Around Theresienwiese (Theresia Meadow)

art

It is natural for a festival that it left hardly any traces of itself over the times of its existence. Booths, fairground rides and decorations were continuously renewed over the years, sweets, food and in particular beer were consumed immediately. The same is true even more for the special collections of a library, for official print works could hardly be found at a festival such as the “Wiesn” (Meadow); placards, admission cards, lottery tickets, booklets and brochures were rarely collected during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The objects below are, therefore, not more than random jetsam, which has been preserved in the holdings of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library). In particular, a smallish group of brochures, placards and one admission ticket need to be mentioned. They were gathered by one or several unknown librarians on their own initiative between the years of 1881 and 1935 and presented to the Library (signature: 4 Bavar. 700 l,C-1/11).

The Theresienwiese (Theresia Meadow)

The large area situated at the foot of the Sendlinger Höhe (Sendlingen Heights today Schwanthal Heights), on which in 1810 the first Oktoberfest had taken place, belonged to several landowners, in particular diverse Munich families. Back in the years around 1820 the city of Munich, therefore, occasionally had to purchase further plots of land to ensure a smooth running of the festival. The focus lay at first on the northern parts of the area, which had been threatened early by development, to guarantee the oval of the racetrack.

Up to 1880, not nearly all the plots of land that make up the area of today’s Theresienwiese (Theresia Meadow), were directly or indirectly owned by the city. The acquisition of still missing plots, however, became increasingly more difficult and the negotiations escalated so much that some of the owner families demonstratively put a fence around their properties. It would take until the period between 1884 and 1886 that the city managed by way of purchase, exchange and building permission on the plots beyond the simultaneously laid-out Bavaria Ring to bring the Theresienwiese in its present-day extension completely under its control and, thereby, to define its borders.

The rare flyer for the 1881 Oktoberfest, to which scholarship has so far hardly paid any attention, shows a plan of the plots of land which had then been fenced in by the owners in a concerted action and thus been taken away from the festival. The song lyrics printed on the back were directed less against the purchasing attempts of the city of München (Munich) as such, but rather against the price: rather than 20 pences per “Schuh” (here: 291,86 square mm) of ground, a (gold-) mark is requested.

On a second copy of the flyer, the fenced-in plots were further subdivided with ink and the name of the owning families were entered.

Die Einzäunung auf der Theresienwiese

[1881]
  • [München]

Die Einzäunung auf der Theresienwiese

[1881]
  • [München]

Horseraces

From 1810 to 1913, the horseraces were the highlight of the Oktoberfests, while the single race of 1810 developed over time into an ever more differentiated programme. Between 1818 and 1875 a second race was held, between 1847 to 1855 and 1864 to 1913 one, between 1902 and 1906 even two trotting races were added. Since 1867, with several interruptions sulky racing also took place.

The oval of the racetrack, on which these races were performed, was always and in every variation laid out along the outer rim of Theresienwiese (Theresia Meadow); grand stands with seating were the exception, most onlookers stood up. Only five stands and the Königszelt (Royal Tent) finally offered selected guests a seat – there was no open ticket sale. The complex of the four magistrates’ (municipal) stands was always put up opposite the Königszelt on the slope towards Schwanthalerhöhe (Schwanthal Heights) – below the plant of the former fairground; they also served during diverse events in the Königszelt as assembly site for choirs and orchestras. Next to these municipal set-ups, there was also a smaller stand for the “imperial estates” representing parliament and government, which was to be found on the left next to the Königszelt.

In contrast to most of the admission tickets for the horseraces on Theresienwiese preserved, the one presented here was stamped and, therefore, really used. It was meant for the traditional main race of the 1904 Oktoberfest.

Eintritts-Karte zur Magistratischen Tribüne III, Sitzplatz No. 000026 für Sonntag, den 2. Oktober cr. : Oktoberfest 1904

[1904]
  • [S.l.]

Gastronomy

The master butcher Johann Rössler had invented an appliance, which allowed for the roasting of an entire ox on a spit. Together with his business partner A. Schibanek he participated for the first time at the 1881 Oktoberfest. The roasting of an ox was more than just a culinary offer. The roast oxen on a spit was spectacular enough to be able to ask for an entrance fee.

