Articles and Stories

September 24, 2012

Oktoberfest traditionally starts in the third weekend in September and ends the first Sunday of October. This year it will start on September 22nd and end on October 7th.

How Oktoberfest started?

It began as a celebration of a royal wedding held on October 12, 1810.

Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy event. The fields were actually renamed Theresienwiese (“Theresa’s Fields”) to honor the Crown Princess, although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to “Wiesn”.

Horse races attended by the royal family marked the close of the event celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in subsequent years gave rise to the tradition of Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest in USA

This fun festivity is celebrated not only in Germany but in the U.S. as well. Whereas Oktoberfest was celebrated with horse races, carousels, and small beer stands back in Germany, beer is the primary focus of Oktoberfest in the U.S.

Interesting facts

• In 1997, Oktoberfesters consumed more than 5 ½ million liters of beer, about 45,000 liters of wine, and almost 165,000 liters of non-alcoholic beer.
• The local name for Oktoberfest, “Wies’n,” is derived from Theresienwiese, the name of the field on which the festival was first held.
• The festival halls in Munich can seat 94,000 people.
• The beers that the Munich breweries produce specially for Oktoberfest contain 4.5 percent alcohol.
• Cincinnati, Ohio, which claims to hold the “largest authentic Oktoberfest” in the U.S., draws about 500,000 people to its celebration.