Oktoberfest Trivia Questions and Answers (Specially Curated for 2026)

Below are the 50 Oktoberfest trivia questions and answers, specifically curated for this year. Each question comes with a hint and the questions are split into five rounds: history, traditions, beer, food and fairground, and the 2026 festival by the numbers.

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Round 1: Oktoberfest history trivia

Oktoberfest started as a wedding party and survived wars, epidemics, and a pandemic. These ten questions cover how it got here.

1. What event did the very first Oktoberfest celebrate?

Hint: There was a bride, a groom, and a future king.
Answer: The royal wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese.
Editor's note: Ludwig, later King Ludwig I of Bavaria, married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810.

2. What was the main event of that first festival on October 17, 1810?

Hint: It had four legs, and there wasn't a beer tent in sight.
Answer: A horse race.
Editor's note: It was held on a meadow outside Munich's city gates. Horse racing stayed part of the festival until 1960 and returned once more for the 200th anniversary in 2010.

3. Who came up with the idea of celebrating the wedding with a horse race?

Hint: He was a banker and a cavalry major in the Bavarian National Guard.
Answer: Andreas Michael Dall'Armi.
Editor's note: He received Munich's first gold citizens' medal in 1824 for "inventing" Oktoberfest. Some retellings credit a coachman named Franz Baumgartner instead, but the city's official history names Dall'Armi.

4. Why do locals call Oktoberfest "the Wiesn"?

Hint: Think of the bride's name, then add a German word for "meadow."
Answer: It's short for Theresienwiese.
Editor's note: Therese's meadow is the festival grounds named after the bride The word even made it into the Duden dictionary, spelled Wiesn, not Wies'n.

5. In which year did the City of Munich take over Oktoberfest?

Hint: Less than a decade after the wedding.
Answer: 1819.

6. When was Oktoberfest cancelled for the first time, and why?

Hint: A French problem - for Europe.
Answer: 1813
For extra points, ask Why?: because of the Napoleonic Wars.

7. How many times has Oktoberfest been cancelled in total?

Hint: More than two dozen.
Answer: 26 times.

8. What was the longest stretch without an Oktoberfest?

Hint: It started the same year as a world war.
Answer: Ten years, from 1939 to 1948.
Editor's note: World War II and its aftermath were the cause. A smaller "autumn festival" filled the gap in the late 1940s, and a regular Wiesn returned in 1949.

9. Which giant bronze figure, unveiled in 1850, watches over the festival grounds?

Hint: She's named after the state, not a person.
Answer: The Bavaria statue.
Editor's note: She stands in front of the Hall of Fame, above the Theresienwiese.

10. What did Munich add for the 200th anniversary in 2010 that was so popular it became a regular feature?

Hint: Its name means "old" in Bavarian dialect.
Answer: The Oide Wiesn.
Editor's note: It's a historical section in the south of the grounds with vintage rides, traditional music, and costume dances. It skips a year every fourth year, when the Bavarian Central Agricultural Fair takes its place.

Round 2: Oktoberfest traditions and customs

Some Wiesn traditions are centuries old. Others, like the famous keg tapping, are younger than most people think.

11. What does Munich's mayor shout after tapping the first keg?

Hint: Two words in Bavarian dialect that mean "it's tapped."
Answer: "O'zapft is!"
Editor's note: The official site spells it "Ozapft is." Only after this may the other tents start pouring.

12. In which tent is the first keg tapped every year?

Hint: It's the oldest tent on the Wiesn and carries a family name.
Answer: The Schottenhamel Festhalle, at noon on the opening Saturday.

13. In what year did the mayor's keg-tapping tradition begin?

Hint: Much later than you'd guess: the middle of the 20th century.
Answer: 1950, by Mayor Thomas Wimmer.
Editor's note: It took him 17 strokes. You'll often see 19 quoted elsewhere, but Munich's own history page says 17.

14. What is the record for the fewest strokes needed to tap the first keg?

Hint: Fewer than you have hands.
Answer: Two strokes.
Editor's note: Former mayor Christian Ude set it after needing seven strokes at his first tapping. His successor, Dieter Reiter, needed four at his debut and has since matched the record.

15. Who has received the first Maß from the mayor since 1980?

Hint: The highest political office in Bavaria.
Answer: The sitting Bavarian Minister-President.

