The First Oktoberfest Is Held in Munich

On October 17, 1810, a public horse race outside Munich concluded five days of official celebrations for the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The wedding had taken place on October 12. The race was held on a meadow outside the city gates that became known as the Theresienwiese in honor of the bride. The event was not yet a beer festival in the modern sense. Its central attraction was the horse race, and beer tents had not yet become the defining feature of the celebration. The race was repeated in 1811, when an agricultural exhibition was added, establishing the recurring tradition that developed into Munich’s Oktoberfest. During the nineteenth century, entertainment, food, Munich breweries, and large public beer halls gradually transformed the event into a major festival of communal beer culture.