Next dates
2027 dates not yet announced — typically around July. We're watching and will update this page when they land.
Quick answer
Magdalenenfest (Hirschgarten) is a beer fest in Munich, Bavaria. It runs from Jul 4–20, 2026. A 65-year-old summer beer fest at Munich's largest beer garden — 7,000 seats under the chestnut trees.
- Best for
- Munich visitors who want genuine local beer-garden culture on the city's only Volksfest grounds still held entirely on grass — a relaxed, under-the-radar alternative to Oktoberfest scale. Good for pairing with a Nymphenburg Palace visit, since the festival's own 1728 origin traces directly back to the Magdalenenklause hermitage in the Nymphenburg park.
- Booking urgency
- Low — free entry, no reservation needed. Two Family Days (8 and 15 July 2026) offer discounted rides and a Kasperltheater puppet show; otherwise it's a walk-up market and fairground.
Munich's only Volksfest held entirely on grass — the 68th Magdalenenfest at the Hirschgarten, one of the city's largest beer gardens.
The Hirschgarten beer garden hosts the annual Magdalenenfest each July — Munich's only Volksfest still held entirely on open grass, not paved festival grounds. Grab an Augustiner Hell from the self-service section (7,000 of the garden's roughly 8,700 total seats) or a served König Ludwig Weißbier or Tegernseer Spezial under the chestnut trees. Named for St. Mary Magdalene's July 22 feast day, the festival itself traces to 1728, decades before it settled at this Hirschgarten site in 1958 — 2026 was its 68th edition here.
The full story
Each July, the meadow beside Munich's Hirschgarten beer garden fills with market stalls, a handful of rides, and locals looking for beer-garden atmosphere without the Oktoberfest crowds. The 2026 Magdalenenfest ran July 4–19, daily 11:00–22:00, with free entry to both the festival grounds and the adjoining beer garden. It's a genuinely modest event by Munich Volksfest standards — around 23 fairground operators and 6 market traders — and it's the only remaining Munich Volksfest still held entirely on open grass rather than paved ground, a distinction local press repeatedly calls out as its defining trait.
The festival's history runs deeper, and in a different direction, than the Hirschgarten venue itself. In 1728, Kurfürst Max Emanuel built the Magdalenenklause, an artificial hermitage grotto, in the Nymphenburg palace park; a spring beside it was believed to have healing power, and an annual gathering grew up around the spot on St. Mary Magdalene's July 22 feast day. That gathering formalized into a proper folk festival once the Nymphenburg park opened to the public in 1790, moved to Romanplatz around 1930, and only settled at its current Hirschgarten site in 1958 — making 2026 the festival's 68th edition at this specific location. The Hirschgarten itself has an entirely separate story: laid out as a royal hunting ground and converted into a public park in 1780 under Kurfürst Karl Theodor, with a beer garden operating there commercially since 1791.
Beer here comes from a fixed, quality lineup rather than a rotating system — Augustiner Hell, Edelstoff, and Radler from the self-service section, plus served König Ludwig Weißbier and Dunkel and Tegernseer Spezial. (The rotating "Big Six" brewery concept sometimes associated with Hirschgarten actually belongs to Munich's separate Viktualienmarkt beer garden.) The garden's often-quoted "7,000 seats" is really the self-service subset of a roughly 8,700-seat total, split between self-service, served outdoor tables, and an indoor section. For visitors, the Magdalenenfest pairs naturally with a Nymphenburg Palace visit — the festival's own origin traces directly back to the Magdalenenklause hermitage a kilometer away — making an easy, low-commitment "old Munich" loop for anyone who's already done the Wiesn. See Magdalenenfest or explore Upper Bavaria.
History
The Magdalenenfest's roots lie about a kilometer from its current home: in 1728, Kurfürst Max Emanuel built the Magdalenenklause hermitage in the Nymphenburg palace park, and an annual gathering grew up around St. Mary Magdalene's July 22 feast day and a spring believed to have healing properties. The gathering formalized into a folk festival after the Nymphenburg park opened to the public in 1790, moved to Romanplatz around 1930, and relocated to its current Hirschgarten site only in 1958 — making 2026 its 68th edition here. The Hirschgarten itself has a separate history: laid out as a royal hunting ground and converted to a public park in 1780 under Kurfürst Karl Theodor, with its beer garden operating commercially since 1791.
On Tap
- Local focus
- A fixed beer lineup — Augustiner, König Ludwig, and Tegernseer Spezial — at one of Munich's largest beer gardens, 7,000 self-service seats among roughly 8,700 total under the chestnut trees.
- What to try
- Augustiner Hell or Edelstoff from the self-service section, or a served König Ludwig Weißbier/Dunkel or Tegernseer Spezial — Hirschgarten pours a fixed lineup, not a rotating brewery system.
- Food pairing
- Bring your own food or buy from the garden's food stalls — Brotzeit and a Maß is the local move.
- Best for
- Summer visitors who want Munich beer-garden culture without Oktoberfest logistics.
- Bavaria On Tap take
- Magdalenenfest is the locals' July party on Munich's only all-grass Volksfest grounds — a fixed, quality beer lineup and zero tent reservation stress.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Magdalenenfest (Hirschgarten) in 2026?
- July 4–19, 2026, daily 11:00–22:00, at the Hirschgarten.
- Is it free to attend?
- Yes — free entry to both the festival grounds and the adjoining beer garden.
- How old is the Magdalenenfest, really?
- The festival traces to 1728, tied to the Magdalenenklause hermitage in Nymphenburg park and St. Mary Magdalene's July 22 feast day — much older than the Hirschgarten venue itself (1780). It moved to the Hirschgarten only in 1958, making 2026 its 68th edition at this specific site.
- Is the beer really a rotating "Big Six" selection?
- No — that rotating system belongs to Munich's separate Viktualienmarkt beer garden. Hirschgarten pours a fixed lineup: Augustiner (Hell, Edelstoff, alcohol-free, Radler), plus König Ludwig (Kaltenberg) Weißbier/Dunkel and Tegernseer Spezial.
- How many seats does the Hirschgarten really have?
- Roughly 8,700 total — about 7,000 self-service seats plus 1,200 served outdoor and 500 indoor. The commonly quoted "7,000" is the self-service subset, not the full capacity.
- What is Magdalenenfest known for?
- Being Munich's only remaining Volksfest held entirely on open grass rather than paved festival grounds — a genuine differentiator from every tent-based Munich beer fest.
More in Munich
Other festivals and markets in Munich — or see the full Munich guide.
- Free entry