Kocherlball
Part outdoor summer ball, part costume party, the famous Kocherlball is a revival of one of Munich’s most wonderful traditions. Since 1880, several thousand of the city’s domestic professionals — maids, servants, cooks, butlers and chauffeurs — have met to dance in the English Garden on the third Sunday in July. Because the workers were required to be back at work by noon, the dance would commence at 5:00 and last until about 9:00. In 1904, the police put an end to this popular event, but in 1989, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the English Garden, it was revived. Since then a growing number of Münchener have gathered at the Chinesischer Turm for an early morning dance, many of them dressed in Trachten or in 19th-century servants’ costumes. Last year an estimated 15,000 people attended the spectacle to dance, watch or enjoy an unusual beer garden brunch. If you would like to attend this year’s Kocherlball on July 18, come early (it starts at 6:00), and don’t even think about coming by car (by 5:30, parking lots are usually full). <<<