Rijeka Carnival lasts for about two weeks, building up through smaller masked balls and street events to the grand finale: the International Carnival Parade on the last Sunday before Lent. The parade features groups from Croatia and many other countries, each with their own elaborate costumes, music and floats. Some floats take months to build.
One of the most distinctive features of Rijeka Carnival is the 'zvončari' - bell-men. These are groups of men from villages around Rijeka who wear extraordinary costumes: sheepskin suits, strange animal masks, and enormous bells strapped to their backs. They march, jog and shake, making a tremendous clanging noise. Their tradition is ancient - believed to drive away the cold and bad spirits of winter.
Carnival is connected to a very old European tradition of celebrating and feasting before the quiet period of Lent in spring. In Rijeka, the carnival spirit is enormously democratic - anyone can come, anyone can wear a costume, anyone can join in. Small children in tiny costumes march next to elaborate professional groups.
The zvončari tradition from Rijeka's hinterland has been on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2009. But the carnival itself has also become a major event on the European calendar - more and more people come from other countries every year to watch the bells, the colour and the extraordinary noise.