Oktoberfest – More Than Just Lederhosen And Beer

So what is Oktoberfest exactly? All we know about it in Britain is that it involves lots of people throwing on their lederhosen, lugging down oversized pints of beer and getting drunk enough to consider themselves yodeling experts.

At CasinoEuro, we decided to take a little look beyond our beer goggles to see what it’s all about. Is it something deeper and more profound or is it just an excuse to get lairy and start singing Oom Pah Pah…?

15 Things You Never Knew About Oktoberfest

1. It Should Be Called Septemberfest

Despite its name, Oktoberfest actually starts in September. This year the festival starts as early as September 19 and goes through to October 4. That’s a lot of time to celebrate!

2. It’s A Celebration of Bavarian Traditions

For this reason, you can’t just drink any old beer. You notice that during this time the only beer in the festival is that which is brewed in the city limits of Munich. Not a Munich beer? Not an Oktoberfest beer…

3. Once Upon A Time It Wasn’t All About The Beer

The very first Oktoberfest was held as a celebration in honour of the wedding between Prince Ludwig and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1810. We can only imagine that was one hell of a party.

4. Unlike Christmas, You Can Cancel It!

People often joke about cancelling Christmas but with Oktoberfest this is no joke. In the 200+ years that it has been running, it has been cancelled 24 times. Okay, they had good reasons lik two world wars and a few cholera epidemics, but still…

5. There’s So Much Beer You Could Bathe In It

On Oktoberfest’s 100th birthday a staggering 120,000 litres of beer was poured – which is enough to fill 1,500 bathtubs.

6. To Those In The Know, It’s Actually Called Wiesn

Its full name is Theresenwiese – after the place where it is held and Therese, the Princess that got married. It’s only us tourists and amateurs that refer to it as Oktoberfest.

7. Don’t Start Without The Mayor!

If you start drinking and raising your glass first, you’re out – unless you’re the mayor. Since 1950, the festival starts after an official gun salute. When this goes off, the mayor is said to shout “O’ Zapft is” (‘It’s tapped!’ To us Brits). He then offers the first drink to the Minister-President of the State of Bavaria. Only then can the rest of the mere mortals start.

8. You Should Wear A Hairy Hat

Want people to think you’re rich? Wear a hairy hat. Seriously. It’s tradition. The more tufts of goat hair on your hat, the richer you are thought to be. These days people tend to wear synthetic goat’s hair now, so it’s easier to fake being rich.

9. You Don’t Have To Be Rich, But It Helps

The richer you are the more chance you have of actually having a decent time. With prices for a beer starting at £7, this might not be the best event for anyone on a tight budget.

10. 2011 Was A Bumper Year

The record for people’s beverage consumption was in 2011 when 7.5 million litres were drunk. That must have cost a lot at those prices!

11. It’s Not For The Lightweights

This beer is heavy. It’s not your normal beer and a pint of the specially brewed beverage is about the same strength as eight shots of Schnapps…which means…

12. The Hospitals Get Pretty Full

Every year between 600-800 people get hospitalised for alcohol poisoning! These over-enthusiastic Oktoberfesters are affectionately known by the locals as Bierleichen, or ‘beer corpses’.

13. There’s Wine And Food, Too

It’s not just beer – there’s also a wine tent, but people choosing this tend to be the older folk. There are also 140 food tents if you want to soak up some of the bad stuff…

14. Albert Einstein Once Worked There

Yup! A 22-year-old Einstein worked with his father and uncle providing electricity to the first beer tents, back in 1901. Didn’t kill off many of his brain cells, so it can’t have been too bad.

15. Paris Hilton Is Barred

Einstein once trod where Paris Hilton is banned from treading… they obviously prefer brains to beauty. She once went dressed in a gold shiny Bavarian Drindl and it offended the locals so much that they banned her for life. Party poopers!

So there you have it. Not long and it all begins again. So if you want to follow in the footsteps of Einstein but haven’t brushed up on your theory of relativity just yet, then pop over to Germany and raise a toast with the mayor. Just don’t wear a gold Bavarian Drindl if you do…