Carnival Fire Parade 2024

And now the 2024 version of carnival in Liestal, Switzerland. Again, tons of burning wood in large piles are carried and pulled through the narrow main street of the old village with crowds of people on both sides of the street.

If you ever thought that could be dangerous, be aware it was the 100th anniversary of this event. And again, nothing burned down unexpectedly.

If you like to lose some fear of fire or like to feel fire close to your body join next year, March 9th, 2025, it is close to Basel. But prepare to stay in glowing ash while sparks are falling on your head and jacket.

And it is crowded. But in case you like to be in the first row, just wait until the first big fire carriage is passing. All the newcomers in the first-row push back to the walls and bring you to the front. It is not a question how close you risk approaching the fire. The fire approaches you and there is no way out. You experience half a ton of heavy burning wood passing just 2-3 feet from your body. It is hot. The parade lasts about an hour with 15-20 big carriages and an endless number of smaller fires, called Chienbaese carried mostly by single persons with about 50-100 pounds or more of wood burning down during the 45 minutes of walk through the town.

Be aware you can’t sue anybody in case of burn holes in your jacket or even larger damages. It is your own risk to join, and you are warned ahead in French and German. Children below 6 are not allowed. And you are advised to not use clothes, who tend to catch on fire easily.

Watch the spectacular end of the video when one of the 17 big carriages passes the town gate. All do it and even many visitors think the gate will start burning, in all years nothing caught fire! But in fact, the fire brigade cools the wall with lot of water before and after each passage.