16. If a woman ties her dirndl bow on the left, what does it traditionally signal?

Hint: Think of it from the wearer's point of view, and think dating.
Answer: She's single.
Editor's note: A bow on the right means she's taken, engaged, or married. A bow tied at the center back is traditionally associated with waitresses or widows.

17. Is there an official dress code at Oktoberfest?

Hint: Look around a tent and you'll see plenty of jeans.
Answer: No.
Editor's note: Dirndl and lederhosen are popular, but the city says any outfit is allowed.

18. Which drinking song, sung every few minutes in the tents, dates back to an 1898 songbook?

Hint: It's a toast to coziness.
Answer: "Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit."
Editor's note: Festival host Georg Lang handed out songbooks in his new giant beer hall in 1898, and this song was in them from the start.

19. What is the "quiet Wiesn" rule introduced in 2005?

Hint: It was designed with families in mind and depends on the time of day.
Answer: Tents may only play traditional Bavarian brass music until 6 p.m. Party music comes after that.

20. Since what year has the Costume and Riflemen's Parade (Trachten- und Schützenzug) been held every year?

Hint: Just after World War II, one year before the Wiesn itself returned.
Answer: 1948.
Editor's note: Earlier parades in 1835, 1842, 1895, 1910, and 1935 were one-off events.

Round 3: Oktoberfest beer trivia

Only a handful of breweries are allowed to pour at the Wiesn, and each has its own story. Prost.

21. How much beer is in a Maß?

Hint: It's a round number in the metric system.
Answer: One liter.

22. How many breweries are allowed to serve beer at Oktoberfest? Bonus point for naming them.

Hint: Half a dozen, all based in Munich.
Answer: Six: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, and Spaten.
Editor's note: A 1990 Munich court decision defines Oktoberfest as the "festival of Munich beer."

23. Which purity laws must Oktoberfest beer comply with?

Hint: One is from Munich in the 15th century, the other is German and from the 20th.
Answer: The Munich Purity Law of 1487 and the German Purity Law of 1906.

24. Which Oktoberfest brewery is the oldest still operating within Munich's city limits?

Hint: It was founded by monks in 1328.
Answer: Augustiner, founded by Augustinian monks.

25. Which brewery is the only one that still serves its Wiesn beer from traditional 200-liter wooden barrels?

Hint: Same answer as the previous question.
Answer: Augustiner. The wooden barrels are called "Hirschen."

26. Which Oktoberfest brewery has been run by the state since 1939?

Hint: It started as a ducal brewery in 1589 and has a world-famous beer hall at Platzl.
Answer: Hofbräu München (Staatliches Hofbräuhaus).

27. Which of the six breweries is the youngest?

Hint: Its first beer was served by monks in 1634, and a Brother Barnabas is part of the story.
Answer: Paulaner.

28. Which brewery was the first to launch "Münchner Hell" on the market, in 1894?

Hint: Its beer is poured in the tent where the mayor taps the first keg.
Answer: Spaten.

29. At 6.3% ABV, which two Wiesn beers are the strongest?

Hint: One brewery is the oldest, the other is state-owned.
Answer: Augustiner and Hofbräu.
Editor's note: Spaten's Wiesnbier is the lightest of the six at 5.9%.

30. In which year was the most beer ever served at Oktoberfest?

Hint: It was in the 2010s, the year after the 200th anniversary.
Answer: 2011.
Editor's note: 79,225 hectoliters, about 7.9 million liters, were poured that year.

31. What protection has Oktoberfest beer held from the European Union since 2022?

Hint: It's the same EU label that protects Nuremberg gingerbread.
Answer: Protected Geographical Indication.
Editor's note: It guarantees Oktoberfest beer is brewed only in Munich.

32. Who sets the price of a Maß at Oktoberfest?

Hint: It's not City Hall.
Answer: The tent landlords.
Editor's note: They're known as Wiesnwirte. The City of Munich only publishes the prices.

Round 4: Food, tents, and fairground trivia

The Wiesn is more than beer. It's roast chicken, giant halls, and rides that have been spinning since the 1800s.

33. In what year did the first chicken rotisserie open at Oktoberfest, starting the Wiesnhendl tradition?

Hint: Around the same time electric lights arrived on the grounds.
Answer: 1881.