The two placards presented here hail from the 1882 Oktoberfest; they correspond to the type of placards preserved from the year before. The illustration on one of the placards shows the then still freestanding rotisserie with stove, sideboard and serving counter. Only from 1897, the ox-rotisserie Rössler constructed a hall similar to the large "Bierburgen" (beer castles) on the Oktoberfest.

Auf der Theresienwiese: das Braten eines ganzen Ochsen verbunden mit Restauration : [Plakat]

[1882]
  • [S.l.]

Attractions

Up to WWII, the fun rides left less of a mark on the running of the festival apart from the horseraces, the shooting contests and the taverns, than the public exhibitions. Monstrosities, halls of mirrors, variety and puppet theatres filled the visitors with enthusiasm during a time before the triumphant entry of the mass media such as cinema, radio and television.

Programmes, guides or other printed works were not needed by "Daddy" Michael August Schichtl (1851 - 1911) or by other exhibitors; correspondingly little leftovers have been preserved among the holdings at the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library). Therefore, at this point only three little booklets may offer some insight into past attractions.

An offspring of the Munich Bohème were the "Moderne Kunstausstellungen" (Exhibitions of Modern Art), which took place several times on the Oktoberfest between the years of 1900 and 1907. In these exhibitions, a young generation of artists organised by the art society "Allotria" satirised the official art scene in Munich, which presented itself in the große Ausstellungen im Münchener Glaspalast (great exhibitions in the Munich Glass Palace) or in the Münchener Secession (Munich Secession). Instead of the glass palace served a large exhibition building on the main avenue of the festival ground, which architecturally harked back to Joseph Maria Olbrich’s (1867-1908) "Krauthappel" (cabbage), the secession building in Vienna. Instead of the tall statue of Athena in the glass palace, the "Faltenhias” (Matthew von Giesing) stood guard at the entrance as a beer-drinking and pipe-smoking "Athenerich" (male Athena). Inside “works of art” created with much humour satirised paintings and statues of the season and could be purchased, same as their great models. For example, a "Fische-Stilleben" (fish still-life) by Franz von Lenbach (1836-1904) became a herring with the note "dieser Prima-Delikateßhering wurde in der Handlung von Dallmayer gekauft und bei Grundsteinlegung der Oktoberfestausstellung verspeist"[this lovely delicacy of a herring was bought at the shop of Dallmayer and consumed during the foundation ceremony of the Oktoberfest exhibition].

The few works of art and photos from the exhibition building that have been preserved, as a rule cannot be matched to the information in the printed catalogues preserved. Therefore, one cannot be sure, whether everything listed in the booklets ever really existed as an exhibit. For the then visitors, the printed titles were probably reason enough to be amused by the allusions. The works of art displayed could be understood even without being listed in the catalogue.

Hoch-Offizieller Katalog der III. modernen Kunstausstellung auf der Oktoberfestwiese, veranstaltet von jungen Münchener Künstlern : München, 1903, 20. September bis 4. Oktober

1903
  • München

Fairground People

One of the most active fairground people on the Oktoberfest was the native Silesian Karl Gabriel (1857 - 1931). Gabriel, son of a fairground entrepreneur and himself trained as artist blacksmith and mechanic, arrived in Munich in 1892. In 1894, he set up the "Internationale Handels-Panoptikum und Museum" (International Trade Waxworks and Museum) in the Neuhauser Straße at the corner of Färbergraben in Munich together with the wax modeller Emil Eduard Hammer, which remained a well-known attraction up to its forced closure in 1902. Even years later it inspired Karl Valentin’s unsuccessful waxwork-experiment (1934/1935). From 1896, Gabriel discovered the medium film. Among other things, he shot the first films known to have been executed in Munich (1902) and installed from 1905 permanent cinemas in Berlin, Munich, Bochum, Passau and Augsburg. In 1913, he set up the first cinema palace in Munich under the name of the "Sendlinger-Tor-Lichtspiele" (Sendlingen-Gate Cinema). In 1908, he commissioned the creation of the first big dipper in Germany for the grand opening of the new exhibition ground above Theresienwiese (Theresia Meadow).

On the Oktoberfest, Gabriel - together with diverse partners – had been actively engaged since the 1890s with growing success and with up to five enterprises per year, which included fairground attractions (such as a Madhouse ride in 1895 or the first Devil’s wheel in 1910) as well as exhibitions of abnormities and monsters. From 1901, he brought regular ethnological expositions to the festival grounds that he usually took over from other entrepreneurs (for example, Carl Hagenbeck in Hamburg).

