The History Of Oktoberfest
By Jane Roseen, Tue Jan 10th
The first Oktoberfest was held on Ocotber 12, 1810, in Munich tocelebrate the wedding of Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria and PrincessMaria Teresa of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munichwere invited to attend the festivities held on the fields infront of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event. Thefields have been named Theresienwiese - Theresa's fields - inhonor of the Crown Princess ever since, although the locals havesince abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n". Horse racesin the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of theevent that was celebrated as a festival for the whole ofBavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in thesubsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.The festival was dedicated to the fall harvest and to theRegions most famous product, beer. Tradesman and merchants camethroughout Germany to join in the merry-making. They examinedthe crops, sang songs, danced and sampled the first beer of theseason. The celebration was such a success that Ludwig issued aroyal Decree making October festival time in Munich. The horseraces, which were the oldest and - at one time - the mostpopular event of the festival are no longer held today. But theAgricultural Show is still held every three years during theOktoberfest on the southern part of the festival grounds.
In the first few decades the choice of amusements was sparse.The first carousel and two swings were set up in 1818. Visitorswere able to quench their thirst at small beer stands which grewrapidly in number. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by thefirst beer tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords withthe backing of the breweries.
Oktoberfest Today
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Oktoberfest 2005 celebrates it's 172nd year. Oktoberfest is thelargest festival in the world, with 6 million visitors fromaround the world attending the Munich Oktoberfest each year.Each year, these attendees consume more than 5 million liters ofbeer and over 200,000 pork sausages, as well as large quantitiesof traditional hearty fare such as sausage, hendl (chicken) andsauerkraut, along with such Bavarian delicacies as roast oxtails.
Only six Munich breweries are allowed to serve beer atOktoberfest - Löwenbräu, Spaten, Augustiner (pictured right),Hofbräu, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr. Each Bierzelte (beer"tents") hold some 3,000-10,000 people. There are currently 14main tents at the Oktoberfest. A special Oktoberfest beer isbrewed for the occasion which is slightly darker and stronger,in both taste and alcohol.
The festivities are accompanied by a program of events,including the Grand Entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords andBreweries, the Costume and Riflemen's Procession, and a concertinvolving all the brass bands represented at the "Wies'n".
And since the Oktoberfest is still held on the Theresienwiese,the locals still refer to the event simply as the "Wies'n". So"welcome to the Wies'n" means nothing other than "Welcome to theOktoberfest"!
About the author:Jane S. Roseen became the sole Owner and President of HarmonySweets in 2005. Since then she has taken a small, successfulonline gourmet chocolate shop and made it a name recognizedworld-wide. Harmony Sweets' original mission focused onindividual consumers purchasing gourmet chocolates from aroundthe world for their friends and relatives. Roseen expanded thatmission to include corporate gift-giving.
Website: http://www.harmonysweets.com
