Jutruchei Puchei - the carnival highlights 2025

Dancing, fun & live music: This is how carnival was celebrated in Puch and the surrounding area

The fun and colourful carnival season was long this year and it's already over! But before we turn our attention back to everyday life and prepare for the Easter traditions in Puch, let's take a look back at the fantastic events that accompanied us in Puch throughout the ‘fifth season’.

From traditional balls to exuberant parties, there was something for every generation. Young and old celebrated together, danced, laughed and enjoyed the festive season to the full. I captured some of these special moments in pictures, which I would like to share with you in this post.

Carnival parade in Elsbethen

The Puch carnival season started with our neighbours in Elsbethen, where some Puchers made a pilgrimage on 15.2. Even before the start, we were greeted by ‘Andrea and Lorenzo’ with an Italian accent at the parish church and provided with the best gelato. The two Italians from the Trachtenmusikkapelle Elsbethen were also responsible for welcoming the parade participants and provided some funny laughs.

Numerous Puchers were also represented among the participants and visitors. The traditional costume association D'Puachstoana presented themselves particularly creatively as Minions and the Puch music band as Vikings. Above all, the impressive Viking sailing boat of the ‘Old-Vickings’ travelled through the streets - the same boat with which they won the soapbox race at the Puch volunteer fire brigade's summer festival last year.

The ‘St. Jakober Wolfsrudel’ with the St. Jakob fire brigade and the Jakobischützen as well as the ‘Bananenrepublik’ of the Pucher Saufnigln were also among the 20 groups.

But not only the Puchers made a good impression - my personal highlights were the Elsbethner Krampusse and Prangerschützen as ‘Asterix & Obelix’, the TMK Elsbethen with the ‘Bobbycar-Super-Mario’ race and the Elsbethner Kindergarten as a slide. The carnival guild Naracucula from Kuchl also took part with their carnival cry ‘Semmei Semmei’ and ‘Die Egelseer’, where we enjoyed a delicious ‘HOT-DOG’ from the ‘101 Egelseer’.

After the parade, the celebrations continued in the festively decorated gymnasium. There, the ‘Elsbethner Musikanten’ astronauts provided the best atmosphere until late in the evening. And when they took a short break, some members of the Puch band took up their instruments themselves and continued to entertain the guests. Congratulations on the successful carnival parade, we Puchers are looking forward to the next one in 5 years' time.

Puch parish ball with playback show

In keeping with the motto ‘Welcome to the star night on the dream ship’, the traditional parish ball of the Puch parish was celebrated in the Gasthof zum Kirchenwirt. The band ‘Die Combo und die Pästin’ led the evening with a lively performance and many guests came dressed up to match the theme. Some captains and sailors could be seen in the hall, as well as glamorous show stars, holidaymakers on shore leave and elegant cruise passengers. Even a few members of Bully's ‘Traumschiff Suprise’ could be seen standing at the bar.

One of the highlights was the guessing game, in which guests had to guess the average height of the 20 members of the choir association - a tricky but amusing challenge! The audience was particularly enthusiastic about the popular playback show, in which Elvis Presley, Andrea Berg, Tina Turner and Freddy Quinn were (almost) brought to life. With elaborate costumes and rousing choreography, the performers drew thunderous applause. A glittering ball night with lots of dancing, show interludes and an exuberant atmosphere that all guests will remember for a long time to come!

Puch fire brigade ball on carnival Saturday

The traditional fire brigade ball of the volunteer fire brigade Puch bei Hallein took place as usual on carnival Saturday at the Gasthof zum Kirchenwirt. Under this year's ball chairman Bernhard Lintschinger, the celebrations continued into the early hours of the morning with atmospheric live music from ‘Party Krainer’, a large lucky draw with over 500 prizes and a mask award ceremony.

The mask award was particularly exciting - the winner was the original costume ‘The Car Wash’, which impressed with its creative realisation. Other excellent costumes were the Minions, the stick figures, Tic Tac and of course the lampshades, which perfectly matched this year's hit song ‘Wackelkontakt’. In addition to the exuberant atmosphere on the dance floor, the bar provided another opportunity to enjoy the evening in a convivial atmosphere.

