adminRijeka Carnival is the biggest annual event in Rijeka and one of the biggest carnivals in Europe. It is called the fifth season for a reason! It is the time when everyone in the city, towns and villages around it, thinks only about having fun and forgets the boring everyday life for a few weeks. This is why the moto “Krepat, ma ne molat!” (Die, but never give up) describes the period perfectly!
The first written document with evidence of people masking their face and appearance is from 1449, when it was forbidden due to the circumstances of the time. The first parade organised by Rijeka Tourist Board was held on 1982 and had only three groups. Nevertheless, it was a start of a still growing Rijeka Carnival, which had 116 groups on its 37thInternational Parade in 2020, while the biggest group had 500 participants. Furthermore, this was the year with most international groups, such as Mardi Gras Paulin Brothers Brass Band from the US, several groups from Italy, Japan, India, Germany, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, Ireland, Macedonia and Montenegro.
Imagine the whole city centre is a masked party and you know everyone. This is how it feels like. The atmosphere during the carnival in the whole city centre just cannot be explained by words, it has to be experienced!
