Winterthur Carnival parade: it starts at 2.14 pm, and on Monday a Böögg burns — two months before Sechseläuten
✓ Checked at the source · as of 7 October 2026
Winterthur celebrates once Central Switzerland has finished: carnival only starts after Ash Wednesday (10 February 2027). The grand parade sets off on Sunday at 2.14 pm — not a minute earlier — and to finish, the town burns its own Böögg on the Zeughauswiese.
📅 2027 dates — every event with its source
Day by day, what's on when. Where the committee only gives its rule, the calculated date appears — marked as such.
Guggenumzug Winterthur
confirmedSaturday, 13 February 2027 · 1 day
- Organiser
- Fasnachtskomitee Winterthur (FAKOWI)
Source: To the organiser's page · checked on 6 October 2026
Grosser Umzug Fasnacht Winterthur
confirmedSunday, 14 February 2027 · 1 day
- Organiser
- Fasnachtskomitee Winterthur (FAKOWI)
Winterthur burns a Böögg effigy at carnival: on Monday 15 February 2027 on the Zeughauswiese, with fireworks and Guggen bands.
Source: To the organiser's page · checked on 7 October 2026
Kinderumzug Winterthur
confirmedMonday, 15 February 2027 · 1 day
- Organiser
- Fasnachtskomitee Winterthur (FAKOWI)
With a mask award: children are honoured for their costumes.
Source: To the organiser's page · checked on 6 October 2026
Böögg-Verbrennung Winterthur
confirmedMonday, 15 February 2027 · 1 day
- Organiser
- Fasnachtskomitee Winterthur (FAKOWI)
The Böögg burns with fireworks and Guggen bands — an hour after the fools' tree is felled on the Neumarkt (6 pm).
Source: To the organiser's page · checked on 7 October 2026
🕐 Parade times
Start times as published. With children you plan by the clock, not the date.
Start: 18:45
Start: 14:14
Start: 14:00
Start: 19:00
🗓️ What's on when?
Type a date instead of leafing through the programme.
📅 Visit-day check
Pick the day you are free — the answer comes from the verified ConvivaPlus dataset, not from a run you have to work out in your head.
| Session | Run | Opening hours | Date set? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guggenumzug Winterthur | Sat 13 Feb | 18:45 | confirmed |
| Grosser Umzug Fasnacht Winterthur | Sun 14 Feb | 14:14 | confirmed |
| Kinderumzug Winterthur | Mon 15 Feb | 14:00 | confirmed |
| Böögg-Verbrennung Winterthur | Mon 15 Feb | 19:00 | confirmed |
Calculated from the ConvivaPlus dataset — every row with its own source above.
🎭 Carnival calendar — a date in, carnivals out
Which carnival runs on which day — in 2027 and the years after, calculated from the Easter rule.
🎭 ConvivaPlus Carnival Calendar
Calculated dates follow the Easter rule: Ash Wednesday = Easter Sunday minus 46 days. Cross-checked against the date tables of the committees in Lucerne, Basel, Bern and Solothurn.
- Dirty Thursday
- Thursday, 4 February 2027
- Ash Wednesday
- Wednesday, 10 February 2027
- Basel Morgestraich
- Monday, 15 February 2027, 04:00
Pick a date — the calendar shows every carnival running that day.
5 events 2027, by date
| Date | Place | Event | Form | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 February 2027 – 14 February 2027confirmed | ZürichZH | Züri-Carneval | 🎭 Carnival days | Source |
| Saturday, 13 February 2027 · 18:45confirmed | WinterthurZH | Guggenumzug Winterthur | 🌙 Night parade | Source |
| Sunday, 14 February 2027 · 14:14confirmed | WinterthurZH | Grosser Umzug Fasnacht Winterthur | 🎺 Main parade | Source |
| Monday, 15 February 2027 · 14:00confirmed | WinterthurZH | Kinderumzug Winterthur | 🧒 Children's parade | Source |
| Monday, 15 February 2027 · 19:00confirmed | WinterthurZH | Böögg-Verbrennung Winterthur | 🔥 Fire custom | Source |
🚋 Parade route and starting point
- Assembly
- Metzggasse (Aufstellung ab 18.15 Uhr)
- Meeting point
- Metzggasse · Spitalgasse · Steinberggasse
- Assembly
- Stadthausstrasse
- Meeting point
- Stadthausstrasse · Oberer Graben · Marktgasse · Obergasse · Steinberggasse
- Destination
- Neumarkt
🥁 Programme from the committee
- Winterthur's carnival starts on Thursday 11 February 2027 — a week after Central Switzerland's Dirty Thursday.
- On Friday 12 February 2027 at around 6.20 pm the city president hands over the city key at the fools' tree on the Neumarkt: the fools then rule for three nights and three days.
- The kick-off comes three months earlier: on 11 November 2026 at 11.11 am on the Neumarkt, with a speech and countdown by the Fakowi president.
🎉 Highlights of this carnival
What sets this carnival apart from every other isn't in the date.
