Easter Saturday
Ossensamstag (derived from the Low German name of the city of Osnabrück: Oßenbrügge ) is in Osnabrueck the Saturday before Carnival Monday called the where since 1976 carnival parade takes place by Osnabrück. Every year the move is lined with tens of thousands of people. The route followed by the floats and Jecken leads from the Johanniskirche over the Neumarkt to its end point at the town hall . The fool's cry “Osna Helau!” Is also derived from the city name . The NDR broadcast the move live on television until 2014. The NDR has been broadcasting the move in a live stream on the Internet since 2015.
procedure
The Saturday parade begins in Johannisstraße in the former Osnabrück Neustadt. In front of the Johanniskirche, the carnival floats drive past the couple of city princes. During the parade, sweets and toys are traditionally thrown into the crowd around the route. In addition to the carnival clubs from the city and the district, sports clubs, associations and private individuals also put up carnival floats every year, as well as a large number of music and dance groups. The procession ends in front of the town hall, which is now symbolically stormed by the Jecken. Then the city key handover takes place by the mayor to the city prince, who now announces his “government program” for the next three days. After the actual parade, the partying participants spread out in the bars in the old town .
Points of contention
In the past, Easter Saturday was always a reason for discussions: the focus of criticism was the high number of heavily drunk, sometimes underage participants and the resulting large-scale police operations, the pollution after the move, the noise and the reduced income for the shops in downtown. Therefore, the transfer of Ossen Saturday to the following (Ossen) Sunday was often discussed.
As a result, it was decided in 2012 to start the carnival parade at 2 p.m. instead of 11.11 a.m. The volume on the moving truck was also reduced to 75 dB (A). In addition, in the last few years alcohol prevention has been promoted even before Easter Saturday and alcohol controls have been intensified around the move. In addition, the carnival clubs have to contribute around 10,000 euros to the cleaning costs.