Oktoberfest at our Haus may still be going strong, but the people of Munich have been recovering from their beer party since the beginning of October!
Munich’s 183rd Oktoberfest ran from September 17- October 3, and what a celebration it was! We have the numbers to prove it.
An estimated 5.6 million people descended upon the festival grounds on Theresienwiese for another year of beer, food, and unparalleled entertainment. To put it in perspective, Theresienwiese covers 76.6 acres. That’s almost the size of Disneyland! Which makes sense since Oktoberfest may rival Walt’s wonderland as the happiest place on earth.
So where does everyone go during Oktoberfest?
The festival grounds boast 14 large tents with seats for up to 10,000 people. There are also 21 smaller tents with room for a few hundred guests. All the tents combined can seat approximately 120,000 revelers!
What goes on in these tents?
Food and brews, of course! The average beer consumed during Oktoberfest is about 6 million liters. This year 6,100,000 liters were served. That’s a lot of beer.
Something that’s almost as coveted as the beer is the vessel it comes in. 96,000 beer steins were confiscated from souvenir hunters!
Other than beer you can only get during Oktoberfest, these tents serve up some of the finest cuisine in Bavaria. In the Ochsenbraterei you’ll find the rotisserie to grill the oxen. This year 109 oxen were part of the feast. The Kalbsbraterei serves up succulent veal-dishes including roast veal from the giant barbecue, a variety of snacks and gourmet goods. 58 calves made this year’s cut.
And then there’s the entertainment.
Oktoberfest is an amazing way to hear the best in Bavarian hits! This year, the most popular was Hulapalu by Andreas Gabalier. Ham kummst by Seiler und Speer was the second favorite jam.
Getting to the fest is very important to those who can’t wait to get their hands on our famous beer.
Escalators in Germany move at 1.6 feet per second. During Oktoberfest the escalators at the main subway station “Theresienwiese” are accelerated to 2.2 feet per second. This way, even more anxious party-goers (about 12,500) can start the party that much sooner.
But the most interesting part about Oktoberfest may be what is left unclaimed at the lost and found office. At the end of this year’s fest, about 2915 items were left without an owner, including:
• 680 pieces of clothing
• 660 wallets
• 580 passports
• 410 (smart) phones
• 250 glasses
• 220 keys
• 90 bags and rucksacks
• 55 umbrellas and canes
• 55 pieces of jewelry and watches and 15 cameras, including a pink one
Those seem like pretty common items to go missing by the end of drinking stint, but we’re wondering how these treasures got left behind:
• One pair of brown and one pair of beige high heels
• A pair of children’s leather pants
• Black cotton trousers
• One pair of jeans
• An iPad
• 2 GoPros
• $557 in cash
• 2 hearing aids
• Two copies of the novel Nie wieder Blondinen complete with a dedication inside
• A doctor’s certificate for work disability during the time of Oktoberfest (Coincidence? We think not.)
• One man claimed to have lost his “old lady”. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be helped at the lost and found office.
We have a couple more numbers for you: there’s only 325 days until Munich’s 2017 Oktoberfest! But we still have six days left to go at Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas. Get to the world’s biggest beer party while you can—we’re counting on you!
Sources:
http://www.germany-insider-facts.com/oktoberfest-munich.html
http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/