Carnival revellers celebrate during "Weiberfastnacht" (Women's Carnival) in Cologne, Germany February 23, 2017, marking the start of a week of street festivals with the highlight "Rosenmontag", Rose Monday processions. [Photo/Agencies]

Carnival festivities began at precisely 11:11 a.m. in Cologne and other Catholic parts of Germany despite stormy weather and high security after an Islamist attack on a Christmas market in Berlin in December that killed 12 people.

In Mainz, police chief Achim Zahn appealed to carnival-goers to use common sense and avoid dressing up as suicide bombers with explosive belts, the German website Strand Journal reported.

Donald Trump-style wigs and masks were in high demand across Germany, where carnival activities traditionally poke fun at politicians.

Susanne Mueller, managing director of Festartikel Mueller, a Bavarian-based company that makes party costumes, told Reuters that about 30 percent of her company's wig production was dedicated to the US president's blond coiffure this year.

Reuters