Haus des Kölner Karnevals

This guide to the Haus des Kölner Karnevals in Cologne opens with a battered 1827 ledger, the museum's oldest object, and the three-taler membership fee that put Cologne's new carnival out of reach for most residents. It follows the moment carnival nearly got banned in the 1820s, when Prussian rule cracked down on drunken street disorder, and the merchants and burghers who met at a wine house near Saint Ursula's church to respond. Look for the costumes, medals and parade floats built next door in Ehrenfeld, all grown out of that same ledger.