Oktoberfest

posted on 26 September 2011 | posted in Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is a beer festival that usually runs for 16 to 18 days in Bavaria, Munich, Germany.
It runs from late September right up until the first weekend in October. It dates back to around 1810 and is probably one of the largest festivals to be held in Germany and attracts around 5 million visitors.

Only beers that are brewed within Munich's city limits are allowed to be seved at the festival and after passing strict guidelines the beer is then declared Oktoberfest Beer!
Some 7 million litres of beer is consumed during the festival duration along with traditional German foods such as Schweinebraten (roast pork), Würstl (sausages), Sauerkraut (red cabbage) and Schweinshaxe (grilled ham hock).

The History of the Oktoberfest

The history of the festival is believed to stem from Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12th October 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event. The fields have been named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's fields") in honor of the Crown Princess ever since, although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the "Wies'n"

Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.

In 1811 an added feature to the horse races was the first Agricultural Show, designed to boost Bavarian agriculture. The horse races, which were the oldest and - at one time - the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today. But the Agricultural Show is still held every three years during the Oktoberfest on the southern part of the festival grounds.

In the first few decades the choice of amusements was sparse. The first carousel and two swings were set up in 1818. Visitors were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands which grew rapidly in number. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of the breweries.

The remainder of the festival site was taken up by a fun-fair. The range of carousels etc. on offer was already increasing rapidly in the 1870s as the fairground trade continued to grow and develop in Germany.

178th Oktoberfest 2011

Today, the Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world, with an international flavor characteristic of the 21th century: some 6 million visitors from all around the world converge on the Oktoberfest each year.

And since the Oktoberfest is still held on the Theresienwiese, the locals still refer to the event simply as the "Wies'n". So "welcome to the Wies'n" means nothing other than "welcome to the Oktoberfest"!

Oktoberfest is now celebrated in many countries world wide as beer and food festivals. During this period we sell many German, Bavarian and beer wench serving fancy dress costumes.
Two of our most popular Oktoberfest fancy dress costumes at this time of the year are


Beer Girl


The other most popular Oktoberfest fancy dress outfit is the Bavarian serving wench.


Serving Wench


More Oktoberfest fancy dress items will be added to our product range due to this years large numbers of sales and high demand for these types of costume.

If you are attending an Oktoberfest Beer festival, please enjoy and be sure to remember where you can source your fancy dress outfits for the occasion!
 
Share this blog entry: