OKTOBERFEST: The beer, the history...the beer

www.oktoberfest-germany.com Oktoberfest is strong in tradition

Oktoberfest is a 16-day beer festival held every year in Munich, Germany (see map). It is the world’s largest annual fair with 6 million people from all over the world attending. Although called Oktoberfest, this beer festival begins every year on the 3rd Saturday in September and ends 16 days later. Oktoberfest was first held on October 12, 1810 to commemorate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese Saxe-Hildburghausen. It was an elaborate horse race but horse races have not been a part of the festival since 1960. The modern-day Oktoberfest became an annual event in the mid-1800s and the breweries (and beer tents) started organizing the annual festival in 1887. For more information, please visit our website www.oktoberfest-germany.com.

The First 100 Years

Oktoberfest has had a troubled history. The first festival took place in 1810 however it was cancelled in 1812 because of the war between France (under Napoleon) and Bavaria and was again cancelled in 1835 because of a cholera epidemic. A carnival (or modern-day midway) became part of the festival in 1816, parades were added in 1835, and the beer was served in glass steins (or “Mass”) in 1892. Organizers cancelled Oktoberfest during the world wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945). There have been 24 cancellations since 1810 although the festival has gone uninterrupted since 1946. For more information, please visit our website www.oktoberfest-germany.com.

Munich History

Munich’s history has two foundations: monks & beer. Founded in 1158, it was initially a settlement for Benedictine Monks. Granted city status in 1175, it was a fortified city and spent the next hundred years under the control of dukes or bishops. Munich was and remains the capital city of Bavaria - a duchy (with a Duke as head of state) in the middle ages. Present-day Bavaria is Germany’s largest province. Through war and royal squabbles, Bavaria was divided and then reunited in the 16th century. The ducal Wittelsbach dynasty ruled Bavaria from Munich until 1918. The ducal family fled in 1918, revolutionaries declared a soviet-style republic which failed in May 1919. Bombed during the second world war, the city was rebuilt in the post-war period and the city has prospered ever since. The city’s population passed the million mark in 1957. For more information, please visit our website www.oktoberfest-germany.com.

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Spyns is an active travel company offering small group tours to Munich's Oktoberfest festival. For more information about Oktoberfest and our company, please visit www.oktoberfest-germany.com or contact us info@oktoberfest-germany.com or toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. Copyright Spynstours Ltd. 2008-2012.