Hippodrom

The Hippodrom was replaced by the Marstall in 2014. A tent of the same name and similar design still exists at the Munich Frühlingsfest.

The Hippodrom is one of the Oktoberfest tents with the most changeable history. First opened 1902 as an actual hippodrome by the legendary showman Carl Gabriel, its present-day guests is mainly Munich’s Schickeria, the high society, or at least what pictures itself to be part of the latter. This is quite a turn of events. Originally, the Hippodrom was popular among guests watching girls horseback riding in the hippodrome in the middle and maybe showing some leg when mounting and dismounting the horses. Over the decades, pants became more popular among women and finally killed the hippodrome in 1988. The Hippodrom was one of the worst Oktoberfest tents by that time. It made headlines suffering from significant problems with rowdy guests and tax-evading landlords.

When Sepp Krätz took the Hippodrom over, he introduced some non-traditional items to the menu. For example prawns or, the last addition, wagyu beef. Also, the tent featured a champagne bar upstairs and serves vine and wheat beer. Guests were older than in other tents and started dancing only late in the evening. The two bands, which played each day, were conventional cover bands.