Shrovetide festivities took place around Slovenia on Sunday, with the largest in Ptuj, NE Slovenia. More than 40,000 people turned out in this historic town to watch the colourful carnival procession.
Slovenia's biggest carnival, famous for its distinctive figures, the kurenti, featured almost 2,000 participants, among them 30 organised groups, as well as guests from Macedonia, Austria and Croatia.
Also in the procession were more than 350 kurents - traditional Slovene masks which chase away the winter.
The Ptuj carnival officially got under way with a ceremony in front of the Town Hall on Thursday. It will end with the burial of "pust" or the Shrovetide man at noon on Shrovetide Tuesday.
Apart from the Ptuj carnival, which has been held for over 40 years, almost every Slovenian city and town hosted Shrovetide festivities this weekend. Among the larger ones, the event in the central Slovenian town of Cerknica was dominated by local witches.
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