Munich's Oktoberfest is not only millions of liters of beer and mountains of delicious Bavarian food
Deutsche Welle reminds that in 2018 the famous beer festival opens on September 22 and will last until October 7
1. To warm up, let's start with the fact that Oktoberfest in Munich is the largest not only beer festival but also folk festival in the world. Who would doubt it.
2. Over two weeks, Oktoberfest is visited by more than six million people. The record still remains 1985, when over seven million visitors came here.
3. The Munich beer festival owes its origin not to the Bavarian national drink, i.e., beer, but to the wedding of the future King of Bavaria – Crown Prince Ludwig I and Princess Therese in October 1810.
4. Even the most die-hard Oktoberfest fans are unlikely to know or be able to name without hesitation the full name of the bride, but we will still try: Therese Charlotte Luise Friederike Amalie of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
5. The wedding of Ludwig and Therese was celebrated for a whole week. The festivities ended with a display of chariot races on ancient chariots. The venue for these races was a field on the outskirts of Munich.
6. On October 17, 1810, about 30,000 people gathered on this field – almost the entire population of Munich, which then numbered 40,000 inhabitants. The folk festival on the occasion of the marriage of the Bavarian heir to the throne was a great success. The people were absolutely delighted.
7. The very next day, the groom's father, Bavarian King Maximilian I, ordered the field to be named after the bride Theresienwiese (Therese's Meadow) and supported the idea of holding such races there every year in memory of this joyful event in the dynastic history of the House of Wittelsbach.
8. The following year, 1811, the festival was already celebrated for two days in a row. From year to year, the scale of Oktoberfest increased. It appealed to the people of Munich.
9. In 1818, a carousel was installed for the first time on the Oktoberfest grounds to entertain the public. This was a step in the right direction. Now there are almost 170 different attractions: from a Ferris wheel to roller coasters.
10. Over more than two centuries of its existence, Oktoberfest has been canceled or held very modestly 24 times. It was first canceled in 1813 due to the Napoleonic occupation, in 1873 due to cholera, in 1923 due to hyperinflation, and in 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 due to world wars.
11. The traditions of modern Oktoberfest took shape somewhere at the end of the 19th century. At that time, it was decided to start this two-week festival earlier, in September, covering only the first October weekend – for warmer weather.
12. Chariot races have not been held at Oktoberfest for a long time, but the festival opens with a colorful parade through the city, in which groups in folk costumes and horse-drawn carts loaded with wooden beer barrels participate. This parade is broadcast throughout Germany.
13. In real life, wooden barrels have long been replaced by large metal tanks, and for uninterrupted supply of the largest beer tent, which holds ten thousand visitors, a 250-meter underground pipeline was even laid at Oktoberfest.
14. Through this pipeline, beer cooled to four degrees Celsius is pumped from a huge tank with a volume of 100 thousand liters, installed nearby, outside the Theresienwiese.
15. Beer is delivered to other tents by tanker trucks with a volume of 3 thousand to 12 thousand liters. For one trip from the brewery, such a truck may need up to nine hours to get to the place, make its way through crowds of visitors and pump the strategic cargo into local tanks.
16. In total, almost a dozen and a half large beer tents and more than two dozen smaller pavilions are set up on the Theresienwiese for Oktoberfest.
17. All beer tents and pavilions of Oktoberfest in Munich can simultaneously accommodate almost 120 thousand guests.
18. Although Oktoberfest is considered an international festival, the share of foreign guests is no more than 20 percent. The majority are Bavarians, residents of Munich and the surrounding area.
19. Among foreign visitors, guests from the USA, Great Britain, Austria, France and Switzerland lead. According to the organizers, last year guests from 65 countries of the world visited here.
20. One billion euros – that's approximately how much Oktoberfest visitors spend in Munich over two weeks on beer, roast chicken, sausages, hotels, taxis, public transport, shopping, souvenirs, entertainment, other primary needs and other excesses.
21. About ten years ago, some entrepreneurs wanted to launch a bus shuttle between the Theresienwiese and the largest Munich brothel, but at the last minute the authorities decided not to approve the route, i.e., did not issue a permit.
