Munich Oktoberfest. Held every year, end of September to early October

Munich City Guide 2008

The Munich Oktoberfest

The Munich Oktoberfest is held at the Theresienwiese. 1996 was a record year. More than 6.9 million people visited the 16 day show, held from September 21st until October 6th. Many people purchase souvenirs to remind them of the wonderful time had a the biggest beer festival in the world, the Oktoberfest.

1.3 million "halbe Hendl" (chicken half's) were sold together with 5.1 million Maß beers. A Maß is 1 litre of beer. More than $660 million was spent in the city during these 2 weeks. Perhaps the 170,000 beer mugs that people tried to steal contributed to the overall cost. A car travelling to Italy was stopped for a routine check had more 200 mugs in the car.

With so many visitors and such a large quantity of the worlds finest beer it is surprising that only 280 people got total drunk and needed some form of assistance.

Included are a montage of photos I took at the Oktoberfest, hoping, you like them enough, to visit Munich for next Oktoberfest festival which always finishes on the first Sunday in October. The Oktoberfest lasts for two weeks. See photographs from the 2002 Oktoberfest

The Munich Oktoberfest runs for two weeks every year in late September to early October. A large number of beer tents, a giant fun fair, side shows, souvenir stands, grilled fish and chicken grills and nearly 7 million visitors make the Munich Oktoberfest the largest festival in the world.	Beer wagon procession The procession of horse drawn beer wagons passes through the city and arrives at the Oktoberfest grounds, called locally the"Wies'n".	The Munich breweries are: Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Hofbräu and Augustiner. All have beer tents at the Oktoberfest. The tents can seat about 8,000 people inside and also have area's outside for many more.
The famous Munich Maß beer . More than 5 million beers were drunk during the festival. There were one or two hangovers the next day. A full Maß weights more than 2Kg (4.4lb) and the Bedienung (waitress) normally carries 8 at a time, sometimes she even carries 12 to a thirsty table. The beer is specially brewed for the 16 day event and is a lot stronger than the normal "helles" (Lager) beer.	On opening day, exactly at midday, a series of 12 exploding rockets fired into the sky, signal the official opening of the Oktoberfest. Traditionally the first barrel is tapped by Munich's mayor to shouts of "ozapft is" (it's tapped). On Sunday the "Costume and Riflemen's Parade" marches through the city. The 7Km long procession has marching bands, beer wagons, traditional folk dress groups. The 7,000 people taking part come from all over Bavaria and from many other European countries.	The atmosphere inside the beer tents, with live Bavarian music and people from all over the world eating and drinking, is to be remembered.
Freshly baked brezen.		The Oktoberfest breze is larger than the normal everyday version, but has a special flavour and taste.
	The Hax'n ( pork knuckle ) at the Munich Oktoberfest is grilled to perfection and a firm favourite with visitors and locals alike.

Beer wagon procession