Popularly known as the ‘Wiesn’ in Munich, the Oktoberfest is currently the biggest ‘Volksfest’ in the world (beer festival and travelling carnival) with around six million visitors. It takes place every year on Munich’s Theresienwiese and dates back to a horse race held on October 17, 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig, later Ludwig I of Bavaria, to Princess Therese of Saxony Hildburghausen five days previously. With 40,000 visitors, the original event was such an enormous success that it was repeated annually from then on, although there have been 24 years in which it was not held due to war or crisis.
From its beginnings, the festival grew in size from one year to the next. The first carousel was set up as early as 1818, and a year later the city of Munich took over the management of the festival. The Bavaria statue was built with the Hall of Fame on the Theresienhöhe from 1850 to 1853: the festival was then held at the foot of the statue and moved to the last two weeks of September due to the better weather. Munich breweries were allowed to sell beer from 1880 onwards, eventually replacing the beer stalls with large halls, and with the festive entry of the innkeepers being introduced in 1887. With the advent of electric light, the festival attracted more and more vendors and amusements. The Oktoberfest already enjoyed an international reputation by the end of the 19th century: on its 100th anniversary in 1910, the largest beer tent, the Bräurosl, accommodated 12,000 guests – more than any today.
The National Socialists also incorporated the Oktoberfest into their propaganda machinery while they were in power. Although he never attended the festival personally, being a strict teetotaler, Hitler himself described the Wiesn as “something sacred to the people of Munich” that should never be interfered with; he later put a stop to plans to rebuild the Theresienwiese. Almost all leading party figures made extensive use of the Oktoberfest for propaganda purposes and enjoyed preferential treatment. The traditional flags in municipal and national colors were replaced with swastika flags as early as 1933, and Jews were banned from employment. This also applied to the majority shareholder of Löwenbräu AG, Hermann Schülein, who eventually emigrated with his family. A pompous parade to mark the 125th anniversary celebrations in 1935 propagated the “fraternization of farmers and townspeople into a people's community”; after the annexation of Austria in 1938, the name was changed to ‘Großdeutsches Volksfest’ (‘Greater German Folk Festival’).
The ‘Wiesn’ was canceled during the war, but after a smaller-scale ‘Autumn Festival’ held from 1946 to 1948, it was officially relaunched as the Oktoberfest in 1949. In 1950 it was opened with the tapping of the first keg of beer by the mayor of Munich – then Thomas Wimmer – and this tradition has been maintained ever since.
In 1980, an explosive device was detonated at the main entrance by right-wing extremist Gundolf Köhler, killing 13 people and injuring over 200, some of them severely . Even though this was the largest terrorist attack in recent German history, to this day it has not been possible to establish all the details. As a counterbalance to the increasing commercialization of the Oktoberfest, the so-called ‘Oide Wiesn’ (‘Old Oktoberfest’) was instituted in 2010 to mark the festival’s 200th anniversary featuring historical rides and alternative entertainment. This has since been held annually, except every fifth year when there is a lack of space due to the Central Agricultural Festival.
