Lucerne Wey parade attracts 50,000 carnival enthusiasts
Published: Monday, Feb 12th 2024, 17:10
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The Lucerne carnival really got going again on Güdismonday: The day's wake-up call at 6 a.m. was followed by the big Wey parade in the afternoon. Around 50,000 spectators lined the parade route along Lucerne's lake basin.
That is around 10,000 fewer than last year, when an estimated 60,000 people took part in the Wey parade in glorious weather. From a police perspective, Güdismontag in Lucerne passed off without any notable incidents, as the Lucerne police announced after the parade.
During the parade, the police were able to find several children who could no longer find their escorts - also thanks to the wristbands that could be obtained from police officers especially for children during the carnival days.
The Güdismontag, the second big carnival day after Schmutziger Donnerstag in Lucerne, kicked off with the day watch. Around 5,000 people were present on Kapellplatz at 6 a.m. when the Wey guild took over the reins of the "rüüdige Fasnachtstage" - the same number as last year. According to the police, the atmosphere was "peaceful and exuberant".
44 official and numerous unofficial numbers
If Dirty Thursday belongs to the Safran guild, Güdismontag is the day of honor for the Wey guild. The guild organizes the day watch, and in the afternoon its procession crosses the Seebrücke towards the Neustadt quarter. The parade, which lasts just under two hours, is a repeat of the Dirty Thursday parade.
There were 44 numbers at the start, with numerous so-called wild numbers - i.e. not officially registered subjects - smuggling themselves into the procession. These included a group of headless men and the Swiss national football team player Alisha Lehmann, who tirelessly took selfies.
Gottschalk was also there
The procession was led by Wey guild master Iwan Wey in a carriage, followed by the large Wey frog with crown, the heraldic animal of the Wey guild. The parade route led from the Luzernerhof via the Seebrücke to the Neustadt. The weather also played along: It was not too cold and not too hot. But above all it was dry.
From the float of the Mask Lovers' Society of the City of Lucerne, which performed a variety show of curiosities in the middle of the parade, "Wetten, dass...?" show host Thomas Gottschalk smiled unmistakably into the crowd.
The Guggenmusig Bärg-Wörze Udligenswil as "Wüeschti Chrieger" or Desert Warriors and the Guggenmusig Näbelhüüler Äbiken, which took the Burning Man, an annual festival in the US state of Nevada in the Black Rock Desert, as its motto, were immersed in the desert.
In addition to Jim Knopf and Frida Kahlo, there were numerous gnomes and grinds on display, some of which were quite creepy and often perfectly crafted down to the last detail, as well as political and socially critical subjects. For example, the closure of Lucerne's police stations.
The so-called fifth season comes to an end in Lucerne on the night of Ash Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, the Guuggenmusigen march through the city once again on the Monstercorso. The die-hard carnival revellers then drive away the winter spirits once again. Even if they haven't really arrived yet.
©Keystone/SDA
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