Keepers of Childhood Keepers by The Compendium Company, LLC
Oktoberfest

Munich, Germany · cultural

Oktoberfest

Sixteen days in Munich, mostly in September — a wedding party that never stopped.

2026: September 19, 2026 · 2027: September 18, 2027

What happened

It began on October 12, 1810 as the public celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria. The citizens of Munich were invited to the fields outside the city gates, and there were horse races. The races are long gone and the dates moved earlier into September for better weather, but the fields are still called the Theresienwiese, after the bride.

Why it stuck

For children it is a fairground with a brass band: the oldest rides in Europe, gingerbread hearts with messages iced on them, and everybody in the same clothes their grandparents wore.

What a family can actually do

Gingerbread hearts with a message piped on. Brass band music while you make them.

Homeschooling

3 questions, with the full history, on clean paper.

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