Why Kaltenberg is still out in the cold
The family that initiated the Oktoberfest almost 200 years ago is not allowed to sell its Bavarian-brewed beer there today. Germany owes a great deal to the Wittelsbach royal family, for their involvement in the beer festival—now the biggest in the world—is only one of the many ways in which they have contributed to the country's thriving beer industry. They are also responsible for the Reinheitsgebot (Beer Purity Law) of 1516 and for founding Munich's famous Hofbräuhaus, which draws 1.8 million tourists to the city every year. Even so, they are forbidden to sell beer to the millions who flock to the Oktoberfest because the brewery they own is located outside the boundaries of Munich.
His Royal Highness Prince Luitpold is the great grandson of the last king of Bavaria, Ludwig III. He runs the König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei Kaltenberg, which the family bought in 1955 and is located at Kaltenberg and Fürstenfeldbruck. For the past 25 years, he has vehemently contested the century-old policy that keeps him and his non-Munich-based counterparts away from the Oktoberfest. City officials have refused to compromise, using the festival policy "city border is beer border" in their defense.
This regulation was imposed at the end of the 19th century, when the Oktoberfest ran into financial difficulties. The city's councilmen couldn't afford to host the traditional festival, so they turned to the brewers of Munich for help. These shrewd businessmen agreed to put up funding for the event—on condition they be granted exclusive rights to sell beer at it. This was a clever move. In 2001, the festival attracted close to six million people. The six Munich breweries permitted to sell beer at the festival—Spaten, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräuhaus and Lowenbräu—sold about 600 million liters of beer. (Figures were down last year because of the September 11 attacks, but are expected to recover this year.)
It's little wonder then that Prince Luitpold is dissatisfied with the current policy and is running a vigorous campaign to change it. Over the years he has held numerous public relations events intended to draw attention to the cause and has been involved in talks with the city's top government representatives. Those who read the local newspapers will have noticed that hardly a year goes by in which the prince doesn't make the headlines by voicing his dissatisfaction with the policy and by suggesting ways of making it less restrictive. In media statements, he has pointed out that breweries from as far away as Austria have been permitted to sell beer at the Oktoberfest in past years—and the festival has still remained true to its roots. One proposal is that a beer tent be set up exclusively for non-Munich-based Bavarian breweries. Prince Luitpold also believes that his family's historical connection to the festival—which will earn the city up to one billion euros this year—should entitle his business to a special status.
Last year, the prince openly criticized the festival organizers for failing to provide traditional Bavarian music: “If you visit the beer tents you hear things like ‘New York, New York’, 70% of the music is international pop.” He added that the beer tents, each of which holds up to 10,000 people and usually has visitors queuing for hours outside, are overcrowded and that the monopoly enjoyed by brewers at the festival has led to spiraling beer prices, noting that beer from one Munich brewery costs twice as much at the Oktoberfest as it did at other city festivals. Gabriele Papke, the spokeswoman for the Munich Tourist Office, which organizes the Oktoberfest every year, responded by saying: “In comparison with prices in the city's restaurants, it is not exorbitant.” Yet, at this year's event, a liter of beer will cost between € 6.30 and € 6.80, an increase from last year of about 30 cents.
The marketing director of the Kaltenberg Brewery, Martin John, told Munich Found that despite the prince's lack of success to date in changing the “city border is beer border” policy, he will continue to champion the cause. Ludwig III’s decedent has, it seems, the support of many people, who feel that the Oktoberfest celebrations don't pay sufficient tribute to the Wittelsbach family. “The prince's family founded the Oktoberfest,” says John, “so they feel entitled to take part in it. We know that there are a lot of people who would like to see Kaltenberg beer at the festival in recognition of this fact.” He said the prince is in favor of making some restrictions but that the existing policy is too limiting. “It's a delicate issue, but we have been fighting to change the policy for more than 20 years. The festival should definitely not be open to breweries outside Bavaria or it would risk losing its historical context. But why only Munich? The Oktoberfest is not just a Munich festival. It's a Bavarian festival.”
Papke, however, was quick to find fault with Martin John’s argument: “It would,” she said, “give all brewers the impression that the city councilors are willing to renegotiate who is allowed to sell beer at the event. The Oktoberfest has been a Munich festival since the beginning. So the city aldermen decided that only breweries making beer in the city limits should be allowed to participate. It would be dangerous to invite the prince to sell his beer there. Other breweries in Bavaria, as well as those in the rest of Germany and abroad, would then feel justified in demanding admittance too.” The Munich Tourist Office representative also felt that the policy ensured that revenue from the festival remained within the city. She pointed out that the Wittelsbach family is represented in another way. The Hofbräuhaus, established by Luitpold's ancestor William V in 1559, sells beer at the largest of the festival’s beer tents. However, the family no longer owns the Hofbräuhaus, which is now a state-run brewery.
