Oktoberfest - ein Fest der Landeshauptstadt München
Photo: München Tourismus, Jan Saurer

Historical Oktoberfest in the southern part of Theresienwiese

Novelties, tents and showmen at the Oidn Wiesn 2022

The nostalgic "Oide Wiesn" with tents, historic rides and stalls will be back at the Oktoberfest in 2023 from September 16 to October 3. What's on offer on the festival grounds in the southern part of the Theresienwiese.
Calypso Calypso • Photo: Sebastian Lehner

What makes the Oide Wiesn so special: Nostalgic rides for 1 euro

On the southern part of the Theresienwiese is a very special piece of Oktoberfest: the Oide Wiesn. If you take a seat in one of the historic rides and then experience real Bavarian customs in the cozy beer tent, you will get an idea of what the Oktoberfest used to be like.

Three large festival tents (Festzelt Tradition, Herzkasperlzelt and Schützenlisl®) with a customs program and the museum tent are located on the festival grounds. Fans of historic rides will find real showman nostalgia at the Oidn Wiesn. Here, the "Kettenflieger Kalb" from 1919 rotates, the "Dicke Berta" puts muscular strength to the test and the "Fahrt ins Paradies" (Ride to Paradise) over hill and dale or the 50s hit "Calypso" awaken Volksfest memories. Classics such as the ship swing and children's carousel round out the offerings alongside historic throwing and shooting booths - all at family-friendly prices. All rides can be ridden for just one euro. An entrance fee of 4 euros per person (15 years and older) is required to enter the closed area. After 9 p.m., admission is free.

Entry fees and opening times: an overview of the ‘Oide’

  • Grounds: 3.5 hectares in the southernmost part of Theresienwiese
  • Entrance: around 4 euros per person (free entry from 9 p.m. — only via the exits!) Free entry for children up to 14 years of age and 50% off for disabled people with a valid pass; anyone accompanying a person who presents a disabled person’s pass marked with the letter B also has free entry
  • Tickets include free entry to the cultural program at festival tents
  • Rides: 1 Euro
  • Opening hours of festival tents: 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (Bar: 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.)
  • Opening hours for performers:
    On the first day from midday to midnight
    Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.
    Friday, Saturday, and Montag, 2nd of October, from 10 a.m until midnight
    Sunday and on the holiday (3rd of October) from 10 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.
  • History: For the anniversary celebration "200 years of Oktoberfest" in 2010, festival visitors were given a historical insight with the unique Oidn Wiesn. However, the Oide Wiesn was so popular that it was decided to establish it in a slightly different form as a permanent part of the Oktoberfest from 2011. The Oide Wiesn shares its location with the Bavarian Central Agricultural Festival and therefore does not take place every four years.

New at the Oidn Wiesn: The folk singer tent Schützenlisl® of the innkeeper family Stiftl

Since 2022 at the Oidn Wiesn is the folk singer tent Schützenlisl® of the innkeeper family Stiftl. In their tent the tradition of the legendary folk singer greats such as Weiß Ferdl, Bally Prell, Hans Blädel takes up a lot of space. Traudi Siferlinger, BR presenter and inn music expert, has put together the very high quality musical program. Singing along is expressly desired, there are even song booklets to take home. The menu includes specialties from the in-house butchery, fair trade products, as well as vegetarian and vegan delicacies, all specialties from the region that bear the Bavarian organic seal or the "Geprüfte Qualität Bayern" seal. The beer served is Augustiner from wooden barrels in stone mugs and wheat beer from Hacker Pschorr.

Tent: 1,384 seats
Garden: 400 seats
Festival hosts: Christine and Lorenz Stiftl
www.stiftl-oktoberfest.de

Festzelt Tradition Festzelt Tradition • Photo: Katy Spichal

The Tradition tent operated by the Winklhofer and Wieser host families focuses on brass band music and performances by Bavarian traditional costume societies. Served is Augustiner Wiesn noble from the wooden barrel in the typical Keferloher. In the soda garden with its own children's toilets and diaper-changing facilities, children can tap unlimited soda from the soda fountain for one euro. On the second Monday of the Oktoberfest the Festzelt Tradition revives the "Bricklayers' Monday" of days gone by as "Craftsmen's Monday." No matter what craft they come from, guests who visit the tent in their professional attire will be invited between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. for two Weißwürste and a small pretzel. No minimum consumption is required for reservations in the Tradition tent.

Tent: 5,000 seats
Garden: 3,000 seats
Limogarten: 162 seats
Landlords: Toni & Christine Winklhofer and Peter & Margot Wieser
www.oktoberfestzelttradition.de

Herzkasperlzelt Herzkasperlzelt • Photo: Sebastian Lehner

The Herzkasperl tent: Young folk music

The Herzkasperl festival tent of Munich's folk culture award winner and landlord of the traditional Fraunhofer restaurant, Josef "Beppi" Bachmaier, is the tent of the musicians. Imaginative, witty, intercultural and sometimes rebellious: this is where the young folk music scene meets. In the mornings and evenings, amateurs can also perform on the stage in the beer garden. On the dance floors in the tent and in the garden you can shake a leg, whether Zwiefacher or freestyle. Cabaret artist Maxi Schafroth takes over the tapping in the marquee. The name of the marquee is a tribute to Munich actor and cabaret artist Jörg Hube and alludes to the "Wiesn madness" over on the Oktoberfest grounds. The kitchen offers classic Bavarian delicacies, as well as vegetarian and vegan specialties and organic chicken.

