Oktoberfest - the Munich beer festival, mid-September to early October, and how it is observed

Oktoberfest is the worlds largest folk festival, held annually in Munich, Bavaria from mid-September to the first Sunday in October.

The one-line summary

Worlds largest folk festival, held annually in Munich from mid-September to the first Sunday in October. Cultural and beer festival with traditional Bavarian food, fairground rides, and beer halls.

Origin

Oktoberfest originated on October 12, 1810, with the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The festivities were held on the fields in front of the city gates, which were later named Theresienwiese ("Thereses Meadow") in honor of the princess.

The wedding celebration included horse races held on the meadow in honor of the bride, a tradition that the citizens of Munich asked to repeat the following year. By 1819 the event had grown into an annual agricultural show, and the city began formalizing the program. Beer halls did not appear until 1896, when beer was actually served on site for the first time — before that, the Wiesn was a parade-and-fair event with vendors only.

The festival has been cancelled in years of major war (1866, 1870, 1914-1918, 1939-1945) and twice for disease — 1854 cholera outbreak and 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Every modern cancellation has been marked by a public observance on the cancelled date, most often a silent minute at the Hofbräuhaus or a reduced ceremony at the Rathaus.

The Wiesn-Anstich: the opening ceremony

The festival officially opens at noon on the first Saturday with the Wiesn-Anstich: the mayor of Munich taps the first keg of Oktoberfest beer using a wooden mallet and must drain it in no more than two strikes. A second strike is permitted; a third is a public failure. The taps are brass, the kegs are oak, and only the six Munich breweries may pour — Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, and Staatliches Hofbräuhaus.

After the Anstich, the mayor walks to the Schottenhamel tent (the largest) and delivers a short speech. The first twelve Maß (one-liter steins) of beer are then carried out and the procession of brewery floats begins. The parade runs through the Wiesn to each of the fourteen large tents. The full ceremony lasts roughly ninety minutes and is the only part of the day televised live on ARD.

The fourteen large and twenty-one small tents

The Oktoberfest features fourteen large and twenty-one small permanent tents, plus a handful of private brewery pavilions. Each large tent seats 5,000 to 10,000 people indoors with picnic-style benches, and every tent has a different character. The Schottenhamel is the largest and most raucous; the Hofbräuhaus tent is the most touristy; the Augustiner is the locals' tent, with wooden rather than aluminum benches; the Hacker-Festzelt hosts the most formal corporate hospitality.

Beer served at Oktoberfest is brewed specifically for the festival under the Reinheitsgebot (German beer purity law of 1516) and must be stronger than the standard Märzen lager sold in stores — typically 5.8 to 6.3 percent ABV. Prices for a Maß (one-liter serving) are negotiated each spring between the city, the tent owners, and the breweries; in 2025 a Maß cost roughly €15.

Food and traditional costume

Bavarian festival cuisine centers on roast chicken (Hendl), pork knuckle (Schweinshaxn), white sausage (Weißwurst) — historically eaten before noon — pretzels (Brezn), and a Camembert spread called Obatzda. Desserts include Kaiserschmarrn (a shredded pancake) and Apfelkiets. Most tents sell food from long counters; the roast chickens alone consume over 500,000 birds per festival.

Traditional dress is encouraged, though not required. Lederhosen (leather shorts, traditionally worn by men for hiking and hunting) and Dirndl(women's bodice-and-skirt dresses) are sold in dedicated shops that open in mid-August and close the day after Oktoberfest ends. The Munich Tourist Board estimates over half of attendees wear some element of tracht (traditional costume).

Music and the Wiesn-Hits

Each large tent runs a brass band that plays from roughly 10 a.m. to closing. The most famous is the Oktoberfest-Stimmung repertoire, dominated by the anthem "Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, die Gemütlichkeit" — a toast song that the band plays every fifteen to thirty minutes, prompting every table to stand and raise their Maß. Each tent has its own anthem and its own band; some are amateur, some are professional ensembles that tour year-round.

The Oide Wiesn (Old Oktoberfest)

Since 2011 a separate historic section of the Wiesn has been open, called the Oide Wiesn. It features nineteenth-century rides (heritage carousels, wooden swings, an old Ferris wheel), historical costumes, and traditional crafts. It is ticketed separately and entrance fees fund Bavarian folk-life preservation. The Oide Wiesn was paused in 2023 due to construction and is scheduled to return in 2026.

Legal status

Oktoberfest is not a German federal public holiday. The first day is a local public holiday in Munich (the Wiesn-Anstich, when the mayor taps the first keg). Most businesses operate normally. The festival is regulated by the Munich city government, which licenses beer halls and enforces crowd and safety regulations.

The festival grounds are technically private land owned by the city of Munich. Visitors must agree to the Wiesn-Schutzverordnung (Wiesn protection ordinance), a binding set of rules including a ban on political displays, a ban on right-wing extremist symbols (instituted in 2018 in response to AfD presence), and restrictions on bag volume to limit overcrowding.

Where it is contested

Oktoberfest is broadly accepted. Discussions center on alcohol-related incidents (the festival is associated with increased hospital admissions in Munich during the period), on housing affordability in Munich neighborhoods, and on commercialization of traditional Bavarian culture. None of these critiques has produced any alteration of the festival.

Sexual harassment campaigns have produced concrete change. In 2016 the "Nein heißt Nein" (No means No) campaign was launched after a wave of groping incidents, and the city has since expanded silent-help points throughout the Wiesn. Beer prices and gentrification are more visible debates — locals increasingly avoid the festival for cost reasons.

In other countries

Oktoberfest is observed in many German cities and worldwide. Notable Oktoberfest-style celebrations are held in Cincinnati, Ohio (largest in the US), Kitchener-Waterloo in Canada (Oktoberfest in September), Blumenau in Brazil, and across the German diaspora. These are cultural and commercial events rather than public holidays.

The Cincinnati Oktoberfest is the largest in the United States (roughly 500,000 visitors). Blumenau, in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, hosts an Oktoberfest modeled on the Munich original that runs for nineteen days and draws roughly 700,000 visitors to a city of 360,000. Germany's other major Volksfests include the Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart (second-largest) and the Hamburger DOM (held three times a year).

Oktoberfest by the numbers

Sources

• Munich Tourism, Oktoberfest: muenchen.de
• Encyclopedia Britannica, Oktoberfest: britannica.com
• Wikipedia, "Oktoberfest": en.wikipedia.org