34. Who put up the first large beer tent on the Theresienwiese, in 1898?

Hint: He's the same festival host from the "Ein Prosit" question.
Answer: Georg Lang.
Editor's note: He called it the "1st Bavarian Giant Hall." Before that, beer was sold from small wooden stalls.

35. What was the largest beer tent ever built at Oktoberfest?

Hint: It was built in 1913 and its name includes a woman's first name.
Answer: The Pschorr-Bräurosl tent of 1913.

36. Which tent has the largest seating capacity today?

Hint: It belongs to the state-owned brewery.
Answer: The Hofbräu tent, with seating for 10,000 people.

37. Outside which tent does a giant lion roar the brewery's name at passers-by?

Hint: The brewery's name literally contains the German word for lion.
Answer: The Löwenbräu tent.

38. Which famous physicist is said to have screwed in light bulbs at the Schottenhamel tent in 1896?

Hint: His father's electrical company installed the tent lamps.
Answer: Albert Einstein.

39. In what year did the first carousel appear at Oktoberfest?

Hint: Eight years after the first festival.
Answer: 1818, along with two swings.

40. What was the hottest day in Oktoberfest history?

Hint: It was recent, and it was an opening day.
Answer: September 20, 2025.
For bonus points: It was 30.7°C.

Round 5: Oktoberfest 2026 by the numbers

This round comes straight from the city's preliminary final report and official price list for 2026. Expect these numbers to stump even regulars.

41. Which edition of Oktoberfest took place in 2026, and on what dates?

Hint: It's a three-digit number starting with 19, and the festival ran for 16 days.
Answer: The 191st Oktoberfest, from September 19 to October 4, 2026.

42. Roughly how many people visited Oktoberfest 2026?

Hint: It broke the attendance record of 7.2 million set in 2023.
Answer: About 7.4 million.
Editor's note: That's the most in the festival's history, up from 6.5 million in 2025.

43. How much festival beer was served in 2026?

Hint: It's between 1 and 10 million liters.
Answer: Around 6.7 million liters.
Editor's note: This is hard to guess, so the most close answer wins.

44. Which type of beer saw the biggest jump in demand in 2026?

Hint: It's cloudy, and it's not the classic Festbier.
Answer: Wheat beer, up 12.6%.

45. What did a Maß cost at Oktoberfest 2026?

Hint: Don't think above 20 euros.
Answer: Between €14.80 and €15.90, depending on the tent.

46. How many beer mugs did stewards collect from visitors trying to take them home?

Hint: Six digits, and slightly fewer than in 2025.
Answer: About 105,000.
Editor's note: That's down from 112,000 in 2025.

47. What was the most common item handed in to the lost and found office?

Hint: It's what people take off when the tent gets warm.
Answer: Clothing.
Editor's note: About 1,050 pieces, out of roughly 4,000 lost items in total. Stranger finds included an accordion, a set of dentures, and a crutch.

48. From which three countries did most international visitors come in 2026?

Hint: One is across the Atlantic, and two are neighbors to the south.
Answer: The USA, Italy, and Austria.
Editor's note: Most visitors overall still came from Munich and the surrounding region.

49. How many people visited the Oide Wiesn in 2026?

Hint: Just under half a million.
Answer: About 447,000.
Editor's note: That's up from roughly 360,000 in 2025.

50. Which children's song was the surprise crowd favorite in the tents in 2026?

Hint: Its title means "good mood."
Answer: "Gute Laune" by GroßstadtEngel.
Editor's note: The city said no single song became the hit of the year, but this newcomer was among the favorites alongside classics like "Take Me Home, Country Roads."

Turn these questions into a scored Oktoberfest quiz

Reading questions out loud works fine for a small table. For an office party, a pub night, or a classroom, it's easier to let a form keep score. Here's how to do it with forms.app:

All of this, including auto-scoring, the timer field, AI tools, and QR codes, is available on the free plan, with unlimited responses.

Sources

Most Oktoberfest trivia lists online recycle the same ten facts, and a few of those facts are wrong. So we went to the source. Every answer below was checked against the City of Munich's official Oktoberfest site, including its preliminary final report for Oktoberfest 2026, published on October 5, 2026, just after the 191st Wiesn closed. Where official sources and popular retellings disagree, we say so in the answer.