Click on pics, most will supersize.
„It’s Open“. Since today at noon on September 19, 2015, opened by the Lord Mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, the beer runs. Following the good tradition, Mr. Reiter yelled “O’zapft is!” (“It is open!”) to the crowd in the Schottenhamel tent. And then the beer started to flow for 16 days in a row til October 4, 2015. It will be the 182nd festival. There were 24 occasions when it was cancelled due to wars or epidemics.
The spirit of the Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfest is the world’s largest fair held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The 16-day festival runs from late September to the first weekend in October almost 7 million guests from Munich and around the world.
200 years Oktoberfest anniversary.
How Oktoberfest Began.
The first Oktoberfest took place on October 17, 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxony-Hildburghausen.
King Ludwig and Queen Therese Luise.
Ludwig would become King Ludwig I of Bavaria, reigning from 1825 – 1848. Munich’s citizens were invited to partake in the celebration, and the festivities, with horse races, music and dancing, were held on the expansive meadow in front of the city gates.
The festival in its opening year 1810.
Unlike how it started back in the 19th century, why Oktoberfest now begins in September instead of October is for the generally milder weather. From 1819 onwards the citizens of Munich assumed responsibility for the organization of the festival.
The famous horse racing, the last one was in 1960.
The land was renamed Theresienwiese for Therese’s meadow, in honor of the queen. The multi-day festival became an annual event, and Theresienwiese has become the official grounds of Oktoberfest. Since 1850 the statue of Bavaria has watched over the Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfest waitresses in 1928.
Modern history of the Oktoberfest.
In 1885 electric lighting lit up the Oktoberfest for the first time. Since 1892 beer has been served in glass jugs (Mass). In 1913 the „Braurosl“ was build, the largest tent with over 12.000 seats. In 1950 the current traditional opening ceremony of the festival was introduced: „O’zapft is“.
„O’zapft is“, 1st time 1950 with mayor Thomas Wimmer.
On 26.of September 1980, at 22.19 precisely a bomb exploded in a dustbin in a toilet at the main entrance. The bomb was made from a vacuum filled fire extinguisher with 1,39kg of TNT. Thirteen people lost their lives, more than 200 were wounded. this attack was attributed to a right wing extremist, who worked alone and died during the attack.
Short after the bomb exploded in 1980.
While in the modern history of Oktoberfest, the festival has generally run for 16 days — there have been years when it has run longer. If the last day of the festival comes before German Unity Day (Oct. 3rd, which is the anniversary date of German reunification in 1990), the festival will generally run through the national holiday.
Angela Merkel has a beer on German Unity day.
Today, locals call the great meadow wiesn for short and aptly call Oktoberfest, die Wiesn. Theresienwiese’s land area is about 420,000 square m. or about 4.5 million square feet. In the history of Oktoberfest the grounds have also been the site of public concerts and outdoor markets.
Oktoberfest in Munich is still the largest public fair in the world, with almost 7 million visitors. Besides beer tents there are amusement park rides, both the fast and slower varieties, as well as an impressive array of food vendors from the area.
Traditional Bavarian and other German dishes often available at the festival include roast beef, roasted chicken, roast pork, duck, sausages, salads and of course baked goods such as pretzels, cakes, original tarts, and sweet and savory pies. The grounds welcome visitors with a grand arch at the main gates.
Munich marked Oktoberfest’s two hundredth year in 2010 with a special, bicentennial brew in the festival tents to commemorate Oktoberfest’s origins and the original Oktoberfest, with an historical horse race on the festival grounds. As a testament to the festival’s appeal to travelers from abroad, currently about one in six Oktoberfest attendees in Munich are from outside of Germany.
The Welcome Gate to the Wies’n.
Some Oktoberfest FAQ.
From recent years we can predict the visitor traffic for 2015. The chart below may help you making your decision when to visit the fest.
There is no entry fee, but you should be prepared for usual costs, like
a typical evening for one person in 2014 was minimum 45 Euro:
2 beers, or similar drinks @ 10.00 Euro = 20.00 Euro
1 chicken, or similar food @ 15.00 Euro = 15.00 Euro
1 Brez’n (pretzel), or similar food @ 4.50 Euro = 4.50 Euro
2 trips on public transport @ 2.50 Euro = 5.00 Euro
Who said that Oktoberfest is cheap – no way ! Average for „a real fun evening“ and a „long day and/or night“ and some „souvenirs“ and for „two persons“ will be at least 200 euros, and much more, so be prepared.
