TravelTill

Culture of Erlangen


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The Bergkirchweih is an annual beer festival, similar to the Oktoberfest in Munich but smaller in scope, therefore rather intimate. It takes place during the twelve days before and after Pentecost; this period is called the "fifth season" by the locals. The beer is served at wooden tables in one-litre stoneware jugs under the trees of the "Berg", a small, craggy, and wooded hill with old caves (beer cellars) owned by local breweries. The cellars extend for 21km (14 miles) throughout the hill (the "Berg") and maintain a constant cool underground temperature. Until Carl von Linde invented the electric refrigerator in 1871, this was considered to be the largest refrigerator in Southern Germany.

The beer festival draws more than one million visitors annually. It features carnival rides of high tech quality, food stalls of every imaginable franconian dish like bratwurst, suckling pig, burnt almonds, and giant pretzels.

It is commonly known by local residents as the "Berchk�rwa" (pronounced "bairch'-care-va") or simply the "Berch", like in "Gehma auf'n Berch!" ("Let's go up the mountain!").

This is an outdoor event, packed with Franconians in various states of enjoyment. Despite the relatively high number of visitors it is practically unknown by tourists and outside Bavaria
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