"Dirty Thursday" - Women's Carnival and the Role of Women in Potsdam's Urban History

CARNIVAL TOUR for Adults: "Dirty Thursday," known as Weiberfastnacht in Southern Germany and the Rhineland, is hosted at the Potsdam Museum. This tradition is much more than a festive kickoff; for centuries, it has symbolized a reversal of power dynamics. For one day, women take control. The origins of "Dirty Thursday" date back to the offering of fat before the fasting period. Later, this evolved into the custom of female rule: washerwomen in the Rhineland rose up against male guilds and authorities. Since the 19th century, cutting off ties has been part of the tradition, symbolizing that women sever the authority of men on this day.

Connection to the History of Potsdam: Although Potsdam did not have a strong carnival tradition like the Rhineland, the symbolism is transferable: women's roles in urban society. Washerwomen, maids, and female workers in the manufactories were essential for the functioning of the city but remained invisible. "Dirty Thursday" serves as a reminder of how women claimed spaces, initially in customs and later in society and politics. Potsdam's history is filled with examples of female self-assertion: market women who loudly offered their goods, female workers in the textile and tobacco industries who kept entire businesses running during wartime, women in the city council after 1918 who exercised political power for the first time, and the first female mayor... Thus, "Dirty Thursday" is not only explained as a carnival custom but also used as a bridge to the history of women and the city of Potsdam, providing an opportunity to reflect on gender roles, power, and participation.