Munich's 200th Year of Oktoberfest

It's been 200 years since Bavaria's Crown Prince Ludwig celebrated his royal wedding with a big public bash that was such a hit it became an annual event, what we now know as "Oktoberfest." It's now considered an important part of Bavarian culture.

Munich's Oktoberfest is now in full swing through October 4th. Traditionally the festival lasts 16 days, however this year it will be 17, in celebration of the 200th anniversary. The city has also set up a special area with Oktoberfest history as well as a beer tent serving a special brew, the "Jubilee Beer," for which Munich's six normally competing breweries joined forces in a historic beer truce.

What started as a small local festival two decades ago has become a massive international event featuring about a dozen cavernous beer tents, some seating more than 10,000 singing, inebriated people at a time.

An estimated 6 million visitors attend Oktoberfest each year, consuming about 1.6 million gallons of beer and 500,00 chickens at the festival every year.