When you think of Oktoberfest, odds are the first thing that pops into your mind is beer. It might surprise you to learn that originally, Oktoberfest wasn’t supposed to celebrate beer at all.
Oktoberfest actually has its origins in a royal wedding: the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in October of 1810. The wedding was a huge celebration, with the entire city of Munich invited to attend.
This enormous party took place just outside Munich, in an area surrounded by beautiful open fields. The locals enjoyed the party so much that they named the fields “Theresienwiese” (“Therese’s fields”) after the crown princess. Eventually this name was shortened to “Wies’n,” a nickname which locals still use to this day.