Oktoberfest has been running since last weekend. Oktoberfest? It’s better to say “Wiesn”. And for all of you who want to know what the Gspusi or the Noagerl are all about – here is our Wiesn ABC.
“O’zapft is”! is the cry again at the Munich Oktoberfest. With two powerful taps – as in previous years – Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) tapped the first barrel of beer on Saturday at 12 o’clock sharp. This officially opened the 189th Oktoberfest
For all those who want to improve their Oktoberfest knowledge – here is our Wiesn ABC for the 189th Munich Oktoberfest, which lasts until October 6th:
A for tapping: At exactly 12 o’clock on the first Saturday of the Oktoberfest, the Mayor of Munich taps the first keg in the tapping box in the Schottenhamel tent and calls out: “O’zapft is!”
B like Beer and pretzels: They form a kind of corporate identity for the festival. No Oktoberfest poster comes without pictures of pretzels and beer mugs.
C for Camping: A hotspot during the festival is the campsite in Thalkirchen. Australians in particular live there in tents. The Italians come in campers and like to park close to the festival grounds.
D for Dirndl: Can be found cheaply around the festival grounds. The traditional costume hype began with country-style fashion and has now led to a more upscale style via untraditional mini dirndls. Insiders, however, believe that the splendor of the traditional costume is slowly fading again.
E for food: Carloads of them are eaten every year. Around 800,000 half chickens were consumed at the Oktoberfest in 2023, as well as 177 oxen, as well as tons of roasted almonds and other delicacies.
F for flirting: Flirting is as much a part of the Oktoberfest as pretzels, beer and brass music.
G like Gspusi: If flirting works, you have a girlfriend – for at least one evening.
H like hillIn winter, children go down on sleds, and during Oktoberfest, the hill behind the tents is not exactly youth-friendly. Couples get closer to each other, Oktoberfest guests relieve their bladders or stomachs, and some sleep off their hangovers there. With increased controls, however, more order has been restored here.
I like Italian weekend: The middle of the three Oktoberfest weekends is traditionally considered to be the most visited – and tens of thousands of Italian guests do their part to make this happen.
J for cheers: It erupts when the mayor has tapped the first barrel and the beer finally flows in streams.
Oktoberfest
Celebrities strolling through the Oktoberfest: When Cathy Hummels calls, they all come
Celebrities at the Oktoberfest in Munich
K like beetle tent: This is where the Effenbergs kissed, and when FC Bayern visit the traditional Oktoberfest, the players bring their wives with them. The tent at the end of Bierstraße, named after the Käfer family who run the inn, is classy and the number one celebrity tent.
L like gingerbread heart: Spatzl, Mausi or the simple “Greetings from Oktoberfest” – if you go home from the Wiesn without a gingerbread heart, it’s your own fault.
M for measure: The Maß is feminine and is pronounced with a short a and a sharp s. Anyone who orders “a Maaaß of beer” immediately outs themselves as a Zugroaster. Guests drank 6.5 million Maß in 2023.
N like Noagerl: The unappetizing remainder in the Maß is called Noagerl and divides the world into three types of drinkers: those who forego the last sip, those who drink it, and those who pour it straight into the next Maß.
O for opening hours: Complicated. Guests are allowed onto the festival grounds from 9 a.m. Beer is served at 9 a.m. on weekends and 10 a.m. during the week. Rides open at 10 a.m. Music and beer stop between 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., depending on the tent. The showmen’s business ends between 11:30 p.m. and midnight.
P for Cheers of coziness: It is the Oktoberfest hit par excellence. When it sounds, everyone says: raise your mugs and get drunk.
Q like Quiz: Are you fit for the Oktoberfest? Do you speak Bavarian? Before the festival, all kinds of questionnaires are circulated, but how you perform on the tests has no consequences for your visit to the Oktoberfest.
R for reservation: It is free of charge, but most tents require the purchase of food vouchers, for example for two liters of beer and a chicken. However, reservations on the Internet are traded at astronomical prices, with a table for ten people costing between 3,000 and 6,000 euros.
S for security: The security concept is adjusted every year. Since 2016, bags and backpacks with a volume of more than three liters have been prohibited. The festival grounds are fenced in. Stewards check visitors at the entrances. In addition, a loudspeaker system has been in place for several years to better guide guests in the event of an alarm.
T for terror concerns: They arrived at the Oktoberfest in 2009. The terrorist network Al Qaeda had shown the main entrance to the festival in a threatening video. Bollards and concrete barriers were installed at the time to protect against attacks with cars. At the time, however, people were thinking about car bombs. Today, there are also concerns about trucks without explosives.
U for sales: Who earns how much at the Oktoberfest is a big secret. However, the landlords now have to disclose their turnover to the city. In order to finance the increased costs for security, they are asked to pay a turnover-based rent.
V for drunkenness: Even though those responsible repeatedly emphasize the traditional character of the Oktoberfest, for many it is first and foremost the largest beer festival in the world, which accordingly often ends in complete drunkenness.
W for wine tent: It’s hard to believe, but not everywhere at the Wiesn you can get beer from steins. In the wine tent you drink wine – as the name suggests. But not from a stein. There is also wheat beer.
X like xuffa: Not the most common spelling. But when it’s “oans, zwoa, drei…” at the Oktoberfest, the beer-loving Munich resident can shout “gsuffa” or “xuffa”. In purely grammar terms, “xuffa” (or “gsuffa”) is the past participle of “saufen”. In fact, it is an imperative and calls for you to slam your liter of beer against another and take a deep gulp.
Y like Yokohama and Yangon: The Oktoberfest is an export hit. There is even an Oktoberfest in Yangon in Myanmar and in Yokohama in Japan.
Tattoo: At 10.30 p.m. most of the large tents close: after that there is no more beer. The last hour is spent mainly by the security forces chasing drunks out of the tents.
Sources: dpa / “”,
Read at stern+: The Munich Oktoberfest, long known as the high mass of patriarchal beer bliss, has long been dominated by women. A visit to the site shows: Without feminist power, nothing works at the Wiesn.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
