History of Oktoberfest: Why Does it Start in September?

Hacker-Pschorr Brewery “Oktoberfest Girl.” Image: Wikipedia

HISTORY OF OKTOBERFEST

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Why does the famous German beer festival start in September if it’s called Oktoberfest? Officially, the beer festival begins on the third Saturday in September and lasts for sixteen to eighteen days, running through early October.

This year, Oktoberfest runs from September 19 to October 4.

What is the backstory of Oktoberfest?

Oktoberfest History

The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to celebrate the royal wedding in Munich — the capital of the old Kingdom of Bavaria — between Ludwig, the Bavarian Crown Prince, and Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, Princess of Saxe-Altenburg. The celebration began on October 12 and lasted until October 17. In subsequent years, the festivities were repeated, lengthened, and moved to September, when the weather was more favorable.

The festivities were initially held for the citizens in the fields before the city gates. The fields were renamed Theresienwiese for the princess, but are often abbreviated to simply die Wiesn. Over the years, the celebration grew to become a celebration of Bavarian agriculture, culture, and cuisine.

Current Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest Bier Tent. Image: Wikipedia

It has been ongoing for over two centuries and has been interrupted only about two dozen times by cholera epidemics, wars, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically, over six million people visit Munich each year and come to one of the 14 large beer tents 0ne one of the other 20 smaller tents, which can accommodate approximately 119,000 people at a time. There are even apps for the event.

In 2024, 6.7 million revelers descended upon the city beginning Sept. 19 to guzzle beer and pump an estimated $1.8 billion into the economy. 

That year, 7 million liters of beer were served. The beer price for Oktoberfest 2024 ranges from 13.60 euros to 15.30 euros. If you were to lay down all the beer drinkers in Munich end-to-end, they’d sleep better afterward.

This is not the only beer festival in Germany, nor is it the only one in Munich. The Munichers have a local one called Starkbierfest.

Throughout the world, wherever there are German immigrants, Oktoberfest is celebrated. Large celebrations routinely occur in Canada, Brazil, Cincinnati, and even Denver, where half a million people gather in the Mile High City.

Oktoberfest Beer Controversy

The festival’s flavor is safeguarded by the city, which permits only beer from Munich breweries that are “established and reputable” and adhere to the 1487 purity law. These breweries use barley, hops, and water that is sourced from a well within the city limits.

Consequently, six breweries have brought all the booze for decades. Even the Prince of Bavaria—whose family invented Oktoberfest — was turned away. Back in the 1980s, Prince Luitpold of Bavaria tried to get his beer into Oktoberfest. However, his brewery initially lay outside town limits. When he offered to bring a portable brewery and brew on festival grounds, the city refused, saying too many other producers would want to do the same.

Judges were unmoved by the fact that Luitpold’s forebears had brewed in the region since 1260, written the purity law, and invented Oktoberfest for his great-great-grandfather King Ludwig I’s 1810 wedding. A Munich court ruled against Luitpold in 1990.

The History Between the Origin and Today

The married Bavarian couple? Their grandson, Ludwig II, was perhaps the most popular King of Bavaria. He was known as the Swan King, the Fairy Tale King, or even the Mad King Ludwig.

Neuschwanstein Castle. Image: Wikimedia

He fairly showered the kingdom with castles in the late 19th century. The most photographed castle in the world, said to have inspired Walt Disney for his Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle. It’s Castle Neuschwanstein near Füssen, Germany.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com

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