22. We cannot say anything about prices in brothels, but hotel room rates in Munich during Oktoberfest almost double. Last year they averaged 280 euros per room.
23. On the Oktoberfest grounds, it is forbidden to conduct advertising campaigns and lobbying events. In 2006, Paris Hilton violated this ban. She tried to advertise sparkling wine in aluminum cans, for which she was declared persona non grata at Oktoberfest.
24. Of course, real champagne at Oktoberfest can also be found and drunk if desired (140 euros per bottle, simple sparkling wine – 40 euros), but from glasses, not from aluminum cans. Beer is poured into hefty liter mugs – Maß or Maßkrug.
25. For Oktoberfest in Munich, a special type of beer is brewed, slightly stronger than traditional. One liter mug of such beer, according to local experts, is equivalent to eight shots of schnapps. Shots, however, come in different sizes. We won't check.
26. A record amount of beer was consumed by Oktoberfest guests in 2014 – 7.7 million liters, or an average of 1.2 mugs per person (brother, sister, other family members, and other visitors).
27. In 2018, a liter mug of beer at Oktoberfest will cost between 10.70 and 11.50 euros. In 2002, when the German mark was replaced by the single European currency, a mug cost 6.30-6.80 euros, and in the distant year of 1971, less than three marks.
28. The permitted short pour for a liter mug at Oktoberfest is one hundred milliliters. Consumer rights advocates are trying to fight this generous rule, calculating that over two weeks, visitors pay 5.4 million euros for the short-poured beer.
29. In Germany, they still remember the words of former Bavarian Prime Minister Günther Beckstein, who in 2008 seriously stated that after two liter mugs of beer, slowly drunk over six to seven hours, one could quite safely drive home.
30. Very important information not only for Oktoberfest visitors. In Germany, the limit for drivers is 0.5 per mille. In the event of an accident, a blood alcohol level of 0.3 per mille is an aggravating factor.
31. Almost every second Oktoberfest visitor gets to the Theresienwiese by train – about three million passengers. On city S-Bahn trains alone, 100,000 people per day. Deutsche Bahn's schedule includes about 500 additional trains during this time.
32. Bavarian is a difficult language. When you see the word "Wiesn" everywhere during Oktoberfest, don't be surprised: it's not a typo, but the Bavarian variant of the German word "meadow" (Wiese). "Auf die Wiesn gehen" means "To go to Oktoberfest."
33. A total of about 13,000 people work at the festival – waiters, bartenders, cooks, security guards, ride operators, and so on.
34. Each waiter walks an average of about 10 kilometers per shift. On weekdays, they serve about 100 liter mugs of beer; on weekends, up to 300 mugs. Plus other drinks and various dishes like roast chicken (10-12 euros) and sausages (7-8 euros).
35. Waiters usually carry about 10-12 liter mugs at a time. An empty mug weighs at least 1.3 kilograms (some are heavier) + a liter of beer in each = up to 27.6 kilograms.
36. The champion of lifting and carrying heavy loads among waiters at Oktoberfest has been Oliver Strümpfel for many years. In 2017, he broke his own record. The official jury counted 29 full mugs weighing over 70 kilograms. However, he dropped two along the way.
37. The average earnings of waiters for two weeks of extremely hard work at Oktoberfest is about 5,500 euros, including tips.
38. Since 1956, a Catholic service has been held one morning during Oktoberfest, primarily for those working there. Participants can not only pray but also baptize children, and children can receive their first communion or confirmation.
39. Many employees of companies and rides working at Oktoberfest live here with their families for several weeks. According to the law, during the school year, children must attend classes, which they do. About 40 such students temporarily attend two nearby schools.
40. The German postal company Deutsche Post opens a special post office on the Theresienwiese. Over the two weeks of Oktoberfest, about 130,000 postcards, letters, parcels, and packages are received and processed here. The latter usually contain souvenirs.
41. To reduce waste, Oktoberfest abandoned disposable tableware several years ago, after which waste volumes halved to about 120 tons.
