Oktoberfest
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The Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late September and early October. It is one of the most famous events in the city and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the Munich event.
The Munich Oktoberfest traditionally takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1990, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3rd (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the 1st Sunday is October 2nd and 18 days when it is October 1st. The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called d’ Wiesn for short.
Beer plays a central role in the fair, with every festival beginning with a keg of beer tapped by the Mayor of Munich who declares O'zapft is! (Bavarian for "It’s tapped!"). A special Oktoberfest beer is brewed for the occasion, which is slightly darker and stronger, in both taste and alcohol. It is served in a one-liter-tankard called Maß. The first mass is served to the Bavarian Prime Minister. Only local Munich breweries are allowed to serve this beer in a Bierzelt, a beer tent which is large enough for thousands.
Visitors also consume large quantities of food, most of it traditional hearty fare such as sausage, hendl (chicken), käsespätzle (cheese noodles), and sauerkraut, along with such Bavarian delicacies as roast ox tails.
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History
The first "Oktoberfest" took place in Munich, on October 12 1810: For the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (namesake of the Theresienwiese festival grounds) organized a great horse race (the marriage took place on October 12; the horse race on October 17 — therefore, there are different dates named as being the first Oktoberfest).
The first hundred years
In the year 1813, the Oktoberfest was called off as Bavaria was involved in the Napoleonic war. In 1816, carnival booths appeared. The main prizes were silver, porcelain, and jewelry. In 1819, The town fathers of Munich took over festival management. They decided that the Oktoberfest should be celebrated every year without exception. Later, it was lengthened and the date pushed forward. The reason being that the end of September in Bavaria often has very good weather. The high temperature in the first week of Oktoberfest nears 30 °C which stimulates the thirst of the visitors. However, today the last week of Oktoberfest is still in October.
To honor the marriage of King Ludwig I and Therese of Bavaria, a parade took place for the first time in 1835. Since 1850, this has become a yearly event and an important component of the Oktoberfest. 8,000 people — mostly from Bavaria — in traditional costumes walk from Maximilian Street, through the center of Munich, to the Oktoberfest. The march is led by the Münchner Kindl.
Since 1850, the statue of Bavaria has watched the Oktoberfest. This worldly Bavarian patron was first sketched by Leo von Klenze in a classic style and Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler romanticised and "Germanised" the draft; it was constructed by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier and Ferdinand von Miller.
In 1853, the Bavarian Ruhmeshalle was finished. In 1854, 3,000 residents of Munich succumbed to an epidemic of cholera, so the festival was cancelled. Also, in the year 1866, there was no Oktoberfest as Bavaria fought in the Austro-Prussian War. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war was the reason for cancellation of the festival. In 1873, the festival was once more cancelled due to a cholera epidemic. In 1880, the electric light illuminated over 400 booths and tents. In 1881, booths selling bratwursts opened. Beer was first served in glass mugs in 1892. At the end of the 19th century, a re-organization took place. Until then, there were games of skittles, large dance floors, and trees for climbing in the beer booths. They wanted more room for guests and musicians. The booths became beer halls.
In 1887, the Entry of the Oktoberfest Staff and Breweries took place for the first time. This event showcases the splendidly decorated horse teams of the breweries and the bands that play in the festival tents. This event always takes place on the first Saturday of the Oktoberfest and symbolises the official prelude to the Oktoberfest celebration
In the year 1910, Oktoberfest celebrated its 100th birthday. 120,000 litres of beer were poured. In 1913, the Bräurosl was founded, which was the largest Oktoberfest beer tent of all time, with room for about 12,000 guests (today, the biggest tent is the Hofbräu-Festhalle, which holds 10,000).
The war years
From 1914 through 1918, World War I prevented the celebration of Oktoberfest. In 1919 and 1920, the two years after the war, Munich celebrated only an "Autumn Fest." In 1923 and 1924, the Oktoberfest was not held due to inflation.
In 1933, the Bavarian white and blue flag was replaced with the standard swastika flag. From 1939 to 1945, due to World War II, no Oktoberfest took place. From 1946 to 1948, after the war, Munich once again celebrated only the "Autumn Fest." The sale of proper Oktoberfest beer was not permitted; the guests had to make do with beer that had an alcohol content under 2%.
Since its beginnings the Oktoberfest has thus been cancelled 24 times due to war, disease and other emergencies. This is a disadvantage to the yearly Oktoberfest, and is not a very common happening.
The modern festival
Since 1950, there has been a traditional festival opening: A twelve gun salute and the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer at 12:00 by the current Mayor of Munich with the cry "O'zapft is!" ("It's tapped!" in the Austro-Bavarian dialect) opens the Oktoberfest. The first mayor to tap the keg was Thomas Wimmer.
By 1960, the Oktoberfest had turned into an enormous world-famous festival. After this foreigners began to picture Germans as wearing the Sennerhut, Lederhosen, and the girls in Dirndl. Horse races ended in 1960.
