Kieler Umschlag 2023 with a varied program in downtown Kiel

Winter festival in Kiel: Kieler Umschlag 2023 with a varied program in downtown Kiel from March 2nd to March 5th, 2023.

For four days, the former mayor of Kiel, Asmus Bremer, his wife and his entourage, including pirates, jugglers and traders, were the focus of the state capital Kiel. The historic winter festival, based on the Kieler Umschlag in the 15th century, an important free market in Kiel in the Middle Ages, could finally take place again this year without corona restrictions. And it wasn’t just the showmen and stand operators who were happy about that. Despite the cool temperatures, around 200,000 visitors were drawn to the Kieler Umschlag in the city center from Thursday to Sunday.

As in the years before Corona, visitors to this year’s Kieler Umschlag were once again offered a varied program for the whole family. The focal points of the events were once again Alter Markt, Asmus-Bremer-Platz, Holstenplatz and Holstenstrasse. And on Sunday you could combine a visit to the Kieler Umschlag with a small shopping tour, because March 5th was a shopping Sunday in downtown Kiel.

Historical parades on Thursday and Sunday from Holstenplatz to Warleberger Hof

The official opening of the Kieler Umschlag took place on Thursday afternoon when Mayor Asmus Bremer and his wife Dorothea Katharina were woken up in the Warleberger Hof. Before that, jugglers, pirates and traders from Holstenplatz went on a historic parade to the Warleberger Hof. This ceremony also included the hoisting of “Bürgermeister sin Büx” (the mayor’s trousers) on the church tower of the Nikolaikirche on the Alter Markt, followed by the tapping of beer, of course from the Kieler Brauerei opposite.

Kieler Umschlag 2023 Alter Markt Closing event with Asmus Bremer

Moving Asmus Bremer horse-drawn carriage Kieler Umschlag 2023

Now followed a few exuberant days with a colorful program. Another highlight took place on Sunday afternoon, which also heralded the end of the Kieler Umschlag: the final march by Asmus Bremer and his entourage on Sunday at 5 p.m. from Holstenplatz through Holstenstraße to Alter Markt and on to Warleberger Hof.
At this point, the Kieler Umschlag 2023 was slowly coming to an end with the traditional final march by Mayor Asmus Bremer, his wife, pirates, jugglers and traders. Befitting their status, Asmus Bremer and his wife traveled in a carriage drawn by two black horses. The parade was accompanied by a marching band from Neumünster.

The move first led to the stage at Alter Markt. There, among other things, Asmus Bremer sin Büx was caught by the church tower and Asmus Bremer handed the tally stick to a representative of the city, this year to Wolfgang Erichsen from Kiel Marketing. Then it was on to the Warleberger Hof. Here Asmus Bremer and his wife were dismissed and Asmus Bremer went to bed. This also marked the official end of this year’s Kieler Umschlag.