One reason for Gabriel’s success was, apart from a keen sense for attractions, the effective use of advertising media. In the environment of the Oktoberfest, he used placards as well as flyers distributed in great numbers. In addition, he placed regular advertisements of his attractions on the fairground (examples of 1895 and 1926 ) into the festival newspapers or advertised his wax works in the city centre (example of 1896 ). For the ethnological expositions, he ordered explanatory brochures to be printed and, every year, the "Illustrierte[n] Münchener Oktoberfest-Nachrichten der Unternehmungen Carl Gabriel's" were published occasionally in a print run of up to 300,000 copies. All of these advertising media played skilfully with the expectations of the audience. Be it thrills, the exotic, a subliminal emphasis on “white” supremacy or an (at that time) consistently insinuated eroticism – by his diverse enterprises Gabriel was able to satisfy all of these cravings at the Oktoberfest.

Illustrierte Münchener Oktoberfest-Nachrichten der Unternehmungen Carl Gabriel 's 1925 : mit einem großen Plan der Festwiese und Führer durch die Schaustellungen

1925
  • München

Souvenirs

Gingerbread hearts, paper flowers, felt hats .most souvenirs that visitor took and take home from the Oktoberfest, are of modest value and have a short survival rate. More durable objects, for example books, rarely belong to this group. A children’s book and a foldout book with caricatures from the holdings of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) could nonetheless have originally have served as souvenirs and keepsakes of the respective Oktoberfest.

The satirically-affectionate drawings in the foldout book by Henry Albrecht (1857-1909) offer a panoramic view across the bustle of the Oktoberfest. From the arrival in the overcrowded horse tram over the beer tent atmosphere at Schottenham(m)el’s, Papa Schichtl’s Schaubude and the obligatory
ethnological exposition up to the awarding of prizes at the agricultural fair, festive procession and the horse races. A similar panoramic view, even though technically and in terms of content at a far lower level, sketches Maria Masson’s children’s book that was published during the Weimar Republic.

Bavaria and Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame)

Back in the Oktoberfest report of 1810 Andreas von Dall'Armi asked for the appropriate decoration of Theresienwiese, (Theresia Meadow), in which case he envisaged a layout similar to the Arena Civica erected 1805-1807 in Milan by commission of Napoleon I (he even had the relevant outline of the Arena inserted on the plan of Theresienwiese in his publication). Such plans were, despite a first, general invitation for subscriptions, not accepted by the Crown Prince and future King Ludwig I - known as a staunch adversary of Napoleon as well as for being occasionally rather parsimonious.

It was only in 1825 that Ludwig decided to transfer his plans for a Bavarian Hall of Fame (as counterpart to the “pan-Germanic” Walhalla near Donaustauf), which reached back to the year 1809, to the Theresienwiese. Despite serious difficulties the architectural contest held in 1833 was won by Leo von Klenze (1784-1864). The king was convinced by his idea, inspired by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841), to combine the building of the Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) with a monumental cast statue of Bavaria – the first such giant statue since antiquity – whilst keeping the overall costs of the project comparatively low.

With the unveiling of the statue, designed by Ludwig von Schwanthaler (1802-1848) and cast by Ferdinand von Miller (1813-1887), in 1850 and with the completion of the Ruhmeshalle in 1853 the ensemble became a central architectural sight on Theresienwiese. To spread the news about the building’s significance, as early as in 1850 several explanations and descriptions were published, of which two of the most important by Robert Lecke (1805-1858) and by Josef Anselm Pangkofer (1804-1854) are presented here. In particular, Pangkofer’s booklet seems to have been popular, since it went through a considerably expanded reprint.

Die bayerische Ruhmeshalle und die Collossalstatue Bavaria, errichtet von Ludwig dem Ersten, König von Bayern

1850
  • Lecke, Robert
  • München

Bavaria, Riesenstandbild aus Erz vor der Ruhmeshalle auf der Theresienwiese bei München

1850
  • Pangkofer, Josef Anselm
  • München

Bavaria, Riesenstandbild aus Erz vor der Ruhmeshalle auf der Theresienwiese bei München

1854
  • Pangkofer, Josef Anselm
  • München