Oktoberfest began with a royal wedding and a horse race, rather than with beer tents. On 12 October 1810, Munich invited the public to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on fields beyond the city walls. The horse race was repeated in 1811, helping establish the event as an annual tradition, and the fields were named Theresienwiese, or “Therese’s Meadow,” that same year.
The festival’s October name remains, although most of it now takes place in September. During the 19th century, its opening was moved earlier so visitors could use the warmer evenings, leaving only the final days in October. Since 1994, Oktoberfest has usually run for 16 days and ends on the first Sunday in October, except when it is extended to 3 October for German Unity Day.
The formal opening still follows a carefully timed ritual. At noon in the Schottenhammel tent, Munich’s mayor taps the first keg and calls, “O’zapft is!”, meaning “It is tapped.” Twelve gunshots from the Ruhmeshalle then tell the other festival hosts that they may begin serving beer. Visitors watch closely to see how many strikes the mayor needs before the beer flows: Christian Ude and Dieter Reiter each achieved the best recorded result of two strokes.
Parades connect the present festival to older public celebrations. The entry parade began in 1887, when festival host Hans Steyrer travelled to the grounds with his staff, a brass band, and a beer cart. Since 1950, the Münchner Kindl has led the procession, followed by the mayor in the Schottenhammel family carriage and brewery wagons. A separate costume and riflemen parade traces back to a 1835 celebration for Ludwig and Therese’s silver wedding anniversary.
Oktoberfest still combines these ceremonies with a fairground, food stalls, games, and rides. For its 200th anniversary in 2010, the festival added the Oide Wiesn, a historical fairground with older-style rides, dark beer based on early 19th-century recipes, and a museum tent.