place, expect it to be loud, colourful and entertaining!
Monday 12th: Güdis Montag (Fat Monday):
The second Lucerne parade (Weyumzug) takes place at 14:00. This is the one shown on television. Even if you are not signed up, you can still take part in the procession as long as you have a mask on. This is considered to be the biggest night by many, partly due to the fact that both Monday and Tuesday blur into one for many Fasnachtlers!
Tuesday 13th: Güdis Dienstag (Fat Tuesday):
By now Fasnacht is blurring the days and hours. Of note is the children’s procession (Chendermonschter) which begins at 14.30 from Mühlepatz and goes to the Jesuit church.
The biggest procession (Monstercorso) is in the evening and begins at 19:30. All the Guggemusic groups will take part in this, and the party will last until dawn.
Friday 16th: the Guuggerbaum felling
There is one last meeting of Fasnacht at Kornplatz at 19:30 to remove the Guuggerbaum. After this, the city reminisces on the season and keenly awaits the next Fasnacht…
Some useful Luzerner Fasnacht links:
- Official website and plan (in German)
- VBL travel updates (in German)
- Some shops and business may be affected by Fasnacht, check their website or shop window for opening times and information.
- The Stadt website also has some important information, including tips to reduce litter and a new tool for reporting harassment.