Yet, perhaps more pertinent to the question of who should participate in the Oktoberfest is the Wittelbachs’ role in establishing this internationally renowned event in the first place. On October 12, 1810, four years after Bavaria became a kingdom, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) married Theresa of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The union was not very popular among the local population so, to ensure its acceptance, the couple invited the people of Munich to join in the festivities. They came in the thousands, ate, drank and enjoyed great sporting events for five days. A parade of riflemen was held in honor of the royal couple and traditional music played throughout the celebrations. On the last day, the people of Bavaria gathered at a meadow that was then outside the city limits for a great horse race in the presence of the royal family. The celebrations were such a success that a resolution was passed shortly afterwards to repeat them the following year. Thus, the Oktoberfest was born. Perhaps in memory of the joy that surrounded his wedding, the prince named the meadow where the festivities had taken place after his wife, calling it the Theresienwiese (Theresa's meadow). Today the site is well within the city limits and the Oktoberfest continues to be held there every year.
On the first Sunday of the Oktoberfest thousands of people re-enact the silver wedding anniversary of King Ludwig and Queen Theresa of Bavaria. So successful was the wedding of 1810 that the citizens were invited to mark the anniversary in 1835 with similar festivities. A marksmanship competition was held with riflemen and crossbowmen. The celebrations culminated in a parade of more than 80 festooned, horse-drawn carts filled with gaily-dressed passengers. In the modern parade, participants dress up in historical costume. Among them each year are marksmen, folklore groups, local bands and thoroughbred horses.
As important as the Oktoberfest is for Munich, it can hardly compare to the Reinheitsgebot in its economic value to Germany. The law conceived by William IV in 1516 is the oldest known food quality regulation in the world. It is almost solely responsible for the excellent reputation of German beer worldwide. In the early 16th century, Germany was certainly the only country in the world where pure and high-quality beer was guaranteed by law. Today, almost 500 years on, the decree is still being enforced with only minor alterations and brewers in Germany are, for the most part, happy to abide by it, knowing that it is the key to their success. The law states that the beverage may be made with only hops, barley-malt and water. William introduced it to stop brewers from cutting costs by replacing pure ingredients with ones of inferior quality. And even in the 21st century, its effects are apparent. Germany has the most successful beer industry in the world. It boasts 1,400 breweries, which between them employ more than a quarter of a million people, producing more than 129 million hectoliters (1 hectoliter = 100 liters) of beer a year and more than 6,200 different varieties of this popular potion.
The Wittelsbach family has established no less than 70 breweries over the years and their beer-making activities go back at least as far as the 13th century. The earliest records of Kaltenberg Castle, built by another Wittelsbach family member, Duke Rudolph, in 1292, reveal that there was a fine brewery within its walls. Anybody familiar with the present-day castle may be surprised to learn of its modest origins. In fact the building has a very colorful history, having been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries.
The name Kaltenberg probably signifies “Celtic Hill”. Members of the Wittelsbach dynasty lived on the premises for only a short time, after which it passed to the von Haldenberg family. After centuries of pillage and plunder, ownership of the castle passed to the celebrated painter Lorenzo Quaglio in the early 19th century, when it was turned into the magnificent structure it is today. He had it refurbished in the Neo-Gothic style, which remains largely unchanged.
The Kaltenberg property has thrived in the hands of Prince Luitpold. He took over his ancestral home in 1976 at the age of 25 and has restored the family's reputation of possessing progressive ideas and business prowess. In his management of the family brewery and his involvement in promoting German beer worldwide, the Prince has proven himself to be one of the country's most energetic brewers. When he started managing the Kaltenberg business, it was capable of producing 25,000 hectoliters of beer a year. Now, the volume has increased more than threefold. Prince Luitpold uses the facilities at Kaltenberg Castle to brew mainly dark lager, a specialty he introduced and which now accounts for 40 percent of the dark lager market share in Germany. He uses a second, larger plant at Fürstenfeldbruck to brew golden lagers as well as the main seller, wheat beer. In total the brewery employs more than 130 people and produces 400,000 hectoliters of beer each year.
The castle itself is much more than a brewery. Located only 40 km west of Munich, it makes for an ideal social setting. Visitors go there to eat in the Schlossrestaurant Kaltenberg, drink beer in the tavern called the Ritterschwemme and enjoy the scenic surroundings at the beer garden. But the biggest crowds go to Kaltenberg during the annual jousting festival, another brainchild of Prince Luitpold’s, which he created in the late 1970s. Each year, six sportsmen representing different European countries participate in seven jousting performances over three weekends. Brass and drum bands, marchers, jugglers, falconers and street musicians are also features of the festival. Of course no Bavarian celebration would be complete without traditional local fare and the prince’s event is no exception. Tourists can sample a variety of delicacies, from the scores of food vendors and bakers. Those who love to shop have more than 50 craft stalls to choose from. This summer’s festival was a huge success, attracting 120,000 visitors. “It went perfectly this year,” commented Martin John. “We were sold out every day. It lasted nine days and was packed to capacity. People love the festival because it's unique. It’s not just a beer festival. It's an event with a great reputation and it plays a major role in the medieval scene worldwide.” As the biggest medieval festival in the world, it is a successful counterpart to the Oktoberfest. Nonetheless its popularity hasn't diminished the prince's desire to be part of the festival that his family started in 1810.
