Today, Echternach is best known for its centuries-old Dancing Procession, held on Whit Tuesday.

At the end of the 19th century, Echternach also held a Carnival Cavalcade, featuring lively mask parades and communal celebrations inspired by ancient traditions. These festivities created a joyful atmosphere in which residents wore elaborate costumes and masks to celebrate the period before Lent. The carnival season provided a brief respite from routine, and encouraged a playful and uninhibited public atmosphere, with elaborate floats, themed cavalcades and masquerade balls.

This photograph taken by Nicola Gary shows the carnival cavalcade in Echternach on 16 February 1885.

The historical theme of the 1885 carnival procession was the visit of Emperor Maximilian I to Echternach in 1512, when he was on a pilgrimage from Trier to the tomb of Saint Sebastian. In a solemn procession, the Emperor entered the town, where he was received with great honour. This photograph shows a re-enactment of this event, with the Emperor sitting in a magnificient carriage drawn by 8 horses, together with a group of princes, councillors and squires. Behind their carriage, a huge votive candle and a massive bell can be seen; gifts brought by the Emperor in honour of Saint Sebastian. The original bell, often referred to as the Maximilian bell, weighing about 3,500 kg, was unfortunately destroyed when the towers of the Echternach basilica were blown up during the Second World War in 1944.

In this photo from the Carnival of 1885, the Emperor was portrayed by Mr Louis Baldauff - a merchant, and founder of the Hôtel Belle Vue in Echternach (now converted into a retirement home). He was elected an alderman later that year.

The photo was taken from the Route de Luxembourg in Echternach, and on the left-hand side of the street, the houses 24 to 16A are still very recognisable, although they must have been renovated several times in the past 140 years.

Text | CC BY-NC | Marc Kaysen