5 minute read
ABC in KMC: O’zapft is!
by Gina Hutchins-Inman, 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Oktoberfest is here! The world’s largest beer festival is currently taking place in the center of Munich for the 190th time this year. The festival takes place from Sep. 20 to Oct. 5 at Theresienwiese, lovingly called “Wies’n” by locals.
Don’t miss the chance to experience this iconic festival that draws millions of visitors from around the globe. While the annual festival enjoys worldwide recognition, it is possible that many are unfamiliar with its history and how it has evolved into the celebrated event we know today. And, you may wonder why it is called Oktoberfest when it starts in September.
The festival originates from Munich with the marriage of Ludwig I, the future king of Bavaria, and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, Oct. 12, 1810, where celebrations lasted five days. Citizens of Munich were invited to attend the royal wedding, participate in festivities, and watch horse races. Crown Prince Ludwigs of Bavaria came from the House of Wittelsbach, was born in Strasbourg, Alsace, but was also the Duke of Zweibrücken, under Bavarian rule at the time. He loved horses and was very proud of the “Zweibrücker” breed.
According to the city of Munich’s website the celebration was so popular it was brought back the following year and included an agriculture fair. Many new additions were made in following years including horse races and food and drink vendors. These vendors eventually moved to beer halls in the 20th century.
Today, Oktoberfest celebrations throughout the world pay homage to the Oktober-fest in Munich. The festival is traditionally a 17 to 18-day celebration, ending on the first Sunday in October. Since 1950, the mayor of Munich has kicked-off the festival by tapping a keg. What might be a surprising fact for visitors is that the large tents are completely newly constructed with fresh timber every year and the building starts in July.
Members planning to attend Oktoberfest celebrations — locally or across the country — should ensure they have a plan for transportation if drinking alcohol. Members are encouraged to use resources available like local cab companies, local tour operators, public transportation, a designated driver, and their immediate supervisor.
Oktoberfest in recent years has yielded 6.7 million visitors, including Germans and other tourists, and roughly two million gallons of beer.
Fun facts:
The festival has taken place since in Munich most years since 1810, only being cancelled in the face of wars, cholera or COVID outbreaks.
It is forbidden to drink any beer other than Munich-brewed beer at Oktoberfest. The beer must have been brewed in the city walls and come from one of six special history breweries. This is designated “Oktoberfestbier” — and all of the breweries are very proud to be making it!
Oktoberfestbier is stronger than normal beer, at around 6 percent. The variety is called Märzen as it is brewed in March and allowed to age so that it is ready to drink by late summer.
Though Oktoberfest is world-famous, it is still predominantly attended by Bavarians. 72 percent of the guests are from Bavaria itself. The largest group of foreigners is Australians, followed by Americans.
Albert Einstein actually worked at Oktoberfest when he was young, putting up beer tents.
More than 6 million people attend Oktoberfest, and the largest tent seats 11,000 people — and that’s just one of the 13 that make up the festival.
Oktoberfest starts with a gun salute on the first Saturday at 12 p.m., followed by the mayor of Munich tapping the first beer keg, with the cry “O’zapft is’!” This literally means “it is tapped!” in the Bavarian dialect. There is also a very spectacular parade with heavy brewery horses leading to the fairgrounds on Saturday.
The “oompah” bands at Oktoberfest are famous for their unusual regional brass instruments, including the Alpenhorn, which was traditionally used as a way to calm down anxious cows around milking times in the Swiss Alps.
The most popular things to eat at Oktoberfest are grilled chicken (“Hendl”), pork knuckles (“Schweinshaxe”), and oxen (“Ochse”). The number of chicken eaten far outweighs the number of sausages and about 500,000 chicken were consumed in 2024.
Oktoberfest is famous for its fairground. It got its first roller coaster in 1908 - the first ever roller coaster in Germany.
The amount of beer drunk at Oktoberfest, about 7 million liters in 2024, could fill more than three Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Servers at Oktoberfest are able to carry 10 Mass (liter glasses of beer) plus the additional weight of the beer itself. Pretty impressive! In addition, they are required to buy themselves in upfront with a special ticket system.
There is a “lost & found” for children! Other items found were wallets, purses, keys, train tickets, canes, underwear and even wigs and dentures!
For more information about Oktoberfest, visit https://www.oktoberfest.de.
