Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

Basic introduction

Name explanation

The Munich Oktoberfest (also known as October Festival) ?, Oktoberfest) is a traditional folk festival in Munich. Because the main drink during this festival is beer, and consumption is staggering, the Chinese like to call their festival simply Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is held in many other parts of the world, but the name Oktoberfest has always belonged to this event in Munich.

Festival status

Munich Oktoberfest is one of the three most famous beer festivals in the world, along with London Beer Festival in the UK and Denver Beer Festival in the US. The gorgeous night scene of the Oktoberfest is held in Munich, Germany, from the end of September to the beginning of October every year. It lasts for two weeks. The event is held for 16 days a day until the first Sunday in October.

The venue is a place called Theresienwiese, which in Bavarian dialect is called Wiesen (meaning pasture). With around six million people taking part every year, it is Munich's biggest event of the year.

Historical evolution Collapse edit this paragraph From 1810 to 2014, Oktoberfest has a history of 181 years. During this period, it was suspended for 5 years due to World War I and 7 years due to World War II. Since 1946, the festival has grown in scale and has truly become a grand folk festival.

Origin of Birth

On October 12, 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese Charlotte Louise of Saxony

Gorgeous night view of Oktoberfest

The Lord held a grand wedding. The Crown Prince's father, Joseph, decided to hold a two-day celebration for his son's wedding. In order to show the king's grace to his subjects, during these two days of activities, free meals and drinks were provided to all civilians in four places in Munich. The Kingdom's Horse Guards also held horse racing and shooting competitions on a large lawn southwest of Munich to add to the fun. In order to commemorate this festival, the participating officers and soldiers asked the king to name the lawn after the bride Therese. From then on, the lawn was called "Therese Meadow". [2] Because the celebration left a deep impression on people, it was suggested to hold another national event in 1811. From now on it will be held every year. This is the origin of Dussehra.

Early changes

In 1813, due to Napoleon's invasion, the October Festival was canceled for the first time. After the foreign invasion subsided, the October Festival was restored and its scale continued to expand. In addition to horse racing, In addition to the competition, rock climbing, bowling, swing and other events were also added.

The first carousel was erected at the October Festival in 1818. In addition, other entertainment items for lower-class citizens were also added. For example, the lottery booth attracted many people to participate. The prizes were mostly ceramics, silverware, jewelry, etc.

Since 1819, the Munich city government has taken over the Oktoberfest, and the Oktoberfest has become an annual tradition. In 1850, a 20-meter-high statue of the Bavarian god was unveiled on the Theresa lawn. Three years later, a Roman temple was also built under the statue of the Bavarian god. In the following years, the October Festival was forced to be canceled several times, such as the cholera epidemic in 1854 and 1873, the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, and the German-French War in 1870.

Fixed molding and folding At the end of the 19th century, the Munich October Festival gradually developed into a world-famous folk festival. The time of Dussehra has gradually been extended and moved to September when the weather is sunny and relatively warm. Dussehra has become a festival that only lasts on the last weekend in October.

Since 1880, the city government has issued a license to sell beer on October Festival. In 1881, the first beer brewer settled in October Festival. At night, more than 400 stalls were brightly lit, lighting up the entire festival. night sky. In order to increase seats and join bands, brewers converted small beer halls into large beer tents, and more and more circus and amusement park operators came to cheer for the Oktoberfest.

In 1910, the 100th anniversary of Oktoberfest, people drank a total of 1.2 million liters of beer. The largest beer tent at the time hosted more than 12,000 people at the same time.

Interrupted by the Great War

From 1914 to 1918, the Oktoberfest was interrupted due to the First World War. The post-war economy had not fully recovered, so only one large-scale event was held in 1919 and 1920. The smaller "Autumn Oktoberfest", in 1923-1924 world-wide inflation caused the Oktoberfest to be canceled again. During the Second World War from 1939 to 1945, no Oktoberfest was held. Similarly, from 1946 to 1948 after the war, only a smaller "Autumn Beer Festival" was held. So far, the Oktoberfest has been canceled a total of 24 times since its inception.

Restarting after the war

In 1950, Munich Mayor Thomas Wiemen opened the first barrel of newly brewed beer with a gavel and announced the opening of the Oktoberfest. From then on, this special The opening became an Oktoberfest tradition. The horse racing at Oktoberfest was canceled after the war, and was held only once again in 1960 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Oktoberfest.

The tragic scene in the history of Oktoberfest happened on September 26, 1980. That day, an explosion occurred at the entrance to the Oktoberfest venue, killing 13 people and injuring more than 200 people, 68 of whom were seriously injured. This terrorist attack was the worst in German history.

Special Events

Opening Ceremony

On the opening day of October Festival, a grand opening ceremony and colorful parades organized by major breweries will be held. . The opening ceremony was hosted by the mayor of Munich in a temporary large tent. At 12 noon, amid the sound of a 12-gun salute and music, the mayor used a mallet to knock the brass faucet into a large beer barrel, then unscrewed the faucet and released the beer into a special large beer mug. middle. The mayor drank the first cup, and the famous October Festival officially began.