Oktoberfest beer and snacks are all over Munich.
For obvious reasons, young kids or teenagers stay rarely in the evening. However, if they are 16 years or older, there is no problem at all. However, the German law prohibits to serve strong alcohol to them – beer is OK.
Typical Bavarian „Honoratioren“ = notables.
What to wear to Oktoberfest?
Men:
Checkered Shirt (plain white is also OK)
Leather trousers (with suspenders, without is also OK)
Off-white Slouch socks (pulled down)
Haferl Shoes (black)
No scarf (even if they sell it to you)
Of course, this is theory. Most visitors come in leisure wear. But if you want „Lederhosen“ or a „Dirndl“ get them in a specialized shop or buy on time through ebay. NEW leather trousers are uncomfortable and won’t look good anyway.
Women:
Short-sleeved white blouse
Traditional dress (the Dirndl)
Pinafore
Sheer pantyhose
Elegant low-heeled loafers
The lady’s Dirndl should fit perfectly – it should „show what lady’s have“, the fashion is manufactured for this – this is sexy tradition during the Oktoberfest. On the other hand, no one will harm you if you come in a usual outfit.
Beautiful „hearts“. The blue one reads „Gruss vom Oktoberfest = Greetings from Oktoberfest“,
the pink one reads „Ich Liebe Dich = I Love You“. And – a lovely PROST , that’s Oktoberfest!
If you don’t want to spend big money for an own Dirndl (the lady’s dress), you also can rent one. Get it per mail and send it back (cleaning not necessary), priced from 60euro onwards, from
dresscoded.com. A good solution.
Reserved tables are marked with big signs indicating the name of the reservation, the size of the group, and the date and time when the reservation begins. Usually, reservations are void 30 minutes after the reservation time. You can have morning and evening sessions.
A „reserved“ ticket on the table.
Be prepared to book on time. It is essential to have early enough your reservations made, especially for transport (flights) to and from Munich, for your accommodation, also motor home reservations etc.
Who want’s to refuse giving her a tip ?
How much tip is common?
Tricky. If you’ve got reservations and vouchers, the tip is sometimes included. In this case you do not need to give extra tip, or just if you think the service was extraordinary. If tip is not included, the waitress will tell you what the tip is. In fact, it’s not really a tip – it’s more like a „service fee“. It should be not more than 10 to 15% of the beer or food price. And yes, a bit of extra tip will ensure that the waitress will always serve you in time and in quality.
Voucher for 1/2 a chicken plus TIP-voucher.
Do not wear (supposedly) funny Oktoberfest hats! They will really make you stand out in the crowd as a real „tourist“ who knows nothing about the Oktoberfest.
Ridiculous looking „tourists“ on the Oktoberfest.
Are there any general etiquette tips?
Most importantly, don’t be rude, especially not to the girls. This can get you faster out of a tent than you can say „hey!“. So, you should know your limits and not drink too much.
Be early at the fest, ideally before 4 pm, to catch a nice place.
If you have a formal reservation, be sharply on time. If you come too late, your seats are likely to be occupied.
Thousands of visitors just in one tent.
Do not dance on the tables. Never ever. This is a hard rule. You may dance on the benches for as long as you wish, but do not step on the tables. This might get you removed from the tent really fast. For tables located in the first floor, there may be restrictions to prevent people from falling over the balcony.
And one more of the big tents with thousands of seats.
Do not take a beer stein or glass with you (or anything else that does not belong to you). They are checking bags when you leave. If they find a glass, it is – legally speaking – theft. Should this happen to you, do not make a fuss about it. Usually, they just take the beer stein and let you go, but nothing can stop them from calling the police.
Another tent full of celebrating crowd.
Beer Serving Hours are 10 am to 10:30 pm on weekdays, and 9 am to 10:30 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Just on the opening Saturday they will start beer serving at noon.
„O – ZAPFT IS „, today on September 19, Dieter Reiter, mayor of Munich, opened officially the Oktoberfest 2015.
At 10:30 pm the band will stop playing, the lights will go on, and the waitresses will start to clean the tables around you. Typically you will have left by 10:50 pm. The only exception to this is the Käfer tent which closes at 1 am (last orders at 12:15 am).
