Thousands of masks and tens of thousands of spectators converged on Ptuj, Cerknica and Cerkno, three Slovenian cities that have the longest history of carnivals in the country. While there was not much work to do in chasing away the mild winter, the revelers nevertheless made sure that it got banished for this year.
The largest festival was the one held in the town of Ptuj (NE), where, According to organisers, some 50,000 spectators watched some 2,600 different masks including 76 organised groups, a record for the Ptuj event.
The Ptuj festival, dominated by some 500 kurenti - distinctive local figures - featured masks from Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia.
Cerkno, a town in western Slovenia, was meanwhile overwhelmed by "laufarji", a group of some 25 different costumes, some of which are believed to originate from pagan rituals.
The laufarji - the costumes of some of which are made of 10,000 ivy leaves, fir boughs or, in the case of the main character, the Pust, between 60 to 80 kilograms of moss - will condemn Pust on Tuesday. This is also the day that Pust will be buried in Ptuj and Cerknica.
The carnival in Cerknica meanwhile featured Butalci - the half-wit inhabitants of the village of Butale, a fictional village from a book by humorist Fran Milicinski Jezek - and the famous witches.
Some 15,000 visitors of Cerknica were also treated to a giant pike, devil and his dormice and the local hillbillies.
|
Subscribe
To receive our weekly newsletter by e-mail subscribe here.
HOME
Government | Calendar of Events | Media Room | About Slovenia
Sitemap | Contact us | About us | Graphic version | Slovensko
© Government Communication Office