There are things that only happen at the Oktoberfest
Records are regularly broken at the world's biggest folk festival. Some are bizarre, others quite funny and others simply make you shake your head. So if you run out of things to talk about the next time you visit a beer tent, you can simply give a few of the following superlatives.
Drinking with a diploma
Wiesnbier is part of the Oktoberfest. Full stop. While many visitors simply enjoy the strong, drinkable flavour of the beer, there have always been those who put quantity before quality. In 1901, the Hager brothers even had their drinking strength confirmed in writing. In the Lang beer pub, the two men drank ten litres at once and were awarded a diploma for this achievement. Depending on how they left the pub after this beer marathon, this performance would probably get them banned today.
The longest period without Oktoberfest
Bad things have always had to happen to stop the people of Munich from celebrating their Oktoberfest - epidemics and wars, for example. The Oktoberfest took its longest break due to the Second World War between 1939 and 1945. During active hostilities, such a festival was unthinkable, but even after the end of the war, the Theresienwiese was of course not back to normal at Wiesn time. Once the major damage had been repaired and life for most Munich residents had returned to normal, the Wiesn returned after ten years.
Ozapft is! Blow by blow into the fun
Year after year, everyone eagerly awaits the tapping of the first beer barrel - especially the mayor in office.After all, during the traditional tapping everyone watches very closely to see how many strokes the head of the city needs. This act goes back to the then Lord Mayor Thomas Wimmer, who gave the starting signal in 1950. He had to strike 17 times before the beer barrel revealed its precious contents. Former Mayor Christian Ude needed a whole seven strokes at his premiere, which amused many in the town hall. But over the years, Ude perfected his technique to such an extent that he even set a new record: In his ‘best’ year, he only needed two strokes. His successor Dieter Reiter needed four strokes on his debut. Not bad for a start. In the years that followed, he also managed the tapping with just two strokes. After the coronavirus break, he also only needed three strokes in 2022.
Facts, figures and curiosities about the Wiesn
The year with the most visitors to date was the 18-day XXL-Wiesn in 2023, when 7.3 million guests paid a visit to the Oktoberfest.Unfortunately, theft is also part of the Oktoberfest, but in some cases attentive police officers are able to intervene in time.In 2011, for example, security personnel confiscated an incredible 226,000 stolen beer mugs.The found objects that are handed in and stored in the Wiesn lost property office are sometimes worth a laugh.Lost items include dentures, a live leafhopper in a container, wedding rings and a toilet brush.Incidentally, clothing, purses and mobile phones lead the lost property statistics every year.
