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******
On October
12, 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig,
later to become King Ludwig I, was married
to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the
fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event. The
fields have since taken the name Theresienwiese , or Theresa's fields, in
honor of the Crown Princess, although the locals abbreviate the name to
simply the Wiesn. Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the
close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the
subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.
The festival was continued in 1811 with an added feature of the first
Agricultural Show, designed to boost Bavarian agriculture. Thus started the
tradition which was to become known universally as Oltoberfest. The horse
races, which were the oldest and the most popular event of the festival, are
no longer held today, but the Agricultural Show is still held every three
years during the Oktoberfest on the southern part of the festival grounds.
A carousel and two swings were introduced to the Oktoberfest in 1818.
Visitors were also able to quench their thirst at small beer stands which grew
rapidly in number. The remainder of the festival site was taken up by a
fun-fair. By the 1870s, the range of carousels and other amusements was
increasing rapidly and the fairground trade continued to grow and develop in Germany. In 1896, the beer stands were replaced by the first
beer tents and halls set up by enterprising landlords with the backing of the
breweries.
Oktoberfest 2000 ~ the 167th celebration of the Oktoberfest tradition.
Over 6 million visitors from around the world are expected to converge on the
Theresienwiese this year making Oktoberfest the largest festival in the
world! The locals still refer to Oktoberfest as the "Wiesn", and as
they might say "Wilkommen zum Wiesn" ~ "Welcome to
Oktoberfest!"
A few important events for Oktoberfest 2000 in Germany:
Sept 16, Grand Entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries, the official
prelude to the opening of the Oktoberfest. Parading along
Sonnenstraße-Schwanthalerstraße to the Oktoberfest grounds, the procession
begins at 11
am and includes 1,000
participants featuring the landlords' families in decorated carriages,
magnificent horse-drawn drays of the Munich breweries, beermaids on decorated floats and all the
beer tent bands.
Sept 16, Oktoberfest Folklore International at the Circus Krone building,
Marsstraße 43, beginning at 8 pm. Organized in cooperation with the
Süddeutsche Zeitung, this 2 and 1/2 hour show under the ornate dome of the
Circus Krone building features 600 selected dancers, singers, and musicians
from the Costume Procession
Sept 17, Oktoberfest Costume and Riflemen's Parade from the Maximilianstraße
through the streets of the city center to the Oktoberfest grounds. This
world-famous parade is traditionally the first Sunday parade of Oktoberfest
and begins at 10
am and lasts about and features
a diversity of customs from the German states of Bavaria, Franconia, and Swabia, and from neighboring countries. Also featured are
marchers in historical military uniforms, marching bands, riflemen,
thoroughbred horses, oxen, cows, goats, decorated drays of the Munich
breweries, floats displaying typical local traditions and historic carriages
in a 7-kilometerHope you enjoyed the little history of Oktoberfest. For more
information on Oktoberfest and other German and Austrian festivals, visit the
website of local German folkdance teachers, Herb and Carol Traxler, at
http://www.geocities.com/caroltraxler/events.html.
But, no net surfing can substitute for
experiencing the music, singing, and dancing of Oktoberfest, and it's all
available in our area! Click on my Dance Calendar for class and event
schedules.
long procession through the streets of the city
center. Ribboned trees, harvest garlands, craftsmen's tools from bygone days,
harvest produce, dancers decorated with flowers, stars and crowns, trumpeters
on horseback, flag-throwers and a host of other performers transform this
traditional Munich procession into a brilliant highlight on the first
Sunday of the Oktoberfest.
******
Hope you enjoyed the little history of Oktoberfest. For more information on
Oktoberfest and other German and Austrian festivals, visit the website of
local Germanjdance and cultural groups
In the words to the most popular song of the
festivals --
"Ein prosit, ein prosit, der
gemeutlichkeit!
"Ein prosit, ein prosit , der
gemeutlichkeit!
Ein, zwei, drei, Gsuffa!!!"
See you on the beer hall dance floor!
--fin--
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