Oktoberfest Trivia
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145 free Oktoberfest trivia questions with answers — food & drink quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
45 free Oktoberfest trivia questions with answers. Oktoberfest is the world's largest folk festival, and this quiz covers it from the wedding that started it in 1810 to the seven million litres of beer poured on Munich's Theresienwiese each autumn. It runs through the history (the horse race, the cholera cancellations, the wars, the 1980 bombing), the rituals (the mayor's first keg, 'O'zapft is!', the twelve-gun salute, the costume parade), the beer (which six breweries may pour it, why it is called Märzen, the Reinheitsgebot), the food and dress (Weisswurst, pretzels, dirndls, lederhosen) and the copycat Oktoberfests from Cincinnati to Blumenau. About a third of the questions are easy enough for anyone who has been to an Oktoberfest party; the rest climb steadily to details that will stump most Munich regulars. It works as a solo test or a ready-made round for an autumn quiz night or an Oktoberfest party game. Every answer has been checked against a reference source and each question shows its citation.
30 of 145 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Oktoberfest is held on the Theresienwiese, a meadow just outside the old walls of which city?
Munich
It takes place on the Theresienwiese, a 42-hectare meadow just outside the old city walls, known to locals simply as the Wiesn.
Q 02What event did the very first Oktoberfest, in October 1810, celebrate?
A royal wedding
Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and the citizens of Munich were invited to party in the fields.
Q 03Which song do the tent bands strike up every few minutes, ending with everyone drinking together?
Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit
'Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit' ('a toast to cosiness'), a 19th-century drinking song, is played roughly every quarter of an hour in the tents and ends with the whole hall raising its mugs.
Q 04What was the main attraction at the first Oktoberfest in 1810?
A horse race
About 40,000 people watched from a natural hillside grandstand; the race, not the beer, was the core tradition for decades.
Q 05Despite its name, in which month has most of Oktoberfest fallen since the 19th century?
September
September hosts most of the festival: the opening was moved into late September during the 19th century to take advantage of warmer evenings, so only the final days fall in October.
Q 06Roughly how many visitors does Oktoberfest attract each year?
Around 7 million
Around 7 million: attendance peaked at a record 7.2 million in 2023, and most recent years have drawn between six and seven million visitors over the roughly 16-day run.
Q 07Which Bavarian phrase does the mayor shout after tapping the first keg?
O'zapft is!
'O'zapft is!' means 'It's tapped!'; the ritual has opened the festival since Mayor Thomas Wimmer's first tapping in 1950.
Q 08In which tent does the mayor tap the first keg at exactly noon on opening day?
Schottenhamel
The mayor taps the first keg in the Schottenhamel tent at noon; only after a gun salute from the steps below the Bavaria statue may the other tents start pouring.
Q 09Crowds bet on how many mallet strokes the mayor needs to tap the first keg. What is the record best?
Two
Christian Ude and Dieter Reiter both managed it repeatedly; the worst on record is Thomas Wimmer's 19 strokes in 1950.
Q 10Traditionally, who is served the very first litre of Oktoberfest beer?
The Minister-President of Bavaria
The mayor does the tapping, but the head of the Bavarian state government gets the first Maß.
Q 11Which mascot leads the Oktoberfest parades, followed by the mayor in a horse-drawn carriage?
The Münchner Kindl
The Münchner Kindl ('Munich child') is the little monk from Munich's coat of arms; in the Oktoberfest parades the role is played by a young woman on horseback.
Q 12How many breweries are allowed to sell beer at Oktoberfest?
Six
Six: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten, all brewed inside the Munich city limits.
Q 13Which of these breweries is NOT allowed to pour beer at the original Oktoberfest?
Erdinger
Erdinger is brewed in Erding, outside the city, and only beer brewed within Munich's limits qualifies as Oktoberfestbier.
Q 21A pipe bomb at the Oktoberfest main entrance in 1980 killed how many people?
