Please note: No coolers, bottles, cans, alcoholic beverages or weapons can be brought into the event site. Copyright © 2000-2008 |
| Oktober Hat with Chamois $15.00 |
History of Oktoberfest
A Royal Wedding and its Consequences
The history of the Oktoberfest begins with a royal
wedding and a horse race. The latter was held on
17 October 1810 on a meadow just outside the city
gates to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince
Ludwig of Bavaria (later King Ludwig I) and
Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
It was a huge spectacle accompanied, of course, by
mountains of food and, you guessed it, a river of
Munich beer.
The townspeople were so enthusiastic that they
named the meadow after the bride, calling it
'Theresienwiese', and enthusiastically repeated the
festival every year from 1819. That explains why
local citizens and Oktoberfest devotees refer to the
festival merely as the 'Wies'n'.
Since then the horse race has disappeared, but not
the celebration. The festival grew more and more
popular, and more and more people came to it, first
from the Bavarian countryside and later from the
whole of Germany. Before long it was an
international event. As early as 1860 the
Oktoberfest could boast of 100,000 visitors. Almost
every year a new record is set, amounting to a
phenomenal 7.1 million visitors in 1985.
In 1897 the first of the 'festival tents' was set up to
keep the occasional rainstorms from spoiling the
fun. The Wies'n also drew an increasing number of
sideshows, and before long the first
merry-go-rounds. The 'public executions' at
Schichtl's, the twittering of Vogeljakob, the Krinoline
and the Flea Circus still exist today.
In 1910, at the one-hundredth Oktoberfest, the first
beer record was set: 12,000 hectolitres of Wies'n
beer (316,800 gallons). In 2000 6.6 million litres of
the noble liquid (approx. 1.74 million gallons)
quenched the thirsts of Oktoberfest visitors. In 1950
Thomas Wimmer, Munich's highly popular Lord
Mayor, founded a ceremony that has become a
worldwide media event: each year the mayor of
Munich personally taps the first keg of Spaten beer
in the Schottenhamel beer tent to open the
Oktoberfest, crowing the deed with the jubilant cry
of 'O'zapft is!' ('It's tapped!'). Incidentally, the skill
that the mayor develops over the years, and the
number of hammer-blows he has to use, play a
large role in his prestige among the Munich
townspeople.
The Oktoberfest has moved with the times. Each
year the roller coaster and the rides offer new
spectacular high-tech attractions; each year people
stand on tables in the beer tents, swaying to the
sounds of the latest Wies'n hit. Yet it has remained
a site of hallowed traditions. The Bavarians - not to
mention many a foreign visitor - display their
colorful local costumes and leather shorts,
listening to music from the brass bands. Even the
traditional riflemen and folk dress parade is the
largest and the most beautiful and historically
significant of its kind in the world.
A Royal Wedding and its Consequences
The history of the Oktoberfest begins with a royal
wedding and a horse race. The latter was held on
17 October 1810 on a meadow just outside the city
gates to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince
Ludwig of Bavaria (later King Ludwig I) and
Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
It was a huge spectacle accompanied, of course, by
mountains of food and, you guessed it, a river of
Munich beer.
The townspeople were so enthusiastic that they
named the meadow after the bride, calling it
'Theresienwiese', and enthusiastically repeated the
festival every year from 1819. That explains why
local citizens and Oktoberfest devotees refer to the
festival merely as the 'Wies'n'.
Since then the horse race has disappeared, but not
the celebration. The festival grew more and more
popular, and more and more people came to it, first
from the Bavarian countryside and later from the
whole of Germany. Before long it was an
international event. As early as 1860 the
Oktoberfest could boast of 100,000 visitors. Almost
every year a new record is set, amounting to a
phenomenal 7.1 million visitors in 1985.
In 1897 the first of the 'festival tents' was set up to
keep the occasional rainstorms from spoiling the
fun. The Wies'n also drew an increasing number of
sideshows, and before long the first
merry-go-rounds. The 'public executions' at
Schichtl's, the twittering of Vogeljakob, the Krinoline
and the Flea Circus still exist today.
In 1910, at the one-hundredth Oktoberfest, the first
beer record was set: 12,000 hectolitres of Wies'n
beer (316,800 gallons). In 2000 6.6 million litres of
the noble liquid (approx. 1.74 million gallons)
quenched the thirsts of Oktoberfest visitors. In 1950
Thomas Wimmer, Munich's highly popular Lord
Mayor, founded a ceremony that has become a
worldwide media event: each year the mayor of
Munich personally taps the first keg of Spaten beer
in the Schottenhamel beer tent to open the
Oktoberfest, crowing the deed with the jubilant cry
of 'O'zapft is!' ('It's tapped!'). Incidentally, the skill
that the mayor develops over the years, and the
number of hammer-blows he has to use, play a
large role in his prestige among the Munich
townspeople.
The Oktoberfest has moved with the times. Each
year the roller coaster and the rides offer new
spectacular high-tech attractions; each year people
stand on tables in the beer tents, swaying to the
sounds of the latest Wies'n hit. Yet it has remained
a site of hallowed traditions. The Bavarians - not to
mention many a foreign visitor - display their
colorful local costumes and leather shorts,
listening to music from the brass bands. Even the
traditional riflemen and folk dress parade is the
largest and the most beautiful and historically
significant of its kind in the world.
| Original Gingerbread Hearts $8.00 |
| Best Sellers Beer Stein, 1 liter Beer Stein, 2007 1 liter Gingerbread Heart "Oktoberfest" Alpine Felt Hat T-Shirt |
| Best Sellers Beer Stein, 1 liter Beer Stein, 2007 1 liter Gingerbread Heart "Oktoberfest" Alpine Felt Hat T-Shirt |
Home
About Fest
Oktoberfest History
Opening Ceremony
Entertainment
Event Map
Food Menu
Merchandise
Sponsors
Photos
Press Room
Contact Us
Visitor Info>>
Directions
Parking
Public Transit
Hotels
About Fest
Oktoberfest History
Opening Ceremony
Entertainment
Event Map
Food Menu
Merchandise
Sponsors
Photos
Press Room
Contact Us
Visitor Info>>
Directions
Parking
Public Transit
Hotels
|
The Official
Website for the Most Authentic Oktoberfest West of Munich |