Costume Parade

The Costume Parade is an event worth seeing. On the first Sunday of the Oktoberfest every year, people from all states in Germany put on unique national costumes, play music, and march through the city center of Munich, finally arriving at the Theresienwiese Oktoberfest. .

People dressed themselves up as well-dressed aristocratic dukes in ancient times, princesses and ladies in silk and satin, and drove classical carriages decorated with flowers. There were also many people who simply wore the clothes worn by farmers for the festival. . Participants ranged from old to young, including housewives, middle school students, and even kindergarten children. The characters played are also colorful, including a shepherd boy in the Alps, a mill owner on the Rhine, a nun in the Cologne church, and an old man in North Prussia.

The audience was also very cooperative. Most of them attended in costumes and wore Bavarian characteristic costumes. The young and handsome Munich guy is wearing sturdy yellow leather pants with brown suspenders and linen stockings, which makes him look even more handsome. The beautiful Munich girl is wearing a soft linen white shirt and an embroidered suspender skirt, which is even more charming.

Beer tent

Called Bierzelten in German, it is much larger and more luxurious than ordinary tents.

In order to attract domestic customers and receive foreign guests visiting Munich, Munich’s eight major breweries set up huge beer marquees on Therese Square before the festival.

There are long wooden tables and benches in each tent. There is also a temporary stage at one end of the marquee, where a folk band plays cheerful folk music. Tents can generally accommodate three to four thousand people. The largest has 7,000 seats.

Each beer shed generally only provides beer from one brewery. In order to highlight its own uniqueness, each brewery strives to build its own beer shed that is distinctive and comfortable. The exterior decoration of the beer shed is unconventional, but most of the interior has the same pattern. Long wooden tables and chairs that can seat 20 people are arranged in rows. In the center of the venue is a high performance stage decorated with flowers and lights. The roof of the beer shed is Decorated with huge silks and woven garlands, some beer tents even have two floors, with the "seating" upstairs. When it was lively, the beer shed was packed with people, the music played on the center stage filled the whole place, and the atmosphere was enthusiastic.

During the Oktoberfest, waitresses in Bavarian national costumes serve drinks to customers in each tent. Although they all look slim, they are extremely strong and can hold 10 large beer glasses with both hands.

Amusement Items

There are many items suitable for family entertainment in the amusement park, such as the big wheel, carousel and other traditional entertainment suitable for all ages. The organizers of the conference arrange some new programs or entertainment projects every year, such as hiring foreign art groups to perform, as well as snake charmers, animal taming and other programs.

In addition, many meaningful exhibitions are also held between various recreational facilities, such as modern electrical appliances exhibitions, fine wheat exhibitions, etc. It is also dotted with a small circus, juggling shop, magic show, etc. Countless unique shops make the entire playground lively. Visitors can buy souvenirs, Bavarian snacks, or participate in games here. You can also win various cute toys.

Night falls, and the colorful and beautiful lights turn the Oktoberfest into a colorful city that never sleeps. There is still an endless stream of tourists, there are still long queues to buy tickets in front of the lively games, the business of various small shops is still booming, cheerful music is still playing in the beer shack, and people are still enjoying themselves.

Specialty Catering

A beer specially brewed for the Oktoberfest is called Wiesenbier. It is darker in color and stronger than ordinary beer. A large one-liter wine glass called a ?Ma? was used. A large tent was set up on site to accommodate 3,000 to 10,000 people. Only local wine merchants in Munich were allowed to provide this kind of wine inside. Drinkers also consumed large amounts of food, mostly traditional home-cooked snacks such as sausages, roasted chicken, pickles and grilled oxtail.

Origin

On October 12, 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese Charlotte Louise of Saxony held a grand wedding. The Crown Prince's father, Joseph, decided to hold a two-day celebration for his son's wedding. In order to show the king's grace to his subjects, during these two days of activities, free meals and drinks were provided to all civilians in four places in Munich. The Kingdom's Horse Guards also held horse racing and shooting competitions on a large lawn southwest of Munich to add to the fun. In order to commemorate this festival, the participating officers and soldiers asked the king to name the lawn after the bride Therese. From then on, the lawn was called "Therese Meadow".

Because that celebration left a deep impression on people, people suggested holding another national event in 1811. From now on it will be held every year. This is the origin of Dussehra. It has a shorter history than other folk festivals in Germany.

Held in Beijing

The Munich Oktoberfest, one of the world’s three major beer festivals, will appear at the Beijing Olympic Park from September 6th to 21st. By then, Beijing residents and tourists can taste pure German beer and experience the authentic Munich style. This is also the first time that the German Oktoberfest has been officially authorized in Beijing.

The reporter learned at the 2013 Munich Oktoberfest Beijing Trip press conference held on the afternoon of the 29th that the nearly 70,000 square meters of space for this Oktoberfest consists of 4 unique beer halls. It consists of Oktoberfest tent, Hofbr?u tent, Sissi tent and Neuschwanstein castle tent. The decorative style of the marquee will fully reflect the characteristics of the Bavarian region of Germany, and the layout of the tent will be completely built in accordance with the German standard beer marquee. The main Oktoberfest marquee will have an area of ??13,000 square meters. ;