Me and some friends who hadn’t met up for a long time were recently discussing over the Internet setting up a trip to visit the Oktoberfest in Munich Germany where we would all meet up. First thing that came as a surprise to all of us was that Oktoberfest actually starts in September.
The Oktoberfest is one of the biggest festivals in Europe and attracts people from all over the world – perhaps principally to enjoy the beer which is drunk in vast quantities in marquees erected by the breweries. But why does it start in September?
For the answer to this we need to delve into a bit of history…
The first Oktoberfest was held in the year 1810 in honor of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig’s marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The festivities began on October 12, 1810 and ended on October 17th with a horse race. In the following years, the celebrations were repeated.
The whole festival started to grow and as a consequence started to take longer which meant the end of the festival was getting further and further into October. Not really a problem in itself but the weather was also getting colder and colder.
The decision was therefore taken to nudge the whole thing earlier in the calendar and take advantage of the better weather offered in September.
Because the September nights were warmer, the visitors were able to enjoy the gardens outside the tents and the stroll over “die Wiesen” or the fields much longer without feeling chilly. Historically, the last Oktoberfest weekend was in October and this tradition continues into present times.
The festival starts with a huge procession through the town and the ceremonial opening of the first barrel of beer and finishes 16 days later on the first Sunday of October.
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