The Böögg belongs to Zurich and to April — every child who knows Sechseläuten knows that. Yet Winterthur burns one too, and in February: on carnival Monday at 7 pm on the Zeughauswiese, with fireworks and Guggen music. An hour earlier the fools' tree is felled on the Neumarkt. Winterthur ends its carnival the way Zurich greets spring — with fire.
The start time of the grand parade is no typo. The committee writes 2.14 pm — in a town whose carnival is counted in on 11.11 at 11.11 am on the Neumarkt. Three months lie between them; then carnival proper lasts 'three nights and three days': that's how long the fools rule after the city president hands over the city key at the fools' tree on Friday evening.
The real surprise is the date. The first parade comes 3 days after Ash Wednesday — when Lucerne and Olten have long since tidied up. Like Basel, Winterthur is one of the towns that celebrate after Lent has begun. Missed Central Switzerland's carnival? Here's a second chance.
Your Winterthur carnival moment?
One click – anonymous, no sign-up required.
🎯 Tips for visitors
In Winterthur the best spot is where the parade ends — and on Monday it pays to watch the clock in Basel. Five things that make the difference.
- 1Basel starts when Winterthur stopsOn the same Monday that Basel opens its carnival at 4 am with the Morgestraich, Winterthur burns its Böögg in the evening — at 7 pm, 15 hours later. One carnival begins, the other ends, and you can catch both in a day (ConvivaPlus analysis of the two programmes).
- 2The best spot is the finishThe grand parade ends at the Neumarkt — that's where the stage and the fools' tree are, and food and drink are right at the finish.
- 3Saturday belongs to the Guggen bandsLine-up from 6.15 pm in Metzggasse, start at 6.45 pm via Spitalgasse and Steinberggasse. If you want Guggen music rather than floats, come on Saturday.
- 4Monday: masks first, then fireChildren's parade at 2 pm from Steinberggasse, with a mask award. In the evening the fools' tree comes down at 6 pm and the Böögg burns at 7 pm — two events an hour apart.
- 5Fire on Sunday already? Then LiestalIn Liestal the fire burns on the evening of parade Sunday: parade at 1.45 pm, fire at 7.15 pm. Winterthur saves its fire for Monday — want both, and you get two evenings of fire.
📊 Carnival dates compared
Where these days fall between January and March — and who celebrates before and after.
Each bar is an event. Dark = this town, light = the nearest ones. Reading a single date, you would never see that the next town sometimes celebrates a whole week earlier or later.
🗺️ Carnival nearby
For an earlier carnival, a week before: Lucerne or Olten. The whole canton is on the canton of Zurich page, every date in the Swiss carnival calendar.
The ConvivaPlus carnival calendar, which holds these 4 Winterthur events, works out Dirty Thursday from Easter (28 March 2027 minus 52 days) and checks every date again at the FAKOWI.
Carnival nearby
❓ FAQ about this carnival
What visitors want to know before they go — date, time and place from the committee's programme.
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
A week before Winterthur — from Dirty Thursday to Shrove Tuesday.
The city of Zurich holds its Züri-Carneval on the same weekend.
The survey lists 30 events, each read at its source.
The ConvivaPlus verdict
Winterthur ends in fire — on the same Monday that Basel begins. That makes it the carnival for anyone a week too late, and an ideal family carnival: close to the station, a children's parade on Monday afternoon, the Böögg in the evening.
The trap: come only on parade Sunday and you go home without the best bit — the Böögg only burns on Monday evening. If you want fire on Sunday, Liestal suits you better. The ConvivaPlus verdict rests on the calendar's 4 Winterthur events.
Freshness note: Times and route as published by the FAKOWI. Check the committee's site shortly before carnival.
Check the latest: ConvivaPlus carnival dataset 2027 – Winterthur →
- ◆One Monday, two carnivals: Basel starts at 4 am with the Morgestraich, Winterthur ends 15 hours later with the Böögg.
- ◆Two Bööggs in one canton: Zurich burns its at Sechseläuten in April, Winterthur its at carnival in February.
- ◆Handing over the key: on Friday evening the city president gives the city key to the fools at the fools' tree — three nights and three days of fools' rule.
How we check
Every date comes from the organiser's, the municipality's or the canton's own site — never from an aggregator, never copied over from last year. Next to each source is the date we last read it.
Where only a fixed rule is published, such as the eve of St Nicholas' Day, we work out the date and label it “calculated from the fixed rule”. Anything not yet published stays open — we don't guess.
Something missing or changed? A note below is enough; we check it at the source.
ConvivaPlus Editor · Family & Day Trips
Writes about day trips, family and local life – honestly assessing what's worth it.
- Day trips
- Family
- Local
- Cities & regions
All information without guarantee. Found an error? → support@conviva-plus.ch
In Winterthur the Böögg doesn't burn in April but at carnival in February — on the Zeughauswiese, with fireworks.
Found an error or have feedback? Let us know or write to us directly.
🎭 Carnival · 9 October 2026