There are many problems every year with young people, who overestimate their ability to handle large amounts of alcohol. Many pass out due to drunkenness. These especially drunk patrons are often called "Bierleichen" (German for "beercorpses"). They are brought by staff to a medical tent where drunks as well as sick people are treated.
To keep the Oktoberfest, and especially the beer tents, friendly for older people and families, the concept of the "quiet Oktoberfest" was developed in 2005. Until 6:00 PM, the tents only play quiet music, for example traditional wind music. Only after that will Schlager and pop music be played, which has led to more violence in earlier years.[citation needed] The music played in the afternoon is limited to 85 decibels. With these measures, the organizers of the Oktoberfest hope to curb the over-the-top party mentality and preserve the traditional beer tent atmosphere.
Since 2005 the last traveling Enterprise ride of Germany - called Mondlift - is back on the Oktoberfest.
Starting in 2008, a new Bavarian law banning smoking in all enclosed spaces that are open to the public will be in place at the Oktoberfest. This will mean a complete smoking ban inside the tents.
The 1980 pipe bomb incident
A pipe bomb was set off in a dustbin at the showers at the main entrance on September 26 1980 at 10:19 PM. The bomb consisted of an empty fire extinguisher filled with 1.39 kilograms of TNT and mortar shells. Thirteen people were killed, over 200 were injured, 68 seriously. This was the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of Germany after the Munich Massacre. The official inquiries found that a right-wing extremist Gundolf Köhler from Donaueschingen, a social outcast who didn't get away in time and killed himself in the explosion, was the lone perpetrator. However, this account is disputed strongly by various groups.<ref>Daniele Ganser: [http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/newspapers/bund_20_12_2004.pdf Nato-Geheimarmeen und ihr Terror (German)</ref>
Facts and data
Size
The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest People's Fair in the World. In 1999 there were six and a half million visitors<ref>http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-000283.php</ref> to the 42 hectare Theresienwiese. 72% of the people are from Bavaria.<ref>http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/raw/Tourismusamt/oktoberfest/98789/w14_wirtschaftsfaktor_wiesn.html</ref> 15% of visitors come from foreign countries like the surrounding EU-countries and other non-European countries including the United States, Japan, Brazil and Australia.<ref>http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/tourist_office/presse/Press_Releases/142504/octoberfest_economic_factor_2005.html</ref>
Besides the Oktoberfest, there is a second public festival which takes place at the same place in April/May: The Munich Frühlingsfest (Spring Festival).
After the Oktoberfest the next people fairs in size in Germany are the Rheinkirmes in Düsseldorf (called Largest Fair on the Rhine) and the Freimarkt in Bremen (the oldest fair in Germany, held since 1035, and the biggest fair in Northern Germany) with about 4 million visitors per year each, followed by the Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart with about 3 million visitors each year and the "Schützenfest Hannover", the worlds largest marksmen's Fun Fair in Hanover with about 2 million visitors per year.
Dates
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| *Bayerisches Zentral-Landwirtschaftsfest (Bavarian Central Agriculture Festival) |
Oktoberfest numbers
- 12,000 people are employed at the Oktoberfest. Of these, 1600 are waitresses[Barmaids].
- There is seating available for 100,000 people.
- The six Oktoberfest breweries, (Spaten, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu) sold 6.1 million mugs of beer in 2006<ref name=sb2006>http://www.region-muenchen.de/index.php?site=news&news_ID=997 Schlussbilanz 2006</ref> (2005: 6.0 - 2004: 5.5 million).
- Roasted oxen: 102<ref name=sb2006/>
- Sausages: 438,884
- Roast chickens: 459,279
- 60% of visitors arrive by public transport<ref name=sb2006/>.
Refuse and toilets
Nearly 1,000 tons of refuse result annually from the Oktoberfest. The mountains of refuse created are hauled away and the ways cleanly washed down each morning. The cleaning is paid for in part by the city of Munich and in part by the sponsors.
After 2004 the queues for toilets became so long that the police had to regulate the entrance. To keep traffic moving through the restrooms, men headed for the toilets were directed to the "Pissoir" (giant enclosed grate) if they only needed to urinate. The number of toilets was increased in 2005 by 20%. Now approximately 1,800 toilets and urinals are available.
Many Oktoberfest guests visit the quiet stalls in order to use their cell phones. For this reason it was planned in the year 2005 to install a Faraday cage around the toilets and to prevent telephoning with a mobile telephone. However such constructions are not certified in Germany, and so instead signs were placed warning toilet users not to use cell phones in the stalls.
