A to Z of Must-Do Travel Experiences – O for ‘Oktoberfest’
{ Tags: Beer festival, Munich, Oktoberfest \ Jun18 }
Photo: Fotostudio Kubinska & Hofmann.
The 2010 Oktoberfest marks the 200th anniversary of the festival, which began on 12 October 1810 as a celebration of the marriage of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen. All the citizens of Munich were invited to a Wies’n or meadow, which was subsequently renamed to Theresienwiese after the bride. This has remained the venue up till today.
While the festival dates back to 1810, beer – which is what the festival is known for today, was only introduced in 1896. Businessmen working with the breweries in Munich built the first giant beer tents at Oktoberfest, and the rest as they say is history.
Today, Oktoberfest is one of Germany’s most famous events, and the biggest festival in the world. It attracts some six million people each year, over a period of 16 days. The festival is held from late-September to early-October each year, up till the first Sunday of October.
Beer is drunk in copious amounts, and is accompanied by traditional Bavarian dishes of sausages and pork knuckles. In 2003, Oktoberfest hosted 6.4 million visitors who drank 6.1 million litres of beer and ate the equivalent of 91 oxen, 383,000 sausages and 630,000 chickens. Live musicians entertain the crowd with traditional Bavarian music, as well as lead the crowds in well-known drinking chants.
There are altogether 14 main tents, and you should get there early in the morning, if you want to get a seat.