170 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.
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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 03The festival grounds, the Theresienwiese, are named after whom?
Princess Therese, the 1810 bride
'Therese's Meadow' got the name a year after the wedding and Munich residents still just call it the Wiesn.
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
The start was moved earlier in the 19th century to catch warmer evenings; only the last few days fall in October.
Q 06Roughly how many visitors does Oktoberfest attract each year?
Around 7 million
The record is 7.2 million in 2023, when they drank about 7.4 million litres of beer between them.
Q 07Which Bavarian phrase does the mayor shout after tapping the first keg?
O'zapft is!
It means 'It's tapped!'; the ritual has opened the festival since 1950 and is followed by a twelve-gun salute.
Q 08In which tent does the mayor tap the first keg at exactly noon on opening day?
Schottenhamel
Only after the twelve gunshots on the Ruhmeshalle steps 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 'Munich child' is a little monk from the city's coat of arms, nowadays always played by a young woman on horseback.
Q 12How many breweries are allowed to sell beer at Oktoberfest?
Six
Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, Spaten and Hofbräu, all brewed inside the 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 21Which Bavarian folk dance involves slapping the thighs, knees and soles of the shoes?
The Schuhplattler
It comes from the Alps of Upper Bavaria, Tyrol and Salzburg and now has more than 150 basic variations.
Q 22A 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 23Why are there no public rubbish bins on the Oktoberfest grounds?
They were removed after the 1980 bombing
Q 14Oktoberfest beer must be brewed according to which historic purity law?
The Reinheitsgebot
The best-known version was adopted on 23 April 1516 and limited ingredients to water, barley and hops.
Q 15Why is the traditional Oktoberfest lager called Märzen?
It was brewed in March to last the summer
Bavarian law banned brewing between late April and late autumn, so the spring beer was made strong enough to keep until the festival.
Q 16Which paler style has largely replaced Märzen in the tents since the late 20th century?
Festbier
Both are marketed under the EU-protected name Oktoberfestbier, which only Munich brewers may use.
Q 17Which 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 18What 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 19What is the traditional Alpine dress worn by women at Oktoberfest called?
A dirndl
A close bodice, blouse, full skirt and apron; the side the apron bow is tied on is popularly said to signal whether the wearer is single.
Q 20Which brothers, directors of the 1910 Oktoberfest centenary parade, made dirndls and lederhosen everyday fashion?
Julius and Moritz Wallach
Their Munich folk-costume house dressed Bavarians who had never worn Tracht in their lives.
Waste now goes to central collection points, with cleaning teams working through the night.
Q 24For which two years was Oktoberfest cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
2020 and 2021
Before the pandemic, the last cancellations were for the Second World War, when a modest 'Autumn Fest' stood in from 1946 to 1948.
Q 25Which disease forced Oktoberfest to be cancelled in both 1854 and 1873?
Cholera
Wars did the same in 1866 and 1870, and hyperinflation stopped it in 1923 and 1924.
Q 26A Greek delegation that visited Oktoberfest in 1832 later cited it as a model for what?
The Zappas Olympics, forerunner of the modern Games
Oktoberfest then still centred on racing and an agricultural show rather than beer tents.
Q 27Which 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 28Since 1994, how many days does Oktoberfest normally last?
16
It ends on the first Sunday in October, unless that falls before German Unity Day on 3 October, in which case it runs on to the holiday.
Q 29Roughly what share of Oktoberfest visitors come from the festival's home state?
About 72 percent
Only about 15 percent come from abroad, despite the festival's global image; Italians famously arrive in caravans on the middle weekend.
Q 30Which Italian city sends police officers to help manage Oktoberfest crowds every year?
Bolzano
Officers from South Tyrol, where German is spoken, have assisted since 2005, especially on the weekend Italian visitors flood in.