Munich City Guide

Page 28

Munich City Guide

Annual Events and Highlights

Oktoberfest in Munich

This is certainly one of the highlights in Germany’s event calender. According to its name, the largest

festival in September should be held in October, however according to tradition the 16-day

Oktoberfest

ends on the first weekend of October. It always takes place at the

"Wiesn"

- on

Theresienwiese.

The history of the

Oktoberfest,

the world's biggest folk

"Volksfest"

(folk festival) goes back to the

marriage of King Ludwig I in October 1810. The high point of the wedding celebration was a horse

race and a banquet on the

Theresienwiese

, the fairground which was named after Ludwig's bride,

Princess Therese. The festivities were repeated annually and combined with an autumn market and

an agricultural fair. Soon the festival grew to include beer tents, S

teckerlfisch

(fried fish on a stick),

Brez'n

(pretzel) and gingerbread hearts, shooting galleries, swing-boats and merry-go-rounds and

many other more or less spectacular attractions for all ages.

Nowadays, every year more than 6 Million visitors consume appr. 5 Million "Maß" (litres) of beer and

400,000 sausages, especially in the famous beer halls of the 7 Munich breweries.

The

Oktoberfest

traditionally begins with a festive parade of the brewers and marquee landlords,

their beautifully decorated floats drawn by pig, powerful

"Braurösser"

(brewery horses) carrying large

beer casks. The Munich Mayor officially declares the

Oktoberfest

open by calling out the famous

"O'zapft is!"

(It's been tapped!)

Reservations for tables at the

Oktoberfest

are usually made months in advance, but tents often still

have tables available until a few weeks before the festival begins. Groups of more than 10 should

make arrangements for a table by the end of August. A reservation must be paid in advance, but the

money is refunded in form of vouchers (e.g. for beer).