Germanys passion for Beer
Have a passion for beer, music and festivity (Gemütlichkeit) ? Then Munich’s legendary Oktoberfest is for you! Taking place over two weeks in late September and early October, the Oktoberfest has grown into the world’s largest fair and attracts several millions of visitors from all over the world.Oktoberfest is the world’s largest fair and one of the best festivals in Germany. Every year, over 6 million visitors from all over the world come to Munich to drink beer, eat sausage and join together in song.This year it’s gonna be from September 18th till October 4th.
Munich’s been celebrating Oktoberfest for 200 years now. The celebration commemorates the wedding of Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.In Germany it’s called a Volksfest, which translates roughly as fair or folk-festival. But, really it’s a mixture of beer festival and fun fair with very traditional opening and closing parts, such as the opening procession.
This year’s Oktoberfest in Munich is really about the 21st century and its global and environmental changes.A little more than 1.5 million visitors and residents are expected to revel in Munich for the next two weeks.
The event has some impressive statistics: 14 giant tents with a total seating capacity of 100,000 serve 5.5 million litres of potent ‘March beer’, more than 600,000 fried chickens and 84 heads of cattle. The annual commercial value of the whole thing is estimated at a minimum of 0.7 billion Euro.
German Oktoberfest has evolved over the years into the largest festival in the world with over six million visitors visiting each year. People from all over the world come to partake in the celebration and while the primary events take place in Munich, celebrations can be found in other towns and cities. In the beer tents and wine gardens equipped with the typical folding beer garden tables, bands from Germany, Austria and the United States play the same songs one hears in Munich beer tents on all kinds of occasions.
It takes good nerves and a solid stomach to survive the festival’s 16 days of intensive partying and drinking.
However, the festival is a huge success: Apart from attracting a multitude of visitors, the festivals brand name ‘Oktoberfest’ has been exported all over the world.
Of course, it is always best to get to know the real thing.
