Oktoberfest Munich Germany

Origin of German Festival & How it is Celebrated in Bavaria Today

Aug 31, 2009

Oktoberfest, a traditional festival originating in Munich Germany in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig I, is an annual autumn celebration in Bavaria.

At noon September 19, 2009 in Munich Germany, the keg will be tapped 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.

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.

The dates for this year's Oktoberfest are September 19 – October 4. At the time of this writing, hotel accommodations were still available.

If travel to Germany is not possible for this year's Oktoberfest, here are dates for the next three years:

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.

The copyright of the article Oktoberfest Munich Germany in European Culinary Travel is owned by Barbara Shema. Permission to republish Oktoberfest Munich Germany in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.