Traditions, masks and delicacies: what Mardi Gras looks like in Bohemian Switzerland

Winter hasn’t said its last word yet, and in Czech Switzerland, something is already in the pipeline that will surely chase it away. Mardi Gras. It is a time when people return to traditional values and meet together and, most importantly, have fun. Carnival celebrates the approaching end of winter and welcomes the coming of spring. And in North Bohemia it has a long tradition, in recent years there is hardly a place where you will not come across one of the carnival events.

The carnival season begins after the feast of the Three Kings and culminates in the last days before Ash Wednesday. It is then that parades of masks go through the villages, music is played, slaughterhouse specialties are tasted and children (and adults) have a unique opportunity to turn into a bear, a horse, a bride or even a grim reaper for a day. And once the parade stops, it’s clear that the merriment can begin.

Carnival revelry is also a feast of flavours. Pork feasts, jitrnice, jelita, ovar or sweet doughnuts and divine grace are among the staples of this tradition. The fat and sweet were meant to give strength before the long fast.

In smaller villages, the parades traditionally stop house to house, the host decides whether to let the masqueraders in, and each toast is an invitation to a neighborhood gathering. It is this closeness and informal atmosphere that makes the region’s carnivals an experience that is hard to describe, it simply has to be experienced.

Where to go for carnival in Bohemian Switzerland

In Bohemian Switzerland, Mardi Gras has a strong community dimension, and that is what is beautiful about it. Each village celebrates it in its own way, with its own parade, music and specialties. If you want to combine Mardi Gras with a trip, it is worth following what is happening in the region, for example on our social networks. Most often, carnival events take place from the end of January to February, always on weekends. This year, the region’s carnival is once again very rich, and you can go to:

• 7. 2. to Vilémov, Velký Šenov, Horní Podluží, Dolní Podluží and Jiřetín pod Jedlovou
• 14. 2. Varnsdorf, Kocour Brewery, Krásná Lípa, Tisá, Rybniště
• 15. 2. to Jirikov
• 21. 2. Traditional Liptov slaughterhouse
• 28. 2. to Sluknov

In some places you can expect a classic parade, in others you will find a feast, music in the village square or carnival revelry in the local pub. A specialty is the carnival in the Děčín Zoological Garden, which awaits you this year on the 14th. 2. You can also combine hiking and fun at the 12th Lužice Memorial of Karel Hofman, which leads from Rybniště to Rumburk and at the end of which a small tourist carnival awaits you.

Whether you go for the parade of masks, the smell of doughnuts or just to soak up the winter atmosphere of the region, one thing is certain: the carnival is an ideal opportunity to get to know Bohemian Switzerland from the most cheerful side.

Did you know that…

🥨 The word masopust literally means “abandonment of meat” – it refers to the period before the forty-day fast, when people eat and have fun for the last time.

🎭 Mardi Gras masks had a protective meaning – people believed that noise, laughter and dressing up as animals or supernatural creatures would drive away winter and evil forces.

🐻 The bear is one of the oldest carnival masks and symbolizes strength, fertility and the return of spring – that is why it was often danced with in parades.