Tent: 1,748 seats
Garden: 1,136 seats
Landlord: Josef Bachmaier
www.herzkasperlzelt.de

Velodrom im Museumszelt Velodrom im Museumszelt • Photo: Katy Spichal

The Museum tent with velodrome and "Volksfestwelt"

The history of the Oktoberfest comes alive in the Museum Tent belonging to the "Historische Gesellschaft Bayerischer Schausteller e.V." (Historical Society of Bavarian Showmen). Exhibits from the "Münchner Schausteller-Stiftung" (Munich Showmen Foundation), whose collection is housed in the Munich City Museum, invite visitors on a journey through the past. From the Munich Show Jumping Carousel from 1945, a replica of the Velodrome, to the unique Stork caravan from 1952/53, which was used as an office by the Oktoberfest press office for many years, there is much to discover.

Special exhibition in the Museum Tent: "New Ghosts Have Arrived".
This year's special exhibition in the Museum Tent provides a behind-the-scenes look at the ghost trains. Treasures from the Munich City Museum are complemented by private loans. A large selection of unique and extra-scary ghosts, facade parts and other creepy accessories from the period 1947 to 1975, will be presented to the public again after years of sleeping beauty. They come from the fundus of the city museum and from private possession. Photos show where the ghosts were used and information is also provided about their biographies.

New in the Velodrom: High-bikes for children and teenagers
In the "Humorous Velodrome" of the Museum Tent, the joke bikes, for example with offset axle or arm drive, can be tried out. This year, for the first time, suitable penny-farthings are available for children and young people. In the old style, a commander will comment on the action on the track. The Velodrom is one of the oldest amusement rides and was built at the Wiesn from 1901 to 1962.

New "Volksfestwelt": Festival world in mini format
Hans-Heiner Ruoff was a gifted tinkerer and responsible for the electrical system at the fair in Hadmar in the Westerwald. He has recreated the highlights of "his" funfair on a scale of 1:12. He reconstructed 15 models, from the Ferris wheel to the children's carousel, true to detail from scrap metal and bulky waste collections. The filigree miniatures have been in the possession of the Historische Gesellschaft Bayerischer Schausteller e.V. since 2020. On the occasion of the 100th birthday of the builder, the family Heiner and Monika Ruoff had arranged for the donation. This year they will be exhibited in the Museum Tent for the first time.

Children's program in the Museum Tent: Who will get the Wiesn diploma?
Mondays through Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., children ages 6 and up can have fun with face painting, balloon art or cycling in the velodrome in the Museum Tent; participation is free, and school classes are welcome). Guided tours of the Oide Wiesn will also be offered. At the information booth of the Förderverein für Bairische Sprache und Dialekte e.V. (www.fbsd.de), children can test their knowledge of Bavarian in a search game and learn a lot about the history of carnival at the same time. Those who successfully answer all the questions in the search game about the Oide Wiesn will receive the Wiesn diploma and can look forward to a small prize.

  • The Museum Tent is open from 10 am to 10 pm. Admission is free, and participation in the children's program is free. More information about the Museum Tent: www.historische-gesellschaft-bayerischer-schausteller.bayern

New: cabaret stage on the bowling alley

Musicians who wander around the Oide Wiesn without an instrument can access the stage of the "Historische Kegelbahn" (Historical Bowling Alley): Here, instruments are available for them to play. Skittles fans will also enjoy the musical entertainment. Anton Gruber, the "Praterwirt," was allowed to present "people's amusements" for the first time at the Oktoberfest in 1818, and was the only business to do so: Swings, carousels with wooden horses and - bowling alleys. 200 years later, guests can once again clear all nines on the new classic-historical bowling alley, this time next to the Museum Tent. The projectiles are set up in the target room with a rope-pull mechanism built according to historical models. The bowling alley is inclusive: sporty wheelchair users may also try their hand at bowling, and a ramp ensures problem-free watching for people with disabilities. For children, who can play with special children's balls, the fun is free, adults pay 2.50 euros for three shots. The bowling alley can also be booked by groups for half an hour, Enable JavaScript to view protected content..
More information about the Historic Bowling Alley on Instagram: @historische_kegelbahn

Show booth "Jungle Demons" with folk music

In the afternoon, various folk music groups play in the parade of the "Jungle Demons" show booth, and you can enjoy a snack from the historic sausage fryer. Or you can watch the hustle and bustle of the fair from the museum garden on the open-air grounds, listen to the sound of the fairground organs and marvel at the exhibition of historic bulldogs and tractors. The cinema in front of the tent shows historical footage and films about the Oktoberfest.

Munich’s puppet theater

The stage at Munich’s Marionettentheater is another highlight at the Oide Wiesn for big and little ones alike. The history of this venue stretches back to 1858 when Josef Leonhard Schmid requested that the city of Munich appraise his plans to “establish a permanent puppet theater for children”. Today, the theater can be found at 32 Blumenstrasse in Munich. It enjoys ‘travelling’ for the Oide Wiesn, however, where it offers a rich and diverse program with several shows per day. Entry to the theater is free.

Video: Karl-Heinz Knoll (Chairman Festring München e.V.) at the Oide Wiesn