Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is a 16- to 18-day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modelled after the Munich event.

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1994, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the first Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. In 2010, the festival lasts exceptionally until the first October Monday, to mark the 200 year jubilee of the event. For the same reason a so called "Historische Wiesn" (historical Oktoberfest) took place, starting one day earlier on the southern part of the festival grounds priced at 4 Euro admittance (per day). A specially brewed beer (which was solely available at the tents of the historical Oktoberfest), horse races and a museum tent gave visitors an impression about how the event felt a century ago. The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called Wiesn for short, which is located near Munich's centre South East of the main train station.

Visitors eat huge amounts of traditional hearty fare such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Schweinshaxe (ham hock), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstl (sausages) along with Brezn (Pretzel), Knödel (potato or bread dumplings), Kasspatzn (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Blaukraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a spiced cheese-butter spread) and Weisswurst (a white sausage).

SOURCE: wikipedia.org