Author Topic: Fasnacht  (Read 3295 times)

charles binns

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Fasnacht
« on: March 08, 2016, 12:51:36 PM »
Every year the citizens of Basel in Switzerland celebrate the start of Lent with a three day carnival known as Fasnacht.  Groups of citizens form cliques who each prepare a large painted lantern and these form the centre piece of the event.

Fasnacht starts with a torchlight parade of these lanterns at 4.00am (on the dot, this is Switzerland) on Monday morning, an event known as Morgenstreich.  Each clique parades its lantern, accompanied by a band of drums and piccolos, through the city centre and this kicks of a series of processions and concerts held until Fasnacht closes at 4.00 am on the dot on Thursday morning.

The lanterns are all painted with allegorical themes, often mocking politicians or celebrities, though some have a more serious political message.  The cliques dress in fancy dress with costumes ranging from the  traditional jesters to ever more bizarre and sometimes grotesque costumes and bands of musicians wander the streets of Basel for the next three days playing music to entertain the crowds. 

Waggis (a caricature of the Swiss peasant) also parade and are on hand to throw sweets or oranges to the crowds of spectators as well as literally tonnes of confetti.

The carnival is a good natured, jovial affair and is thoroughly enjoyed by all those who participate be they musicians, waggis or spectators and was certainly an unforgettable experience.


charles binns

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2016, 12:53:15 PM »
Some more in colour

charles binns

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2016, 12:56:03 PM »
And some more.

charles binns

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2016, 12:59:00 PM »
And one more.  My favourite in fact.

Terry

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2016, 03:54:20 PM »
Charles, what a wonderful and fantastic essay!  I like your favorite partly because you cleverly got the McDonald's logo in there.  Excellent composition and motion blur.  I like the one of the abandoned masks on the pavement equally well.  But the whole thing adds up to a visual feast.

jharr

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2016, 03:57:11 PM »
Nice shots of a very interesting event Charles. That last one is a hoot! It's like Ronald McDonald on acid (it's there in the background). Some of the masks are funny, others scary. For those of us in the US, the ones in the white sheets with the big cross on top are maybe a little too evocative of an extreme racist group (KKK), so that was a little disturbing. Thanks for sharing these.
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calbisu

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2016, 07:09:15 PM »
It seems you had fun, what an interesting parade, number 55 is my fave so far, like its clean composition  :)

Carlos.

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #7 on: March 08, 2016, 09:03:36 PM »
Great photos, but the whole event looks utterly terrifying - I'd have evil clown nightmares for a month. Thank you for posting this photo essay as a warning to us all.
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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2016, 08:56:00 AM »
Charles, it's a great series - exactly as you described it when we had a pint the other week.  I've never been to Switzerland but this is the sort of thing that would get me there - although being up and ready to shoot at 04:00 seems a bit extreme for a fancy-dress parade, in Switzerland....
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charles binns

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #9 on: March 12, 2016, 08:46:30 AM »
Thank you for all your comments. 

If you ever get the chance to go to Fasnacht then take it.  Even though some of the masks might appear somewhat scary the atmosphere couldn't be more friendly and relaxed.  It also has not been over run by tourists so has not been ruined by over commercialisation.

rpmdrd

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #10 on: March 15, 2016, 02:00:34 AM »
loved the masks in b/w and in color. reminds me of the movie The Wicked Man.

MaxR88

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Re: Fasnacht
« Reply #11 on: March 15, 2016, 12:46:13 PM »
I lived in Basel for work during a large portion of last year but we missed the carnival by a week. Thanks for posting the pictures, its nice to see what we missed out on.