In many places, women stormed city halls, symbolically taking power for one day — which is why carnival's Fat Thursday in this region is traditionally called Weiberfastnacht, or the carnival of the women.
Bakeries sell vast quantities of jelly donuts during carnival — the so-called fifth season of the year — which lasts from Fat Thursday to Ash Wednesday ahead of Lent in the traditionally Roman Catholic Rhineland.
At 11:11 a.m. on Thursday, hundreds of thousands of carnival revelers took over the streets of the Rhineland in western Germany, dancing, singing, drinking and showing off their colorful costumes.
State Interior Minister Herbert Reul said that 9,900 police officers were on duty in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia — 2,500 more than on a regular Thursday, German news agency dpa reported.
But despite the recent attacks that have scared many in Germany, Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker called on the revelers to celebrate without fear.