The music loves a cool beer as well.
Some Oktoberfest statistics.
182 times is celebrated this year already at the Oktoberfest.
13,000 people are employed at the Oktoberfest.
7,400,000 liters of beer were drunk last year at the Oktoberfest.
6,900,000 visitors and more come every year to celebrate.
42 hectares accepts the Munich Oktoberfest.
Every year they have the „mass krug“ carrying competition. The world record is held by the Bavarian Oliver Struempfel. He carried 27 mugs over 40 meters, total 62 kilogram !!
4,000,000 additional passengers use during the Oktoberfest the Munich transport.
115,000 cubic meters of water were consumed last year.
120,000 pairs of pork sausages are eaten in 2 weeks.
12 000 people work every year at the Oktoberfest which 1,600 waitresses
1.5 seconds needs a experienced bartender to fill a Maßkrug (beer mug).
See the Dirndl Fashion Trends for 2015.
2,750,000 kWh of electricity were consumed last year at the Oktoberfest.
85 calves were in addition to the oxen eaten in the previous year.
220,000 cubic meters of gas were consumed last year.
435 million euros of gifts are purchased just on the Oktoberfest area (about 70 euros average per visitor).
119 whole oxen (each c. 500kg) were roasted and eaten, each around 400 portions.
80.000 portions grilled oxen served.
5 liters of beer per day were formerly monk monastery Ceremony.
1516 was the purity commandment for beer adopted.
3 things belong to beer: barley (malt), hops, water.
115,000 seats are available in total on the Munich Oktoberfest.
59,000 pork knuckles were eaten in the last year.
Almost 60.000 pork knuckles served.
22.30 clock ends in the festival halls, the music (and the serving).
173 vehicles, show and run businesses are at the Oktoberfest.
300 market people sell on the Oktoberfest.
1,300 tonnes of waste (residual waste, leftovers) fell per year to.
510,000 whole chicken were sold last year.
Over 1/2 a million chicken served.
613 different companies are this year at the Munich Oktoberfest.
26 disabled toilets, they are outside the tents.
1410 seats are available in the toilets of the Wiesn.
1 kilometer of linear standing toilets are there.
7.9 million mass beer (1 liter beer jug) went over the counter 2014.
56 barrels on one wagon !
1810 was the first allergen Oktoberfest at the Theresienwiese.
141 restaurant businesses will provide service this year at the fair.
20 rides specifically for children are at this year’s Oktoberfest.
0 tolerance for smokers in the Oktoberfest tents !!
The oxen portions are coming up.
4900 lost property’s, including 1220 pieces of clothing,
1155 ID cards and credit cards, 555 wallets, 420 mobile phones,
280 bags, backpacks and bags, 410 key sets.
From 2005 onwards, to make the Oktoberfest more amenable, the music has
finished at 18.00 and has been limited to 85 decibels.
Tent temporary closed, its FULL !
As a curiosity were found things like a vibrant leaf Grasshopper (8 cm),
a dog, a Viking helmet, a framed sports trousers with autograph,
five rings, a suitcase with music, a megaphone,
a backpack with 2 camping chairs, two crutches, and a set of teeth.
The delivery rate was 21 percent.
The must-have collector’s item.
The hefty mug is emblazoned with the word „Oktoberfest“ in colorful lettering.
The traditionally designed stone mug costs 16 euros ($18) from the Oktoberfest store.
And with any luck, it’ll increase in value with time – as it’s not unheard of that collectors have paid up to 600 euros for historic mugs.
The 2015 Mug.
The world’s most famous folk festival – Oktoberfest – is known for its giant mugs of beer.
But „giant“ applies to quite a lot at the event that runs this year.
This year, the world’s largest haunted house will be introduced to the „Wies’n“ fairgrounds, as will the fastest and highest giant swing on the planet.
The Tower. 
Add to that the biggest transportable skyscraper in the world, The Tower Event Center,
9 floors and 1000sqm floor space, 3 bridges between the 2 towers, over 30 meters high.
And new on the menu this year is beer-flavored ice cream, flower-shaped cotton candy, and diabetes-friendly nuts fried in pear sugar.
Click on pics, most will supersize.
There are Oktoberfest’s all over the world. But only one original – The Wies’n in Munich .
