Photo Gallery Halls of Beer Worship
The Schottenhamel tent is one of the oldest of Oktoberfest's "Wiesn." Artist Michael von Hassel sold this photograph -- which he calls "Irregularities" -- to an architect who lives in Milan. He put it in a Baroque frame and hung it in his palazzo, says Hassel.
Michael von Hassel is good friends with Christian Schottenhamel, who hails from one of the oldest Oktoberfest host families. He was the one who first made the photo project possible when he gave Hassel carte blanche to visit his tent at night and take pictures. This photograph is called "Lunatic Peace."
This photograph is titled "Marksmen." The pictures in Hassel's Oktoberfest Cathedrals series cost 15,000 per print. They share an amazing depth of field that pulls viewers into the image.
By 4 a.m., peace has descended on the tents. The cleaners have left and the deliveries haven't yet begun. Hassel's pictures exude a peace you wouldn't expect from the venue of the world's largest fair.
Each tent on the Wiesn has its own character. The Augustiner brewery tent is one of the more traditional and unpretentious venues, says Hassel. At night, it has a completely different atmosphere.
The artist calls this image of the Hacker-Pschorr brewery tent "Bavarian Skies." He likes to work with multiple exposures and brackets, "from fully over- to fully underlit and always according to the same pattern." He takes up to 90 images for one photograph. He himself describes his photographs as hyper-realistic.
About 6 million people visit the annual event. "It is crazy what happens on the Wiesn during the day," says Hassel. "It couldnt be more intense. Lovers meet, split up. Children are conceived, business relationships, friendships. Fistfights, happiness, pain. It's a point of energy in the Bavarian cosmos."
Hassel takes his pictures when no one else is around. "Only then can I comprehend its size, make out the pathways -- when it's all full and you're partying, you don't notice all that," he says.
The annual Oktoberfest is one of Germany's biggest tourist draws, pumping around a billion euros into the local economy a year.
"I wanted to find out what it's really all about," the artist says. "What I encountered was tradition, ritual, singing, customs, masses of people, giant buildings." All things he associated with cathedrals. "People also come to the tents to worship," he says. "What they worship here is beer and filthy lucre."
Visitors to the Käfer tent tend to be A-listers who don't mind seeing their picture in the paper the next day. Hence the name of this photograph: "Olymp."
This image is called "Spirit of Crossbows."
This photograph of the Wine Tent is called "Vineyard." According to Hassel, the mood here tends to be a little more sedate than elsewhere on the Theresienwiese.
The Bräurosl tent hosts a "Gay Day." "Friends tell me it's a lot of fun," says Hassel. "Bavaria is very conservative so I think it's a good thing." He loves the Oktoberfest because it brings together people from all walks of life.
Hassel is a font of information about the Oktoberfest. A member of Munich's high society, he knows all the gossip.
The Rathausgalerie in Munich is hosting the exhibition "Oktoberfest Cathedrals" until Oct. 10.
