Editing Cologne (section)

===Carnival===
The [[Cologne carnival]] is one of the largest street festivals in Europe. In Cologne, the carnival season officially starts on 11 November at 11 minutes past 11&nbsp;a.m. with the proclamation of the new Carnival Season, and continues until [[Ash Wednesday]]. However, the so-called "Tolle Tage" (crazy days) do not start until ''Weiberfastnacht'' (Women's Carnival) or, in dialect, ''Wieverfastelovend'', the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of the street carnival. Zülpicher Strasse and its surroundings, Neumarkt square, Heumarkt and all bars and pubs in the city are crowded with people in costumes dancing and drinking in the streets. Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to Cologne during this time. Generally, around a million people celebrate in the streets on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stadt-koeln.de/en/koelntourismus/karneval/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125230206/http://www.stadt-koeln.de/en/koelntourismus/karneval/ |archive-date=25 January 2008 |title=Carnival – Cologne's "fifth season" – Cologne Sights & Events – Stadt Köln |date=26 January 2008 |access-date=24 July 2009}}</ref>