As in every year, carnival officially kicked off at 11:11 local time (1011 UTC) on Tuesday, but the drinking had begun well beforehand in the main centers of the Catholic tradition, Cologne, Mainz and Düsseldorf.

In Cologne, Mayor Jürgen Roters used the main opening event at the city's downtown Hay Market square to congratulate German astronaut Alexander Gerst, who arrived back on earth on Monday, on managing to make it back in time for the start of carnival. An estimated 70,000 people turned out to take in the event, including several bands singing in the local dialect.

Members of the carnival organizing committee in Mainz read out from a "foolery constitution."

In Düsseldorf, the local fool Hoppeditz was "raised from the dead" as scheduled at 11:11. He had lain buried since Ash Wednesday, when the last carnival ended.

Police in all three cities said despite the high consumption of alcohol associated with the event, there had been no major disruptions.

"The atmosphere is pleasant and boisterous," a spokesperson for the Cologne police service told the AFP news agency.

Carnival, which also kicked off in several other mainly Catholic regions of Germany on Tuesday, reaches its climax in the last few days leading up to Ash Wednesday in mid-February.

pfd/se (dpa, AFP)