Carnival in Venice Historic appearance by Bonn city soldiers

Bonn · A great honour was accorded 100 city soldiers from Bonn at the weekend when they joined the Venice Carnival parade in front of 30,000 spectators.

 Karneval auf dem Markusplatz: Das Corps marschiert auf.

Karneval auf dem Markusplatz: Das Corps marschiert auf.

Foto: BSTC

There could not be a better advertisement for the Bonn Carnival: 100 city soldiers, spectacular in their full uniforms, walked through the crowds at the historic Venice Carnival on Saturday and Sunday. It is the first time such an honour has been bestowed on a Rhineland guard and it will remain a one-off exception.

The appearances will “go down in the corps’ annals of history” said spokesman Ralf Birkner. A close friendship with the organisers in the canal city, built up over years by Wolfgang Orth (former cadette corps leader and manager of the corps) made the appearance possible. There were over 150 Bonners in Italy, including partners, friends, the Children’s Carnival Prince and Princess Vin-Luca I and Lara I and District Mayor Helmut Kollig.

“The strict rules of the Carnevale di Venezia have ruled out an appearance by a traditional Rhineland corps up to now because their uniforms are not old enough for the Middle Ages Carnival in Venice,” said Birkner. But the Venetians made an exception for their Rhineland friends, an honour not yet bestowed on any corps from Cologne.

The city of Venice also had to approve the appearance and supported the guests, including providing them with their own boat. The delegation was the largest foreign group there has ever been in the Venice Carnival.

The city soldiers had a taste of Sunday’s climax the day before when they marched onto the main stage in St Mark’s Square and were greeted by the doge, Gino Schiavon. Wolfgang Orth was made an official member of the Venice Carnival, again the first time this honour has been bestowed on a Rhinelander. Thousands of visitors from all over the world cheered the troup and took photos. “You can really feel here that Carnival, like the city of Venice itself, is an international cultural treasure that should be protected,” said Kollig.

After the traditional flight of the angel, the highpoint of the Venice Carnival, the city soldiers performed three dances for the 30,000 spectators in St Mark’s Square – a privilege that will never again be given, according to Birkner. The Children’s Prince and Princess spoke in Bönnsch, English and Italian. “We were already really nervous, but the people were so nice to us. It was a lot of fun,” said the Prince afterwards. “I particularly liked all the wonderful and precious masks. People were dressed up everywhere in the whole city,” added the little Bonna.

Wolfgang Orth was pleased. “I am happy that everything went smoothly. There were a lot of logistics, but it was worth it.” The city soldiers are once again in their bus and will be home today, Monday.

(Original text: ga. Translated by Kate Carey)

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