(Il-)literary News about and on the Oktoberfest

art

Even though the Oktoberfest has been the central popular festival in Munich and one of the most important festivals in Bavaria ever since 1810, it has called for less literary feedback than one might expect. Nonetheless, numerous works have appeared since 1810, which process the festival events on Theresienwiese (Theresia Meadow) in literary form.

One can roughly divide the literary engagement with the Oktoberfest into three phases. From c.1830 appeared a huge flood of pamphlets that presented themselves in the guise of Oktoberfest-"sermons" or as "entertaining" tableaus. Published anonymously, they criticised – with occasionally acrimonious wit – the, according to the authors, rather lax morals of the visitors in particular and the state of the kingdom of Bavaria in general. It was probably the more easy-going practice of censorship, in place since the beginning of Ludwig I’s reign, which made it possible to publish these texts. With the tightening of censorship during the 1830s, the publication of these booklets diminished accordingly.

By means of the "humorous" depiction of the Oktoberfest, presented by Carl Eduard Müller (1796-1873) in 1834, the already existing form of a loose sequence of slapstick episodes from the sphere of festival events received its definitive and most popular expression. The "funny", but surely also rather harmless rimes and scenes composed by Müller were imitated even while the author was still alive and influence to this day, directly or indirectly, the humorous Oktoberfest literature.

After 1900, further tales from the Oktoberfest appeared in diverse newspapers and magazines. Notable distribution as a stand-alone work reached in particular the satire written by the popular folk singer, actor and author Alois Hönle (1871-1943): "Lucki Baron von Giesing, Herr auf Steintrag und Schaufelhamm und seine Braut Baronesse Cenzi von Haidhausen, Edle von Mörtel und Stadelheim am Münchner Oktoberfest." (Lucki, baron of Giesing, Lord over Steintrag and Schaufelhamm and his bride Baroness Cenzi of Haidhausen, noble of Mörtel und Stadelheim at the Munich Oktoberfest). This popularity is attested by numerous editions into the 1920s (citations). The absurd scenes from the Oktoberfests, put on stage by Karl Valentin (1882-1948) also ought to be mentioned here.

The Munich Oktoberfest finally established itself as a literary venue through the popular play "Kasimir und Karoline" by Ödön von Horváth (1901-1938), first performed in 1932 (citations). The play takes place during the Great Depression and depends on the contrast between the joyous atmosphere at the Oktoberfest and the bleak circumstances of its protagonists, who cannot escape from their milieus.

More recently, crime novels that include events taking place on the Oktoberfest enjoy particular popularity.

Early Texts

The first almost literary texts on the Oktoberfest share the fact that they aim for a certain purpose, at least superficially. As a rule, they wish either to glorify an event or to criticise the mores and morals of the visitors to the festival. Many texts, therefore, offer important source material, although there is little literary enjoyment to today’s readership.

Moral Treatises and "Sermons"

A series of pamphlets published in c.1830 take advantage of the Oktoberfest scenery as backdrop for critical and even hateful texts. The emphasis needs to be here on the 1828 treatise "Schicksale des Jüdleins Nathan Fahrum und seines Ziehsohnes Jakob" (Fate of the Little Jew Nathan Fahrum and of his Foster Son Jacob), which is heavily influenced by traditional antisemitism. The Jew Nathan is characterised with all the negative anti-Jewish stereotypes of the times; he appears as a liar, crook and altogether as a person driven by greed. At the end of the treatise, Nathan converts to Christianity.

Further pamphlets criticise above all the general moral decline, as perceived by the respective author, something that could apparently be witnessed most strikingly at the Oktoberfest. Alternatively, the diatribes of the authors (at least some of which might be identical to one another) are presented as the "tincture" of a quack, as the hell’s sermon of a father Abraham – perhaps in allusion to Abraham a Santa Clara (1644-1709) – or as speeches and scenes with the devil and his grandmother.

Sonderbare Aeuserungen und unerwartete Schicksale des Jüdleins Nathan Fahrum und seines Ziehsohnes Jakob auf dem Oktoberfeste zu München 1828 : israelitische Zeitschrift

1828
  • [München?]

Octoberfests-Moraltinctur, zu haben auf der Theresienwiese in der Bude des berühmten Doctor Dumdum

1829
  • [S.l.]

Pater Abraham's Predigt auf dem Oktoberfeste zu München, oder wie Pater Abraham die Bauern im ersten Kapitel kampelt, die Handwerksleute im zweiten Kapitel bürstet, und im dritten Kapitel die großen Vögel rupft und wascht

1830
  • Abraham Pater
  • [S.l.]

Die Hexen-Predigt am Oktoberfest, von der Erzhexe und Großmutter des Teufels, gehalten auf der Vogelstange des Sendlinger Hügels

1830
  • [München]

Der Teufel und die Hexe auf dem Oktober-Feste 1830

1830
  • [S.l.]

Der Zeitgeist und die Menschen, ein Sündenspiegel für die Welt : eine Oktoberfest-Predigt, sammt der Beschreibung aller Feyerlichkeiten und lustigen Dingen

1835
  • S.l.