The tents
There are currently fourteen main tents at the Oktoberfest. The tents themselves are non-permanent structures which are constructed for and only used during the festival. The beer (or wine) served in each is in the accompanying table.
| Name | Brewery | Seating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| inside | outside | ||
| Hippodrom | Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu | 3,200 | 1,000 |
| Armbrustschützenzelt | Paulaner | 5,839 | 1,600 |
| Hofbräu-Festzelt | Hofbräu München | 6,896 | 3,622 |
| Hacker-Festzelt | Hacker-Pschorr | 6,900 | 2,400 |
| Schottenhamel | Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu | 6,000 | 4,000 |
| Winzerer Fähndl | Paulaner | 8,450 | 2,450 |
| Schützen-Festhalle | Löwenbräu | 4,442 | 0 |
| Käfers Wiesen Schänke | Paulaner | 1,000 | 1,900 |
| Weinzelt | Nymphenburger Sekt | 1,300 | 600 |
| Paulaner Weißbier | |||
| Löwenbräu-Festhalle | 5,700 | 2,800 | |
| Bräurosl | Hacker-Pschorr | 6,000 | 2,200 |
| Augustiner-Festhalle | Augustiner Bräu | 6,000 | 2,500 |
| Ochsenbraterei | Spaten | 5,900 | 1,500 |
| Fischer Vroni | Augustiner | 2,695 | 700 |
- Hippodrom — One of the smaller tents, it's the first tent that many visitors see at the fest. As well as serving normal Wiesn beer, it has a Sekt (sparkling wine) bar and Maß of Weißbier. Considered one of the trendiest tents, and attracts the occasional celebrity. Traditionally in the evening the Oktoberfest band the Münchner Zwietracht plays all the Oktoberfestclassics.
- Armbrustschützenzelt — Translates as the "Crossbow Shooters Tent", a competition that has been a part of the Oktoberfest since 1895.
- Hofbräu-Festzelt — The counterpart to the famous Hofbräuhaus, this tent is especially popular with Americans, Australians and New Zealanders.
- Hacker-Festzelt — One of the largest tents on the Wiesn, they have a rock band that plays from 5:30 each evening (as opposed to the traditional brass band). This tent is also known as "Himmel der Bayern" (Heaven of Bavarians)
- Schottenhamel — Reckoned to be the most important tent at the Oktoberfest, mainly because it is where it starts. On the first Saturday of the event, no beer is allowed to be served until the mayor of Munich (currently Christian Ude) taps the first keg, at 12pm. Only then can the other tents begin to serve beer. Very popular amongst younger people.
- Winzerer Fähndl — This tent is noted for its huge tower, with a Maß of Paulaner beer sitting atop it.
- Schützen-Festhalle — This is a mid-sized tent. Situated under the Bavaria statue, the current tent was newly built in 2004.
- Käfers Wiesen Schänke — The smallest tent at the Oktoberfest, it is frequented by celebrities, and is known for its especially good food. In contrast to the other tents (which must close by 11pm), it is open until 0:30am, but it can be very difficult to get in.
- Weinzelt — This tent offers a selection of more than 15 wines, as well as Weißbier.
- Löwenbräu-Festhalle — Above the entrance is a 4.50 meter (15 foot) lion who occasionally drinks from his beer. This is overshadowed by another tower where another drinking lion sits.
- Bräurosl (Hacker-Pschorr) — Named after the daughter of the original brewery owner (Pschorr), this tent has the usual brass band and a yodeler.
- Augustiner-Festhalle — Considered by many locals to be the best tent, due to the fact it sells the favourite local brew, Augustiner, from individually tapped wooden kegs rather than stainless steel vats used by the other tents.
- Ochsenbraterei — True to its name, this tent offers a great variety of ox dishes.
- Fischer Vroni — Another of the smaller tents. Fisch is the German word for fish and this tent carries a huge selection in its menu.
Price of a Maß
One of the biggest talking points among citizens of Munich in the lead-up to the Oktoberfest each year is how much a litre of beer will cost. In 2006 the official price range was between €6.95 and €7.50, as opposed to €6.65 and €7.10 the year before. In the past, price hikes have been a contentious issue.
In 2007, the price of a Maß was between €7.30 and €7.90.
Souvenir mugs
Oktoberfest beer mugs (1-litre-Steins, Maßkrug in German) are made from heavy glass and typically have a decorative brewery logo on the side, thus making them very popular souvenirs among visitors. Although it is strictly forbidden to steal the mugs, they can be purchased in the tents at a reasonable price. Buyers are strongly advised to keep the receipts because police are known to search them for stolen mugs even away from the fest area. When police catch someone stealing a mug, the thieves may be fined up to €50. In 2006, 220,000 mugs were retrieved by security forces.<ref name=sb2006/> In addition there is a general Oktoberfest souvenir mug which shows each year's Oktoberfest poster. This one is made of clay instead of glass and is available with a tin lid.
Cultural references
- Oktoberfest is featured prominently in the 2006 movie Beerfest.
- In 2007, an annual event named "Brewfest" started in World of Warcraft, which ran from October 2-16, 2007.
See also
- German beer
- Beer festival
- Carnival
- Stuttgart Beer Festival
- Volksfest
- Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest
- Tatamagouche
- Oktoberfest celebrations
References
External links
- Official Oktoberfest website (German); for English-speaking visitors Modèle:En icon
- Largest Oktoberfest website
- English Oktoberfest Website
- Oktoberfest — Information Portal
- Hippodrom
- Hofbräu Oktoberfest Beertent
- Hacker-Festzelt
- Schottenhamel
- Ochsenbraterei
- Fischer Vroni
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