History in the brewing

By Grace Camacho, On-Line Forty-Niner

Thursday, October 15, 1998

The world's biggest beer bash in the city of Munich, Germany, better known as Oktoberfest, has more background than just drinking and eating sausage.

Oktoberfest started in 1810 when Prince Ludwig, later known as King Ludwig I of Bavaria, wanted to celebrate his marriage to Princess Therese Saxony-Hildburghausen of Austria, according to a Wonderland Multimedia Services and Astarte web site.

Forty thousand citizens of Munich attended the celebration which was held on the fields, later known as Theresienwiese in honor of the princess.

The festivities included examining the fall harvest, singing songs, dancing and sampling the first beer of the season. Horse races marked the end of the festivities.

Ludwig's wanted to repeat the horse races the following year and the celebration's big success prompted him to declare every October a time of festival.

In 1811, in addition to the horse races, which were the only events the festival had, came the first agricultural show which is still held today.

In the following years, fair rides, such as carousels and swings, were introduced and beer stands were set up for visitors to relieve their thirst.

" It's a place where people can sample food, meet people, listen to the bands, and drink fresh wonderful beer," said Jutta Birmele, a German language professor at Cal State Long Beach.

Today, Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world and has found its way to many local cities.