Lederhosen test. Do the way the Bavarians do: pour beer on to a bench, have four people in lederhosen sit on it and satand up again. Unless the bench sticks to their backsides the beer isn't strong enought!.

Crown Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig 1, married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in 1810.

The festivities, to which all Munich's citizens were invited, were held on a meadow (Wiese) beyond the city gates. This meadow has since become part of the city and is called the "Theresienwiese" in the bride's honor. (This is why the Oktoberfest is known locally as "Wies'n").

The wedding celebration concluded with a horse race, with the royal family in attendance. When it was decided to repeat the race the following year, the tradition of "Oktoberfest" was born.

1815 saw the setting up of the first beer huts, the forerunners of today's marquees. As early as 1835, 100,000 visitors consumed 240,000 "masses" of beer (glass mugs holding 1 liter of beer). Since 1874 the Oktoberfest has been the biggest beer festival in the world. The large Oktoberfest marquees were first used around 1900.

Today over 6 million guests from all over the world come to the Oktoberfest. Only beer brewed in Munich is served at the Oktoberfest, this being the only "authentic Oktoberfest beer".