Picture Puzzle (Rebus)

Picture puzzles were very popular during the Biedermeier period. The two treatises presented here – which in terms of content ought to be classified with moral-critical treatises – extensively use picture ciphers, possibly to make life difficult for the censorship of the time. For today’s readers these treatises are occasionally difficult to understand, not least because of the changes in how language is used. In addition, the treatise about "Frau Vitzlibutzli" and "Frau Wischiwaschi" displays strong misogynist traits.

Wie die Frau Vitzlibutzli und die Frau Wischiwaschi als Mannsbilda vokloadt, auf dem Oktoberfest d'Leut ausrichten thäten

1830
  • [München]

Eulenspiegel's Prophezeihung auf dem [Oktoberfest] in München

1832
  • München

Other Texts

The diligent librarian and German philologist Bernhard Joseph Docen (1782-1825) possibly composed the oldest preserved poem about the Oktoberfest 1815 and thus the oldest preserved literary testimony about the Oktoberfest. Docen dealt with the festival in a solemn, on occasion rather pompous poem, the format of which reflects Docen’s passion for Middle High German poetry, in particular for Wolfram von Eschenbach.

The anonymously published "Katechismus der Münchner-Welt" uses the format of the Catholic Catechism to voice scathing criticism against Munich morals. Even though it essentially belongs with the group of treatises presented above, it differentiates itself from them by its greater sense of humour. The scene of the "reisende Sepperl" (travelling Joe) finally leaves the level of moral criticism almost completely and leads, as far as its content is concerned, already towards the texts by Carl Eduard Müller.

Baierische Festspiele auf der Theresien-Wiese bei München, 1815

1815
  • Docen, Bernhard Joseph
  • [S.l.]

Katechismus der Münchner-Welt

1825
  • München

Der reisende Sepperl mit seinem Vater auf dem October-Fest zu München

1830
  • [S.l.]

Dr Carl Eduard Müller (1796-1873)

We know very little about the life of Carl Eduard Müller. The son of a lawyer read medicine at university and practised in Munich and later (from 1853?) in Kötzting as physician. Müller’s poems appeared from c.1832 also on their own. His Bavarian dialect and the occasionally quite ribald use of words were apparently popular with the audience of the times; many of his booklets were reprinted several times and probably sold at a high print run. A great deal of the humour resulted from the doggerel style of the verses.

a) Das Octoberfest auf der Theresien-Wiese zu München. Originell und humoristisch dargestellt

The droll description of the Oktoberfest published by Müller in 1834, became his greatest success. The loose, mostly harmlessly entertaining scenes must have appealed to the contemporaneous audience. Already in 1835 appeared a second enlarged edition, which was published including the musical score for guitar play. By 1850, six editions had been printed and the final one came out in 1860.

As late as in the year 1911, excerpts of Müller’s scenes were printed in the Oktoberfest newspapers published by Emil Stahl - albeit without indicating the reference source.

Das Octoberfest auf der Theresien-Wiese zu München

1834
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • München

Das Octoberfest auf der Theresien-Wiese zu München

[ca. 1835]
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • München

Das Octoberfest auf der Theresienwiese zu München

[ca. 1835]
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • [München]

Das Octoberfest auf der Theresien-Wiese zu München

1850
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • München

Das Oktoberfest in München

1860
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • München
  • München

b) Further Works

Müller’s poem about Keferloher Markt (Keferloh Market), published in 1832, may be understood as the direct predecessor of his book on the Oktoberfest. After its success, he wrote a similar description of the Jacobidult (St. James’s Fair) at the Isar Au (riparian meadow along the Isar). The two small volumes, however, seem not to have met with the same response. In the year 1834 and, much expanded, in 1853, books with Müller’s collected poems came out; the work on the Oktoberfest is included here as well. The places of publication stated as Stuttgart and Rorschach in Switzerland show that the poems were known and appreciated outside Bavaria as well. Perhaps only after his death in 1873, a little volume was published with the author’s final poems.

Der Keferloher Markt bey München : komisch vorgestellt

[1832]
  • Müller, Carl
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • München

Die Iacobi-Dult zu München : Seitenstück zum Octoberfest auf der Theresienwiese

[ca. 1830]
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • München

Gedichte, Aufsätze und Lieder im Geiste Marc. Sturms

1834
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • Stuttgart

Gedichte, Aufsätze und Lieder im Geiste Marc. Sturms

1853
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • Rorschach

Dr. C. Müllers Gedichte aus seiner letzten Zeit in Kötzting

[nach 1853]
  • Müller, Carl Theodor
  • Kötzting

c) Texts in Emulation of Müller’s Works

The success of Carl Eduard Müller’s book on the Oktoberfest inspired several imitators who tried to benefit by means of similar works (and with similar titles). For this reason, the sixth edition of Müller’s Oktoberfest book presented above bears an annotation as the "only legitimate edition".

Das Octoberfest zu München ...

1835
  • Erdmann, Wilhelm
  • [München]

Das Octoberfest zu München

1850
  • [München]