THE German city of Munich plays host Oktoberfest, a two-week beer-drinking extravaganza which starts on Saturday, when Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter will tap the first barrel to declare the “Wiesn” – as the Munich people call it – officially open.
The beer festival has grown in reputation over recent years and is now renowned around the world as one of the biggest and best of its kind.
Oktoberfest is now officially Bavaria’s biggest event, which comes at the end of a summer which has seen hundreds of smaller festival events taking place all across the region.
ORIGIN
IN 2010, Munich celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Oktoberfest celebrations. The first street party was held when King Ludwig I married to Princess Therese in October 1810, with the citizens of Munich invited to attend the festival held on the fields beside the city gates.
The horse races held that day proved popular and organisers decided to continue to hold the races at the same time on the following years on the Theresienwiese – the meadow named in honour of the princess. An agricultural show was added and Oktoberfest was born.
As the years went on more carnival stalls and amusements appeared, as well as a renowned beer selection. In 1910, as the festival celebrated its 100th anniversary, it was estimated that 120,000 litres of beer were consumed.
The face of the festival continued to change from then on. In 1960 the last of the horse races were held and more and more people from around the world became aware of the Bavarian celebration. In 2013 it was estimated that 6.4 million people passed through the gates of the Oktoberfest site, consuming more than 6.7 million litres of beer.
In the 205 years of its history, Oktoberfest has failed to be celebrated 24 times, mainly due to war and the outbreak of disease.
THE PRESENT-DAY FESTIVAL
HELD on the traditional Oktoberfest ground in Munich, the festival has tried to retain its traditions, despite the ever growing number of revellers.
The tents which house the thousands are built newly each year and take months to erect, with the fun rides and rollercoasters the last thing to be added to the vast park.
There are currently 12 large tents, some of which can seat up to 12,000 people, and 20 smaller tents with an average capacity of about 300.
Visitors eat huge amounts of hearty fare such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Haxn (knuckle of pork), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Wurstl (sausages) along with Brezn (pretzels), Knoedeln (potato or bread dumplings), Kaasspotzn (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Rotkraut (red cabbage) anf other Bavarian traditional food such as Obatzda (a fatty, spiced cheese-butter concoction) and Weisswurst (white sausage).
Around the world simultaneous celebrations will be taking place.
In the Brazilian city of Blumenau, around 700,000 people attend the annual Oktoberfest event, while in the Canadian twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, Oktoberfest has been known to attract up to 1,000,000 visitors.
FESTIVALS IN BAVARIA
FOR those who are not to keen on the hustle and bustle of the tourist-magnet Munich festival, there are a series of events all over Bavaria throughout the summer.
In Erlangen in northern Bavaria, a series of beer gardens along the hill brings visitors from all over for a two-week festival in late May. This festival dates back to 1755, when the brewers used to store their beer in cellars underneath the hill.
While the Erlangen festival is one of the best-known outside Munich, there are hundreds of other events in towns from Garmisch-Partenkirchen near the Austrian border to Kulmbach in Upper Franconia in the very north of the state.
JOCKTOBERFEST
SCOTLAND’S very own Jocktoberfest kicked off in Inverness earlier this month.
The two-day music and beer showcase is a gem in the summer calendar.
If you are hoping to get a taste of the German experience in Scotland, there will be pop-up Oktoberfest events next month. A 2,500-capacity tent will travel around Scotland, visiting Glasgow Green, Beach Links in Aberdeen, Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens and Dundee’s City Square.
It will be in in Edinburgh, October 7-11; Glasgow, October 21-25; Aberdeen, October 28 to November 1; and Dundee, November 4-8.