Dienstag, 13. November 2012

Oktoberfest



The fabulous Oktoberfest

History of the Oktoberfest
- written by Corinna -

A commoner sergeant who was a member of the Bavarian national guard proposed the idea to celebrate the big wedding of Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Sachen-Hildburghausen with a big horse race. Andreas von Dall’Armi, a financier and cavalry major conveyed this suggestion to king Max 1. Joseph of Bavaria. His reaction was excitement.
The wedding of the two passed on October 12th 1810 and the horse race followed 5 days later to honor the royal bridal couple. The race took place on the Theresienwiese, a large lawn in Munich, which was called after the bride Therese and this is also the reason why the Oktoberfest is often just called “Wiesn”.This event inspired everyone so much that one year later the “agricultural association of Bavaria” hosted another horse race and festival. This tradition continued the following years though the Oktoberfest was cancelled in 1813 because of the Napoleonic wars.
After this the Oktoberfest continued as a privately financed event until 1819 when the city Munich decided to convert it into a yearly city festival. The reaction of this declaration was that more and more booths opened which made the Oktoberfest bigger. 1850 the Statue “Bavaria” was dedicated as the guardian of the Oktoberfest. In the renewal years the Oktoberfest was cancelled again because of some wars and cholera. 

1881 the first “Hendlbraterei” (=chicken grill) opened which is meanwhile an important part of the traditional Oktoberfest food. To celebrate the 100th anniversary, the biggest tent “the Bräurosl” with 12.000 seating places served 12.000 hectoliter beer in 1910. The tradition with the horse race was only carried out on the 150th and 200th jubilee. The last jubilee mentioned was in 2010.
The most important fact about the Oktoberfest is that in 1950 Thomas Wimmer (lord mayor of Munich) tapped the first beer barrel in the “Schottenhamel” tent and this tradition of the lord mayor tapping the first beer of the Oktoberfest was continued until now.
Usually he has to do it with the words: “O’zapft is” (Bavarian slang for: it was tapped and meant is the beer barrel).


The “Dirndl” with the pinafore and the leather pants - A long tradition
- written by Corinna -




A dirndl is a very well-known dress from Bavaria and Austria. The definition is a diminishment of the word “Dirn” (=young woman). Formerly a young woman was called like that. Subsequently a Dirn was more of a maidservant or a menial who worked in the agricultural sector. In today’s world everyone is allowed to wear the dirndl and it is worn a lot especially on folk festivals and of course on the Oktoberfest.
The dirndl is a combination of a tight blouse with a very angular décolleté which pushes the breasts up and a long one piece cut dress with a pinafore with a long bow. The hair is usually braided. The secret of the pinafore code is actually a bow code because the spot where the bow is placed tells you if the woman is single or not.

If the bow is tied on the left, you are allowed to flirt with the girl. She is single and eventually searching for a nice man to come around. If it is placed on the right it means that she is already taken. She lives in a stable relationship, is engaged or married. Is the bow tied in the middle up front it implies that the girl is still a virgin. A bow in the middle from the back connotes that the woman is a widow. In regard of the fact that only one variety out of four shows if the woman is available, it is important for men to have a closer look on the bow. Perhaps the idea of the “lothario” came with the dress? Well, anyway, the bow is after the décolleté the most important part of a dirndl.
Males wear leather pants with a checked button-down shirt, knitted socks and a green felt hat with the beard of chamois. This traditional cloth does not have any special meaning like the dirndl.
                             She made her dirndl very glamorous with 
                                               a classy fabric and accessories.
Facts and figures
- written by Pascal -

The Theresienwiese includes 42 hectors thereof are 31 hectors used by the Oktoberfest. 95 gastronomies offer drinks and food. 35 are divided up in 14 big and 21 small tents. The biggest banqueting hall is called “Hofbräuzelt” and has 10,000 seats. It is 82 m long and 62 m wide. It’s the only tent with a standing area. This is very important because you are not allowed to order beer without a reserved table. One table includes 10 people and costs from 250 € up to 600 € and the reservation only lasts for a few hours. The smallest one has 60 seats and is called “Schiebl”. 14,000 employees care about 6 to 7 million visitors who drink 7.5 million “Maß” each year.

Jobs and earnings
- written by Pascal -

As you can imagine there are a lot of different jobs at the Oktoberfest. The most favored ones for women are: “Promilla” walking around with a breathalyzer and testing the alcohol concentration in the breath of the people. As “Flora” you bind flowers and sell them and as “Schatzi” you sell souvenirs. The supreme discipline is the waiter job. You have to work at least 14-16 hours a day. So sleep deprivation will be part of your working period. You have to so serve food and beer. One waiteress is usually responsible for four tables, each with 10 people. A “Maß” weighs 1.2 kg, with beer in it about 2.2 kg. An experienced woman can carry more than ten Maß at one walkabout. It is one of the hardest waiter jobs worldwide but you get 9% commission and 5,000 to 10,000 Euros are possible to earn during these 16 days.




Food and beverages
- written by Pascal -

The typical food for the Oktoberfest is “Weißwurst (veal sausage) & Brezn (pretzel)” and a “Brathendl (roasted chicken)”. In 2011 alone 522,821 Brathendl have been sold.
In each tent only one brand of beer is available. Altogether there are 6 different brands of beer: Paulaner, Spaten-Franziskaner, Löwenbräu, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu und the favorite Augustiner. The “Wiesn” alcohol concentration is with 5.8% to 6.3%  a bit higher than that of ordinary beer so you should be careful not to drink too much. Last year 777 people were brought to hospital with alcohol intoxication.
The beer price has increased by 3.86% last year from 8.70 € - 9.20 € to 9.10 € - 9.50 €. By the way, taking away one of the lovely beer mugs is considered as thievery and will be prosecuted.


 A chinese cooking "Schweins-
haxe" at the Oktoberfest
in Hong Kong
Offshoots in Germany and in foreign countries
- written by Corinna -

According to the example of the Oktoberfest in Munich, folk fests like this aroused in the whole world. The second biggest Oktoberfest in Germany is placed in Hannover with 900.000 guests.
One of the biggest international festivals is the Oktoberfest in Qingdao, China with more than 3 million visitors each year. It is called the “Qindao International Beer Festival” and it serves not only Tsingtao-Beer but they also have a big spectrum of well-known, famous beer brands like Paulaner which even has their own tents placed there. Qindao is not the only city in China with an Oktoberfest, Hong Kong has one as well and a couple of other cities too.
The Oktoberfest in Kitchener, Canada is well visited with 700.000 people yearly and the Oktoberfest in Blumenau, Brasilia gets the third place with 600.000 visitors each year. Bavarian tradition is also administrated in Ohio. The city Cincinnati got over half a million attendees.
Since the last decade the organizers also import waitresses from Germany who can serve a dozen of beer jugs all at the same time and complete Bavarian musician bands.












Sources:
Eingestellt von um

Keine Kommentare:

Kommentar veröffentlichen

Abonnieren Kommentare zum Post (Atom)