You already know Oktoberfest, but what about Volksfest?
The three-week Stuttgarter Volksfest in Stuttgart, also known as Cannstatter Wasen, is the second largest beer festival in the world; after the Oktoberfest in Munich and hosts about 4 million visitors each year.
Although; it is not as touristy as the Oktoberfest, it is said to be at least as enjoyable as Oktoberfest and even more traditional since attended by more local people. I can’t compare them because I still didn’t have a chance to visit Oktoberfest. But it’s a real fact that Volksfest is a lot of fun.
I was one of the 4 million visitors in 2013 🙂
Of course, as everywhere, the travel group is the most important part, having fun with the best friends is priceless!
Volksfest Started Local
The Volksfest started as a local festival like many other festivals in Germany. This festival, which took place to present the local products and to celebrate the fruitful year these days, has grown within time and become the second largest beer festival of the world today.
When it first started in 1818, only a few local producers established food and beverage stands, but Volksfest now welcomes you with a large variety of local beer producers in the festival tents and with a huge fairground surrounding them.
More Then Beer
When you arrive in the morning hours, you can have fun in the fairground in this area, you can taste the local delicacies at the stabds opening towards noon and you can find yourself dancing with the local music with the rising alcohol level in the evening.
Local producers are at the forefront
Schwaben Bräu, Stuttgarter Hofbräu and Dinkelacker are the leading festive tents. When you try the beers, you must also taste the local food of the region. The most preferred is the grilled chicken (Göckele) but it is also possible to try the grilled sausage (Bratwurst) and the famous fermented cabbage (Sauerkraut) of Germany. All of these can be found in and around the festival tents, while outside the tents, a variety of chocolate and candies are waiting to be tried.
Giant Beer Glasses
When you visit a beer festival in Germany, one of the musts is to drink a beer from Maßkrug. Specially produced beer for these festivals are of course served in these special 1 liter glasses. The waiters who serve 7-8 of these huge glasses at the same time, which I can hardly lift just one, are also definitely admirable 🙂
Traditional Cloths
When you join the beer festival in Germany, you will be surrounded by Germans in traditional clothing. Drindl for women and Lederhose for men, even if they are of Bavarian origin, are loved and worn every region of the country. In the Volksfest is also very popular and even sold in the festival area for those who did not have one yet. Next time, I am planning to get one, too 🙂
Be A Part Of Volksfest!
Celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2018, Volksfest hosted 7 beer tents with 35,000 seating and a total of 4 million visitors. Who wouldn’t like to be part of this 2-century tradition in 2019?
General photos from the festival area: www.esslinger-zeitung.de
