Carnival at Rottenburg, Baden Württemberg

The Fastnet Carnival in Rottenburg, Germany. The cavalcade lasts for nearly two hours and the masks are fascinating. The Lent period has been called the fifth season - and this one German town certainly knows how to mark its beginning. The predominance of witches and ghouls indicates the pagan origins of the ancient festival, long since absorbed into the Christian calendar.  It traditionally marked the coming of the end of winter, expelling ghosts.