In beer tents they
would quench their thirst. Not before 1871, however, the �Maerzenbier� (special, darker brew)
became the �Oktoberfest Beer�.
In 1850, the Oktoberfest began with �Olympic Games�
for craftsmen under the supervision of a gymnastics teacher by the name of Gruber.
The disciplines were wrestling, throwing the javelin, stone-throwing and others.
Three days later the festivities reached their peak. The monumental statue of the �Bavaria�
was disclosed on the Theresienwiese. Ferdinand von Miller in cumbersome work had casted each
part of the statue in ore after a model by Schwanthaler. More than 50 ft high - with the pedestal
even higher than 90 ft - �Bavaria�, now being the emblem of Bavaria, watches over the Theresienwiese
and the city of Munich.
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