Celebrate Oktoberfest in Munich

The Oktoberfest festival is a 200 year long tradition and has become the world’s largest folk even

The “Wies’n”, as the Oktoberfest is lovingly called by Munich residents, is well known as the world’s largest beer festival. There is no other place in the world with such a large consumption of beer in such a short amount of time!

The Oktoberfest festival is a 200 year long tradition and has become the world’s largest folk festival, attracting millions of visitors every year, from all over the world.

The history behind this glorious event has it’s origins in the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I.) and Princess Therese who married on October 12^th, 1810. The wedding celebrations took place on a meadow by the city gates of and included parades, shooting contests, dining and dancing as well as horse races. They were such a great success that the “October Festivities” were repeated the following year and subsequently became a tradition. The festival-site was named after the new Crown Princess “Theresens-Wiese” (Therese’s Meadow). The character of the festival has changed significantly over time from the first event dating back to 1810 to today's event. Currently, the Oktoberfest sparks big commercial interest. Fun attractions, food stands and beer tents are scattered all over the fairground which is overlooked by the famous statue “Bavaria” and people from all over the world come to have fun at this internationally renowned event.

On September the 18th, the 177th Oktoberfest starts with the traditional opening ritual at noon, with the first tap of the barrel by the major of Munich saying the words: “O’zapft is” – (It’s tapped). Most of the local residents proudly wear Lederhosen and Dirndl and every year and new residents are becoming more and more enthusiastic about wearing the traditional Bavarian costumes.

For the 200 year anniversary, a special program of historic shows and traditions will be on offer, such as the “Herzkasperl-Tent” an old Oktoberfest tent –where typical Bavarian folk music, theatre and Bavarian culinary specialties will be able to be enjoyed. Horse-racing will also take place and there’ll be an animal exhibition. For those who want to learn more about the Oktoberfest history we recommend a visit to the special exhibition in the Münchner Stadtmuseum.

The oldest attraction is the “Schichtl”, a classy cabaret theatre. Since 1869, it’s been the main attraction with its (fake) decapitation of a living person. You also shouldn’t miss a visit to one of the big beer tents to enjoy a few cool “Maß” (1l glass of beer) and a “Hendl” (roasted chicken) or any other typical Bavarian dishes. And it's worth taking a ride on the “big wheel” – from the top you will have a stunning view over the city. After a while you will most probably be standing on your bench, clinking your glass with a lot of new friends and singing the popular drinking toast: “Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit – oans, zwoa, drei, g`suffa!”

So book your flight now, find accommodation in Munich and joins us in the celebrations of the Oktoberfest 200 year anniversary!