Cologne (dpa) - Foolery got underway Monday in Germany's carnival bastions, with revellers raising their glasses to the traditional start of the festivities at 11.11 am (1011 GMT) on the 11th day of the 11th month.

The cities of Cologne and Mainz are the main carnival bastions, but many other, chiefly Catholic, areas around Germany were also ushering in carnival - often dubbed the year's "fifth season."

In Mainz, jesters swayed around a fountain sculpture honouring the carnival. In Dusseldorf, the traditional local fool known as Hoppeditz awoke from the dead, after having been buried on Ash Wednesday last year.

In Cologne, a new carnival triumvirate took office to oversee the festivities. The city's police said that it had deployed 1,000 officers to prevent excesses.

The fact that the carnival season kicked off on a Monday did not dampen spirits, with a Cologne police spokesman saying that the number of visitors was high. Full-body costumes helped protect revellers from the cold weather.

In Cottbus, hundreds of fools marked the start of the fifth season with a loud "Helau!" In Potsdam, Mayor Mike Schubert symbolically handed over the city hall to fools for a day.

The carnival season culminates in February with processions on Shrove Monday. The fun ends on Ash Wednesday, when the 40-day Lent fasting season begins.