Oktoberfest Fakts

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So we’ve all heard of this wild sixteen day festival, but do we really know the history behind it? What once began as a royal wedding celebration has overtime transformed into millions of beer-drinking, pretzel-eating friends pouring into Munich and places all around the world for the time of their lives.

Below are some fun fakts that the average joe doesn’t know:
• The original purpose was to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig I and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810.
• It began as an organized horserace in Munich, Bavaria (Germany), which included about 40,000 guests (seems minute compared to the roughly 6 million that now attend the event).
• It may be called Oktoberfest, but the event actually starts in September and ends on the first weekend of October. (this year starts September 20th)
• Theresienwiese is the name of the field on which the festival is held in Germany.
• It has been canceled 24 times due to war, disease, and other emergencies.
• Cincinnati, Ohio, which claims to host the “largest authentic Oktoberfest” in the U.S. attracts nearly 500,000 people each year.

Get more fakts here!

Don’t worry if you can’t manage to make it to Germany this year to join the festivities because there are plenty of opportunities to celebrate on a more local level. Visit here for more info, and have fun!

Contributed by: Ashley Hollingsworth