O'zapft is! Here's the first beer of the Wiesn at the tapping ceremony
O'zapft is! The "Schott'n" is where the Wiesn kicks off every year. The oldest tent at the Oktoberfest has been in the hands of the Schottenhamel family business since it was founded in 1867.
The speciality: Tapping takes place here
No Oktoberfest without the Schottenhamel-Festhalle, because this is where the Oktoberfest is officially opened every year with the tapping. At 12 noon sharp on the first day of the Oktoberfest, the Lord Mayor of Munich taps the first barrel of beer with as few strokes as possible. "Ozapft is! Here's to a peaceful Wiesn!" Only then are the other tents allowed to start serving beer. Why does the tapping take place in the Schottenhamel? Because the first "official" tapping took place there in 1950, by Thomas Wimmer, the Lord Mayor at the time. Legend has it that he was in a hurry because he had to open a trade fair on the Theresienhöhe shortly before 12 noon, that it was raining cats and dogs and he simply took the shortest route to a tent, and that was the Schottenhamel. Whether it really happened this way is not sufficiently documented.
The history: The oldest Oktoberfest tent
It's hard to believe: in 1867, the forerunner of the Schottenhamel tent was still a small wooden booth with 50 seats; today, the large festival hall alone can accommodate more than 6,000 guests. In the hot summer of 1872, the Schottenhamel family invented Oktoberfest beer.The lager and summer beer reserved for the Wiesn is used up prematurely, so Michael I brings a new beer to the Oktoberfest: Märzen.At 16 per cent original gravity, it is stronger and more expensive, but becomes the classic Wiesn beer.In 1886, the Schottenhamels set up the first canvas tent on the Theresienwiese.
The audience: Meeting place of young Munich locals
Today, around 9,000 people fit into the Schottenhamel festival hall with beer garden.The beer tables and benches are set up unusually and differently to the other beer tents:People don't just sit opposite each other at the classic beer set, but also around the corner.This increases communication and flirting potential! The Schottenhamel is mainly a meeting place for young Munich locals and traditionally many students and student fraternities.
The music: Otto Schwarzfischer band and Südherz
The Schwarzfischer band has been at the Oktoberfest since 1950 and played the first "Prosit der Gemütlichkeit" after the tapping. Conductor Christian Sachs' motto is "traditional and modern" - Bavarian brass band music is played at lunchtime, with the first beer and chicken. From 9 pm every evening, the Wiesn band Südherz gets the tent shaking. Every Wiesn day ends here as an unforgettable party evening.
The menu: from traditional to Bavarian burgers
At Schottenhamel, great importance is attached to regional, sustainable and high-quality food and products. Most of the ingredients are from Geprüfter Qualität Bayern, organic and some are certified organic Bavarian. The menu includes all the Wiesn classics, with the Wiesn chicken being a particular favourite at Schottenhamel. 8 vegetarian dishes, one of which is even vegan, round off the menu. Since 2023, wine, sparkling wine and champagne, coffee and schnapps have also been on offer.
For Gscheidhaferl: Albert Einstein worked here
In 1908, the Schottenhamel family commissioned Gabriel von Seidl to build a beer castle for 8,000 guests.It was the very first Wiesn festival tent to have electric light instead of candles.The technology was supervised by the Augsburg company J. Einstein.At the time, the boss's nephew Albert Einstein, aged 17, also helped out as a holiday jobber. The later inventor of the theory of relativity screwed in numerous light bulbs in the Schottenhamel tent as an assistant electrician.
Reservierung, Sitzplätze, Musik, Bier und Kontakt
- Festival hosts: Christian, Michael F. und Konstantin Schottenhamel
- Adress: Wirtsbudenstr.
- Phone: +49 (0) 89 54469310
- Reservation: https://www.festhalle-schottenhamel.de/de/reservierung/reservierung
- Website: https://festhalle-schottenhamel.de/de
- E-Mail: festhalle@schottenhamel.de
- Seating capacity: 6.288
- Seating capacity outside: 2.742
- Brewery: Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu
- Beer: 5,9 % Alkohol, 13,7 % Stammwürze
- Music: Otto Schwarzfischer, ab 21 Uhr Südherz
- Specials: This is where the tapping takes place: Ozapft is!