42. A festival visited by six million people needs toilets. In total, there are about 900 urinals and almost 1,000 stall spaces on the Oktoberfest grounds, usable by visitors of all genders.
43. Those who try to relieve themselves in unauthorized places at Oktoberfest face a fine of up to 1,000 (!) euros. If lucky, only 100 euros. The police impose it, and payment must be made immediately.
44. Oktoberfest has its own first aid station. Up to 15 doctors and 150 paramedics from the Red Cross are on duty simultaneously. Over the entire festival, about 2,300 people. Most work on a voluntary basis.
45. In 2017, about 7,000 guests sought medical help during Oktoberfest. Half were helped by paramedics, the other half required doctor's assistance, including emergency surgery in 1,883 cases.
46. A record among medical teams was set in 2017: 28 call-outs per shift and 32 kilometers walked across the Oktoberfest grounds with emergency backpacks and a stretcher.
47. The number of patients with severe alcohol intoxication during Oktoberfest 2017 was 670, including ten adolescents under 16. Most of these patients were able to leave the medical station after one to two hours.
48. Oktoberfest guests who have drunk too much beer are taken to the infirmary on special stretchers, shielded from prying eyes by yellow covers. These stretchers are popularly called "bananas" ("Banane"), "meadow taxis" ("Wiesntaxi"), or "yellow coffins" ("gelber Sarg").
49. Some tipsy visitors, in their joy, shed their clothes, scattering wardrobe items in all directions – until they are in their birthday suits. For such would-be exhibitionists, Oktoberfest has disposable pants ready.
50. Although a mug can be bought as a souvenir at kiosks, some Oktoberfest visitors try to take theirs from the tent for free. About 120,000 to 130,000 times per festival, such attempts are prevented by security guards; in some years, this figure exceeds two hundred thousand.
51. Over two weeks, visitors to Oktoberfest eat about 120 oxen and 60 calves roasted on a spit. Pork sausages – about 350,000, grilled chickens – twice as many, pork knuckles – about 80,000. The numbers change from year to year, but the impressive scale remains.
52. During the last festival, five children and fourteen teenagers got lost, were found and returned to their parents at Oktoberfest. In recent years, the number of such cases has decreased due to the spread of mobile phones.
53. In 2017, more than 4,000 items were handed in to the lost and found office at Oktoberfest, including 1,300 documents, 620 items of clothing, 600 wallets, 520 phones, as well as key rings, umbrellas, bags, cameras, and so on. About 1,000 of them were returned to their owners.
54. Among the unusual items handed in to the Oktoberfest lost and found office in 2017 were two rowing oars, a child car seat, two blood glucose meters, a crutch, two wedding rings, a car license plate, and a tenor horn.
55. Not all residents of the Bavarian capital are thrilled when they hear about Oktoberfest. About 27,000 Munich residents even take vacation specifically to get out of town during this time.
56. The number of tent sites on the Oktoberfest grounds is limited. A license to set up costs two million euros, but you can only get this permission if one of the festival organizers decides to leave Oktoberfest. The waiting time is about 20 years.
57. Oktoberfest is considered officially open after the incumbent Lord Mayor of Munich taps the first 200-liter keg – driving a tap for beer dispensing into it with a special wooden mallet. This ceremony first took place in 1950.
58. The fastest to do this were Christian Ude (2005, 2008, 2013) and Dieter Reiter (2015, 2016) – each with two masterful strikes. The most strikes – 17 or even 19 – to drive in the tap were needed during the first such ceremony in 1950 by Thomas Wimmer.
59. After tapping the keg and filling the first mug, without even waiting for the foam to settle, the Lord Mayor of Munich must announce this to the public by shouting in Bavarian dialect “O’zapft is!” – “It’s tapped!”. One mayor in the 1970s disgraced himself by mixing up the vowels: “I’zapft os!”. This is still remembered.
60. In 1896, a 17-year-old Albert Einstein worked on the Theresienwiese during the preparation for Oktoberfest. The future Nobel laureate screwed in light bulbs here, which were supplied by his father Hermann Einstein’s company, one of the pioneers of electrical engineering in Germany.