Basel Fasnacht, Switzerland

Basel Fasnacht (Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage), Switzerland. Basel Fasnacht begins with Morgestraich, when at exactly 04.00 on the first Monday after Ash Wednesday, all the lights in the city are switched off and Basel is plunged into darkness, with groups of pipers and drummers marching through the old town in elaborate masks and costumes, carrying elaborately painted lanterns which provide the only illumination until dawn. Morgestraich is followed by a procession in the afternoon with gugge music. © Rudolf Abraham