Article: Oktoberfest Guide

Share

Sep 11, 2019

Oktoberfest Guide

Soon it will finally be that time again...

The world's largest folk festival opens its doors in Munich on September 21, 2019, for the 186th time. Like every autumn, the Munich Oktoberfest invites you to feast, celebrate, and have fun :)

Since we are big Wiesn fans and are already looking forward to it, we want to give you some interesting facts and important information about the traditional Munich Oktoberfest in this blog.

The origin of Oktoberfest

The history of Munich's great folk festival begins in 1810. In that year, the Bavarian King Ludwig I married his wife Therese. The wedding was held on a large meadow on the outskirts of the city, and all the residents of Munich were invited. This meadow, as one might expect, was named "Theresienwiese" in his wife's honor, and it retains its name to this day, even though many Munich residents now simply refer to it as "Wiesn." At the end of the wedding, a large horse race took place. The decision to hold this exact horse race on the Theresienwiese on the same day in subsequent years was the origin of today's Oktoberfest. This festival has taken place in Munich every year since then (with 24 exceptions) and has grown from the original horse race to the largest folk festival in the world.

Interesting facts about Oktoberfest that will impress you in the beer tent

You (or at least some of your friends) probably didn't know these interesting facts about Oktoberfest:

The term "Wiesn" was added to the online Duden dictionary as a recognized term two years ago. The last printed edition of the book was published in 2017. Therefore, the word "Wiesn" will appear for the very first time in the next edition of the printed Duden dictionary.

Because of the Oktoberfest, the MVG (Munich Transport Company) is setting the escalators at the Theresienwiese subway station to go up faster so that visitors can reach the festival grounds more quickly.

In 1981, the Hofbräu tent had to serve Paulaner beer for a short time because the tent ran out of its entire supply of beer for the day. The proprietor of the large Hofbräu tent had to ask its neighbor, the Paulaner tent, for help.

This is what you need to consider when visiting the Oktoberfest

To ensure you have a pleasant and stress-free day at Oktoberfest, we'll give you some information you should know.

First and foremost, you should download the Oktoberfest app. It gives you all the important information about Oktoberfest. It also gives you a map at the festival that shows you the way to the tent, restrooms, or ATM. The app also features a live barometer, giving you an idea of how full each tent is.

ATM? Yes! There are around 12 ATMs on the Oktoberfest grounds where you can withdraw money if your wallet is empty. However, you should still bring some extra cash, as there are often endless lines in front of these machines, which could quickly dampen your good mood.

The genuine leather HANNAH wallet for women and the JACK wallet for men, both from our Sid&Vain brand, offer plenty of room for your cash and ID. Most importantly, they're compact enough to fit into a small handbag or lederhosen pocket. Please remember that you're only allowed to bring bags and backpacks with a maximum volume of three liters and dimensions of up to 20 x 15 x 10 centimeters. This is for the safety of visitors. If you have a larger bag, you'll have to leave it at the entrance and pay a small fee for storage. So, it's better to just bring a nice little leather shoulder bag , like the BRIGHTON shoulder bag or the KERBY shoulder bag from SID&VAIN. These are sure to get you to the Oktoberfest, and since both are available in both brown and black, they're guaranteed to match your dirndl :)