On the third Saturday in September in Munich Germany, the keg will be tapped at noon to officially begin Oktoberfest. This historic celebration originated in 1810 as the multiple-day celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig I, and has continued to be celebrated as an autumn festival in this Bavarian city.
History of Oktoberfest in Munich Germany
When the Crown Prince of Bavaria and the Princess of Saxonia, Theresia, were married in Munich on October 12, 1810, a national holiday for Bavaria was declared and the citizens were invited to the five-day wedding festivities celebrated in the fields outside the city gates. This celebration was so popular it became an annual festival in Munich with beer stands set up for town folk to quench their thirst.
Since then, the dates have been changed from the original wedding date in mid-October to September in order to have more favorable weather to celebrate this two-week long outdoor festival.
Contemporary Celebration of Oktoberfest in Munich
The original beer stands gave way to large beer tents in 1896, and are still part of this elaborate and festive German celebration. Fourteen big tents each accommodate thousands of people seated at picnic tables inside and thousands more outside the tents. [A note for non-smokers: An exception made to the strict Bavarian non-smoking law allows smoking in the tents, although some of the tents have non-smoking sections.]
Germany is famous for its beers and its beer brewing purity laws. There are six breweries highlighted at Munich’s Oktoberfest tents. Many revelers arrive at the beer tents in the morning to secure seats for the fun-filled days of drinking, singing, dancing and eating.
The German breweries represented at the Munich Oktoberfest tents are:
- Augustiner
- Paulaner
- Spaten-Franziskaner
- Löwenbräu
- Hacker-Pschorr
- Hofbräu
Celebrate Oktoberfest in Munich Germany
Since Oktoberfest is an extremely popular celebration that brings Germans as well as world-travelers to Munich for this annual autumn festival, it is wise to plan early to secure hotel accommodations and tickets for seating inside the beer tents.
Here are dates for Oktoberfest in Munich through 2012:
- 2010: September 18 - October 3
- 2011: September 17 - October 3
- 2012: September 22 - October 7
Celebrate Oktoberfest in USA
The oldest and most authentic Oktoberfest celebrations in the USA occur at local German-American Clubs that were begun by Germans who migrated to the United States – some of the organizations date back 100 years or more. The local German-American clubs do not widely advertise their Oktoberfest celebration, so a little research may be needed. Most Oktoberfest celebrations in the USA occur in mid-October.
Sources:
Barbara Shema - Barbara Shema is a freelance writer and artist from the USA currently living in Europe to teach English as a foreign language.
