Oktoberfest
The Munich Oktoberfest - known by the locals as the "Wiesn" - is the biggest public festival in the world and will be held this year for the 171st time. Each year, the Oktoberfest is attended by around 6 million visitors, who drink around 5 million liters of beer and consume over 200,000 pairs of pork sausages - mostly in the "beer tents" put up by the traditional Munich breweries. Historically, the festival is scheduled to end on the first Sunday in October. .
History
It was October 18th, 1810 when a royal wedding was held uniting Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities which were held on the fields just outside of the city. The fields have been named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's fields") in honor of the Crown Princess ever since, although the locals have abbreviated the name simply to "Wiesn". The event featured, among other amusements, horse races. The decision to repeat the horse races the next year marks the start of what we now call Oktoberfest.
Along with the horse races, the 1811 Oktoberfest also saw the introduction of an Agricultural Show. Although the horse racing, once the most popular event at Oktoberfest, is long since forgotten, once every three years the festival is still the host of the Bavarian Agricultural Show.
For the first few decades the choice of amusements was sparse. The first carousel was set up in 1818. Visitors were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands which grew rapidly in number. The range of carousels and other amusements was increasing rapidly by the1870s as the festival continued to grow and develop. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents and beer halls. The remainder of the festival site was taken up by the fun-fair.
Today, Oktoberfest has become the largest single festival in the world. Over 6 million people from all around the world converge on the fairgrounds every year. And since the festival is still held on Theresienwiese, "Welcome to Wiesn," simply means "Welcome to Oktoberfest."
The Tents and Halls
There are 14 main Tents and Halls at Oktoberfest. The names are all familiar to beer lovers around the world. Hippodrom, Hofbrau, Spatennbrau, Lowenbrau. These famous festhalles will pour approximately 5 million liters of beer in just over two weeks.
1) Hippodrom
2)Armbrustschützen-Festhalle
3) Hofbräu-Festhalle
4) Spatenbräu-Festhalle (Ochsenbraterei)
5) Fischer-Vroni
6) Hackerbräu-Festhalle
7) Augustiner-Festhalle
8) Festhalle Schottenhamel
9) Pschorrbräu-Festhalle (Bräurosl)
10) Schützen-Festhalle
11) Löwenbräu-Festhalle
12)Paulaner-Brauerei-Festhalle (Winzerer Fähndl)
13) Käfer's Wies'nschänke
14) Wein-und Sektzelt, Nymphenburg KG Kollar & Co. (Zum Weinwirt)
Events
Along with a great deal of serious beer drinking, Oktoberfest also offers many traditional and cultural events. Here is an example of what you can experience at Oktoberfest.
Grand Entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries.
This is the official prelude to the opening of the Oktoberfest and involves about 1,000 participants, including the landlords' families in decorated carriages, the magnificent horse-drawn drays of the Munich breweries, waitresses on decorated floats and all the beer tent bands.
Oktoberfest Folklore International
A unique experience under the ornate dome of the Circus Krone building. About 600 selected performers from the Costume Procession play music, dance, sing or demonstrate traditional customs. A wide variety of colorful regional costumes and impressive performances are what give this traditional folklore evening its unmistakable character.
Oktoberfest Costume and Riflemen's Parade
World-famous procession on the first Sunday of the Oktoberfest. The Costume und Riflemen's Procession gives an impressive insight into the fascinating diversity of customs rooted in the heart of Bavaria, in Franconia, Swabia, the states of Germany and in neighboring European countries. A varied succession of regional costume groups, "troops" in historical uniforms, marching bands, riflemen, thoroughbred horses, oxen, cows, goats, the decorated drays of the Munich breweries, floats displaying typical local traditions and historic carriages all pass by in a 7-kilometer-long procession through the streets of the city center. Ribboned trees, harvest garlands, craftsmen's tools from bygone days, harvest produce, dancers decorated with flowers, stars and crowns, trumpeters on horseback, flag-throwers and a host of other performers transform this traditional Munich procession into a brilliant highlight on the first Sunday of the Oktoberfest. About 7,000 performers are involved.