Post date: Sep 17, 2010 12:10:16 PM
Annual beer festival 'Oktoberfest' will celebrate 200-year birthday.
MUNICH, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 16, 2010) REUTERS - Every autumn millions of people from all over the world head to south Germany to celebrate one of their favourite beverages - beer. The annual 'Oktoberfest' in Munich will start on September 18. It's the 200 year anniversary of the beer festival, famous for the huge beer tents and even bigger beer mugs.
On Thursday (September 18) stall and tent owners were still preparing for the start of the festival. Gabriele Weisshaeupl, head of the 'Wiesn' as they call the main party area, told journalist that the birthday of the famous Bavarian party would be all about the past.
"We build in the southern part a wonderful area for time travellers. A time travel back into the 19th century. Here you find the ring, just behind me, for horse races, just as it was, when they celebrated the wedding between Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen Hildburghausen and Crown Prince Ludwig. And there will also be a museum tent, a velodrome, stalls from the 19th century. There is a lot on offer for nostalgic people", Weisshaeupl said.
The first Oktoberfest in 1810 commemorated the marriage of Princess Therese and Crown Prince Ludwig. 1950 was the first year the mayor of Munich Thomas Wimmer opened the festival by tapping the first beer and shout out 'O zapft is' (It's tapped). Today it's a tradition that the mayor gets the honour of tapping the beer.
The Oktoberfest is attracting around six million people every year.