Children's carnival in Puch

We from the Puch Tourist Board were delighted to see so many visitors in their fantastic costumes. This year's motto was ‘Pippi Longstocking celebrates her 80th birthday - and the Kirchenwirt turned into Villa Kunterbunt!’ The party was once again lavish. Cheerful Pippis, pirates, princesses and many other imaginative characters were everywhere - a colourful carnival full of fun and good humour! 🥳🎈

Carnival parade through Puch

The colourful hustle and bustle begins every year at 2 pm with a magical carnival parade, starting at the Kirchenwirt car park, with the Puch band providing the right atmosphere. The parade leads from the Kirchenwirt via the municipal office to the Lindingerhügel. Accompanied by a cheerful carnival procession, the band marched straight into the festival hall. A special highlight this year was that the band brought along special instruments for the children. This allowed the young carnival fans to play the song from Pippi Longstocking together with the musicians on the dance floor. After the march out, some of the musicians created an exuberant atmosphere at the regulars' table in the parlour

Colourful hustle and bustle in the ballroom

A varied programme awaited the children in the ballroom: children's games, masked catwalk, face painting and lots of dancing. Tanja Grallert from Cleverly Family Events was responsible for the creative organisation. She animated the children with a cheerful fashion show, danced with them to the best children's hits and ensured lots of enthusiasm and fun on the dance floor. A special highlight was the performance by magic clown Tommy, who mesmerised both young and old guests with his tricks. The funny balloon animals also made children's eyes light up.

Sweet surprise for all children

Another highlight followed with the traditional doughnut distribution. Mayor Barbara Schweitl, Deputy Mayor Ernst Sams and local councillor Dr Markus Höpflinger handed out the municipality's free carnival doughnuts to the numerous children. This sweet tradition sweetened the afternoon for the little fools.

Visit from the Salzburg Carnival Guild

A special highlight was the visit of the Salzburg Carnival Guild. The prince and princess and their court, the children's guard and the dance mariechen enchanted the audience with their colourful costumes and impressive performances. The Salzburg Carnival Guild is a non-profit organisation that works every year to preserve the carnival tradition. From Carnival Thursday onwards, they are out and about at various locations in Salzburg - including the burning of the princes on Shrove Tuesday in the Müllner Bräustübl.

As a special honour, the carnival guild awarded the carnival medal to Mayor Barbara Schweitl and Gusti Rettenbacher, our honorary chairman of the tourism association and senior manager of Kirchenwirt🎖️

With a cheerful carnival finale on carnival Sunday, lots of music and good humour, another very funny and unforgettable children's carnival in Puch came to an end. A big thank you to all the participants and helpers who made this colourful spectacle possible! 🎭🎉 We from the tourism association are already looking forward to next year, when the festival hall becomes a colourful stage for the kids.

Bad Taste Party at the Vinisterium on Shrove Tuesday

The crowning glory of the carnival season in Puch was the legendary Bad Taste Party at the Vinisterium on Shrove Tuesday. True to the motto ‘The flashier, the better!’, colourfully dressed guests in outlandish 80s and 90s outfits flocked to the ultimate end-of-carnival party. Neon colours, quirky patterns and iconic retro looks dominated the scene, while DJ ‘Schluggi’ created an exuberant atmosphere with the best hits of the decades.

Whether in gaudy tracksuits, mullet wigs or in an exaggerated glittery look - here the carnival was celebrated once again! To satisfy hunger in between, there were the best meat doughnuts with sauerkraut and savoury roast pork rolls - the perfect refreshment for a long night of partying! The visitors danced until midnight to rousing music and high spirits, bringing the carnival season to a fitting close.

Carnival is my passion!

I love dressing up and have a whole box full of costumes to choose from. This year I went as a unicorn, a pirate, a dreamboat gala guest and, of course, in the bad button look. And like every year, the clown had to be taken out of the box at least once! Colourful accessories on, streamers, sweets and balloons in the bag - and the kids love you ... well, except for the ones who are scared of my squeaky nose. 😆 And how could it be otherwise, my children also enjoy celebrating carnival. They sometimes get crafty and turn a flower pot into a lampshade from the 70s - to go with the ‘Wobbly Contact’ hit. Here are a few pictures of my costumes - which one do you like best? Or which of these costumes would you wear to a carnival party?

A colourful finale & a look ahead 🎉🌷

I hope you enjoyed my impressions and pictures of the Puch Carnival 2025! In addition to the many public events, there were of course also exuberant celebrations in the schools, clubs and parishes as well as in private - the carnival traditions were once again enjoyed to the full in Puch. It was a long, colourful and cheerful carnival, but now the year continues. From today, we start Lent with Ash Wednesday and are already looking forward to the next festivities around Easter.

Tip: On Easter Sunday, 20 April, the Historische Schützenkompanie Puch invites you to the traditional Schützenball at the Kirchenwirt - with rifle shooting and an estimation game. The popular Palmklang Festival and the Osterdult in Oberalm are also just around the corner.

I wish you a wonderful Lent and look forward to seeing you again at one of the next events in Puch & the surrounding area! 🎶🥳 So for the last time this year - JUTRUCHEI PUCHEI, carnival is over again for 2025!

Hier geht`s nach Puch bei Hallein