13
It was Germany's second-deadliest terror attack; every public rubbish bin on the grounds was removed afterwards and never came back.
Q 22What officially closes Oktoberfest at noon on its final Sunday?
A gun salute at the Bavaria statue
A gun salute: the Böllerschützen fire a farewell volley on the steps of the Bavaria statue at noon on the last day, the traditional official end of the festival.
Q 23For which two years was Oktoberfest cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
2020 and 2021
2020 and 2021: the pandemic forced the first cancellations since the Second World War, which halted the festival from 1939 to 1945.
Q 14Which pastry, sold by the basketful, is the classic snack in the Oktoberfest tents?
Pretzel
The pretzel, Brezn in Bavarian, is sold by the basketful in the tents, often in giant Wiesnbrezn size, and is the classic partner for Obatzda cheese spread.
Q 15Which paler style has largely replaced Märzen in the tents since the late 20th century?
Festbier
Festbier, a paler, lighter-tasting lager than the amber Märzen, took over the tents in the late 20th century; it is brewed to the same festival strength of around six percent.
Q 16Which Bavarian sausage, made from veal and pork, is traditionally eaten before noon at Oktoberfest?
Weisswurst
The saying goes that a Weisswurst must not hear the noon church bells; it is served with sweet mustard and a pretzel.
Q 17What is the unofficial Oktoberfest sport in which competitors hold a full litre mug out at arm's length?
Masskrugstemmen
A full Maß weighs well over two kilos, and the record holders manage twenty minutes or more.
Q 18Which two colours, taken from the Bavarian flag, dominate Oktoberfest tent decorations?
White and blue
White and blue, the lozenge colours of the Bavarian flag, cover the tent ceilings, the beer-garden tablecloths and the bunting across the whole Wiesn.
Q 19Which brothers, directors of the 1910 Oktoberfest centenary parade, made dirndls and lederhosen everyday fashion?
Julius and Moritz Wallach
Julius and Moritz Wallach, whose Munich folk-costume house organised the 1910 centenary costume parade, dressed Bavarians who had never worn Tracht in their lives.
Q 20Which Bavarian folk dance involves rhythmic slapping of the thighs and knees?
The Schuhplattler
The Schuhplattler, from the Alpine regions of Upper Bavaria, Tyrol and Salzburg, has dancers strike their thighs, knees and shoe soles in rhythm, originally as a courtship display.
Q 24Which disease forced Oktoberfest to be cancelled in both 1854 and 1873?
Cholera
Cholera epidemics cancelled the festival in 1854 and 1873; wars did the same in 1866 and 1870.
Q 25Which colossal 1850 bronze statue overlooks the festival grounds beside the Ruhmeshalle?
Bavaria
Designed by Leo von Klenze and sculpted by Schwanthaler, it was the first entirely bronze colossal statue since antiquity, and visitors can climb inside her head.
Q 26Since 1994, how many days does Oktoberfest normally last?
16
16 days: it opens on the first Saturday after 15 September and normally ends on the first Sunday in October, though in some years a public holiday extends it to 17 or 18 days.
Q 27Roughly what share of Oktoberfest visitors come from the festival's home state?
About 72 percent
About 72 percent of visitors come from Bavaria itself, with Italians famously arriving in caravans for the second weekend.
Q 28Which Italian city has sent police officers to help manage Oktoberfest crowds since 2005?
Bolzano
Bolzano, capital of German-speaking South Tyrol, has sent officers since 2005 to help especially on the second weekend, when Italian visitors flood in.
Q 29What did the 2005 'quiet Oktoberfest' rule restrict in the tents before 6 pm?
Only brass music, capped at 85 decibels
Until 6 pm the bands may play only traditional brass music, capped at 85 decibels, to keep afternoons family-friendly before the party music starts in the evening.
Q 30How many large tents did Oktoberfest have in 2025?
14
Plus about 20 small tents; each big tent belongs to one of the six breweries, while a few small ones serve wine instead.