The Lund Carneval (Lundakarnevalen)
Every fourth year, thousands of students today are involved with arranging
the carnival procession and various amusements in the carnival area.
The Lund carnival, organized by the students of Lund University, takes place each fourth year. The carnival centre is the park Lundagård, situated between the Academic Society, the university building and the Cathedral.
The carnival dates back to 1849 when students from the Smålands Nation, dressed up for a peasant wedding, paraded through Lund from one pub and out to another. During the subsequent decades, the carnival became progressively better organized. The students’ union was formally constituted in 1867 and the president of the union also acted as the official chairperson of the carnival committee. This, however, proved to be no major commitment, as the entire carnival was organized and carried out within a week.
In the mid-19th century, the carnival took place more randomly, sometimes each year, sometimes every other year and sometimes twice a year. From 1876, however, the interval was every two years up until 1892 as the festivities had degenerated into serious bouts of drunkenness and were subsequently cancelled in 1894. Except for a few exceptions in 1916, 1932 and 1938, the Lund Carnival has since been held each fourth year.