Oktoberfest facts for kids
The Oktoberfest (also called Wiesn) is a German festival that takes place on the Theresienwiese, a public place in the center of Munich, Bavaria. It is every year, in late September and early October. It is a big social event. There is lots of eating and drinking. It is on for sixteen days ending on the first Sunday in October. If this is the first or the second the festival is extended to the end on 3 October, the Day of German Unity. This is the day when East Germany and West Germany joined into one country again in 1990.
Contents
History
The first Oktoberfest was on 12 October 1810. The feast was for the wedding of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The feast lasted for 5 days. There was music, eating and drinking. At the end of it there was a big horse-race. The next years they had this horse-race and the feast again, because the people had liked it so much.
On 26 September 1980, a right-wing lone wolf terrorist killed 12 people and himself using a bomb.
Today
Today the Oktoberfest is the world's largest fair, and it has become very famous and popular. About six million people visit it every year. Many people and tourists from all over the world come to Munich for Oktoberfest. Other cities have copied the Oktoberfest, and now they also hold feasts that are similar to the Oktoberfest.
One of the famous attractions is a big dipper called the "Wilde Maus" which means "Wild mouse" in English.
The tents
There are 14 main tents at the Oktoberfest.
| Name | Brewery | Seating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| inside | outside | ||
| Hippodrom | Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu | 3,200 | 1,000 |
| Armbrustschützenzelt | Paulaner | 5,839 | 1,600 |
| Hofbräu Festzelt | Hofbräu München | 6,896 | 3,622 |
| Hacker-Festzelt | Hacker-Pschorr | 9,300 | 0 |
| Schottenhamel | Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu | 6,000 | 4,000 |
| Winzerer Fähndl | Paulaner | 8,450 | 2,450 |
| Schützen-Festhalle | Löwenbräu | 4,442 | 0 |
| Käfers Wiesen Schänke | Paulaner | 1,000 | 1,900 |
| Weinzelt | Nymphenburger Sekt | 1,300 | 600 |
| Paulaner Weißbier | |||
| Löwenbräu-Festhalle | 5,700 | 2,800 | |
| Bräurosl | Hacker-Pschorr | 6,000 | 2,200 |
| Augustiner-Festhalle | Augustiner Bräu | 6,000 | 2,500 |
| Ochsenbraterei | Spaten | 5,900 | 1,500 |
| Fischer Vroni | Augustiner | 2,695 | 700 |
Images for kids
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Horse race at the Oktoberfest in Munich, 1823
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Portrait of a girl wearing a Dirndl dress
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Bavaria statue above the Theresienwiese
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Gamsbärte at the entry of the Oktoberfest restaurateurs, 2008
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Music entertainment at the Oktoberfest, 2015
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Celebrating 200 years of Oktoberfest in 2010
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Main entrance to the Historical Oktoberfest
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Folk dancers performing at the Historisches Oktoberfest
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Rosa Wiesn in 2016
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Coachmen in costume
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The Hacker-Pschorr Brewery horse team
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Participants in the 2013 costume and riflemen parade
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A waitress with Hacker-Pschorr, one of the traditional beers allowed to be served at Oktoberfest. She wears a Dirndl, a traditional women's dress of Bavaria.
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The Oktoberfest fairground (Theresienwiese) in Munich, aerial view
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Police video surveillance
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The authorities court
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Oktoberfest 2003 seen at night from the Ferris wheel
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Theresienwiese, the closest U-Bahn station to the Oktoberfest
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Construction of the marquees
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Olympia Looping at night
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Gingerbread hearts from Oktoberfest
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Chairoplane at the Oktoberfest, Paulskirche in the back
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"Skater" at night
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See also
In Spanish: Oktoberfest para niños
