The world-famous Munich Oktoberfest is visited by more than 6 million people annually.
However, as Deutsche Welle notes, the Munich Oktoberfest is not the only game in town. No less interesting are the Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart, the Wurstmarkt in Bad Dürkheim, and many other fairs held in Germany.
BEER FESTIVALS
In 2017, the Oktoberfest (Münchener Oktoberfest) opens in the Bavarian capital on September 16. Over two and a half weeks, it is usually visited by about 6.5 million people. Its own large and small "Oktoberfests" also await guests in many other German cities. For example, in Hanover (22.09-08.10), Dortmund (29.09-07.10), and Mainz (12.10-29.10).
CANSTATTER VOLKSFEST
Another big beer festival takes place in autumn in the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, on the Cannstatter Wasen. It was first organized almost two centuries ago to mark the end of a natural disaster – the "Year Without a Summer" (1816), when Western Europe experienced prolonged cold weather due to the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Tambora, leading to crop failure and famine.
The first Cannstatter Volksfest took place in 1818. At that time, more than 30,000 people participated. Today, it is among the ten most popular folk festivals in Germany – about 3.7 million visitors. In 2017, the Cannstatter Volksfest is held from September 22 to October 8.
WESTPHALIAN SEND
Next, we head to Münster, where you can celebrate three times – at the end of spring, summer, and autumn. The name of the local folk festival Send comes from the word Synode, meaning synods, to which priests of the local diocese regularly gathered in this Westphalian city. Fairs on the occasion of synods, which became traditional, began to be held in the 11th century.
The autumn Send (Herbstsend) 2017 will take place from October 21 to October 29. The total number of visitors to all three festivals in Münster is about one million people. On the fairgrounds, two and a half hundred rides and stalls are set up, and applications for a spot are submitted about seven times more.
WURSTMARKT IN BAD DÜRKHEIM
The Wurstmarkt, held in the resort town of Bad Dürkheim, is actually not a sausage market, nor a beer festival, but a wine festival. The Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt, first held in 1417, is today considered the largest wine festival in the world. Its number of visitors exceeds 600,000 people, which is 35 times the population of the town.
Of course, it all began many centuries ago with fairs where cows, pigs, and other livestock from all over the Palatinate were sold. Now you can try, for example, more than 80 different Rieslings. The Dürkheim Wurstmarkt traditionally takes place on the second and third weekends of September.
WINE HARVEST FESTIVAL
Just 15 kilometers from Bad Dürkheim, the German Wine Harvest Festival – Deutsches Weinlesefest – takes place in autumn. It is traditionally organized on the first and second weekends of October in the city of Neustadt an der Weinstraße.
The German Wine Harvest Festival is considered the second largest wine festival in the world. In 2017, the procession of Palatinate winemakers alone on Sunday, October 8, is expected to attract more than 100,000 spectators. It first took place here in 1909.
FREIMARKT IN BREMEN
The "Free Market" in Bremen, i.e., the Freimarkt (Bremer Freimarkt), is considered one of the oldest folk festivals in Germany. The market itself first took place in 1035, that is, 980 years ago, after Emperor Conrad II granted the Bremen archbishop the privilege to hold such fairs – a very profitable business. The name Freimarkt began to be used much later – in the 14th century.
For almost seven centuries, it served its original purpose – that is, it was a fair where peasants and merchants brought various goods. The gradual transformation of the Freimarkt into a mass folk festival began in 1818, when the first swings were installed here. Today, it is visited by more than four million people. In 2017, the Bremen Freimarkt is held from October 13 to October 29.
KRAMERMARKT IN OLDENBURG
The "Grocers' Fair" (Kramermarkt) in Oldenburg is among the ten most popular folk festivals in Germany, and locals even call this festival the "Fifth Season." It was first organized at the beginning of the 17th century to sell what local peasants had managed to grow over the summer. In the past, it was mainly small shopkeepers and traveling merchants who came here, hence the name.
Today, about one and a half million people visit this fair annually. In 2008, among them was the current German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Kramermarkt 2017 begins on September 29 and continues until October 8. It will open with a traditional procession in memory of the fair's founder, Anton Günther (1583-1667), Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst.
HAMBURG DOM
The folk festival Hamburg Dom (Hamburger Dom) is held in the Hanseatic city on the Elbe three times a year – at the end of autumn, spring, and summer. It owes its name to the cathedral church that was destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century. In the Middle Ages, small traders, craftsmen, jesters, and healers were allowed to take shelter there from bad weather. One of the bishops tried to expel them, but the parishioners protested.
After the church was demolished, these fairs wandered around Hamburg for a long time, but since 1893 they have always been held on the same square, which became a traditional place of entertainment in this city. The largest of the three festivals takes place at the end of autumn. In 2017, it will open on November 3 and last for a month.
The spring and summer fairs are younger. They were first organized after World War II.
AUTUMN FAIR IN MAGDEBURG
In the city of Magdeburg, the capital of the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt, is the oldest Gothic church in Germany, founded in 1209. Its construction required enormous funds. Partially, they were obtained from fairs held near the church walls twice a year – in spring and autumn. Moreover, the tradition of these fairs themselves is even more ancient here. They have already celebrated their 1000th anniversary!
The autumn fair (Herbstmesse) is now held not near the cathedral, but in the city park of Magdeburg. In 2017, the folk festival will open on September 22 and continue until October 15.
WELL FAIR IN BONN
We will conclude our overview of folk festivals that can be visited in autumn Germany in the former capital of the FRG, Bonn. Every year, the so-called Well Fair – Pützchens Markt – is held here. It recalls a miraculous event a thousand years ago, when during a long drought, residents turned to a monastery in Willich for help, and after the prayer of Abbess Adelheid, a spring gushed forth from the ground.
After Adelheid's death, pilgrims flocked to the grave of the holy nun, for whom merchants began to organize fairs. The first written mention of them dates back to 1367. This year, this five-day fair, celebrating its 650th anniversary, opened on September 8.