Munich · English Garden · since the 19th century
The Kocherlball at dawn
While the city still sleeps, the band strikes up at the Chinese Tower. A festival that once belonged to the servants and today gathers all of Munich in Tracht to dance. Early in the morning, under the open sky, for everyone.
Until the band strikes up
Sunday, 19 July 2026, 6:00 am · Chinese Tower
Chapter I · The Tradition
A festival of the early hour
The Kocherlball is no invented spectacle. It is a revived piece of Munich social history, telling of the people who otherwise had no festivals of their own.
In the late 19th century, on summer Sundays, the city's domestic servants gathered: cooks, nursemaids, maids and farmhands. The word "Kocherl" meant the kitchen and household staff. They came in the early morning hours, roughly between five and eight, into the English Garden to the Chinese Tower, long before their employers woke and duty began. It was the only free time they had.
What began as a casual gathering grew into a popular amusement, drawing up to eight thousand servants on summer Sundays. They danced to brass music, talked, courted, laughed. The Kocherlball was soon the most sociable festival of the year.
In 1904 the authorities banned it for a lack of decency. For almost nine decades the tower fell silent on Sunday mornings. Only in 1989, for the 200th anniversary of the English Garden, was the Kocherlball revived. Since then it has taken place every year on the third Sunday in July and traditionally begins at six in the morning.
- 1880s
Origin
Servants meet early on Sundays at the Chinese Tower, in their only free hour.
- 1904
Ban
The authorities forbid the ball for a lack of decency. Almost nine decades of silence.
- 1989
Revival
For the English Garden's 200th anniversary the ball returns.
- today
Heritage
Annually on the third July Sunday, around 10,000 guests in Tracht in good years.
Impressions
The morning in pictures
Photographs from our Stammtisch at the Kocherlball at the Chinese Tower.
More pictures and impressions on Instagram: @chinesischerturm
Chapter II · The Programme
From the first note to the close
The Kocherlball follows a simple rhythm: first the band, then free dancing, and in between the guided group dances led by the dance master. No printed programme, just the music.
- from 4:00
The earliest arrive
The hardy secure the best seats long before sunrise. First come, first served.
- 6:00
The band opens the ball
The band strikes up. With the first waltz the ball is open, in the first morning light.
- 6:00 - 10:00
Open dancing
Waltz, polka, Zwiefacher, Landler and the Munich Francaise. Dance if you like, watch if you prefer.
- during
Guided group dances
The dance master leads line and figure dances. Joining in is possible without prior knowledge.
- towards the end
The great Munich Francaise
The sociable highlight: a figure-rich group dance many take part in.
- 10:00
Close
The ball winds down and the regular beer-garden service at the Chinese Tower begins.
Chapter III · The Dances
What is danced, anyone can learn
No one has to dance perfectly. Most dances are explained in a few minutes, and the dance master leads the figures on site in the morning.
The mainstay of every ball. Turned gently, often the first dance of the day.
The typical Bavarian couple dance in duple time, lively and down to earth.
The switch between turn and waltz within one piece. The Old Bavarian speciality.
Fast, sociable, easy to learn. The dance where no one stays seated.
A leisurely Alpine turning dance, one of the oldest at the ball.
The figure-rich highlight in rows and squares, led by the dance master.
Chapter IV · Tracht and Custom
How to come
Tracht
- Tracht is welcome but not required. No one is turned away.
- Dirndl, Lederhose, Janker or simply your good Sunday clothes.
- Historic servants' dress is welcome and entirely in the spirit of the festival.
- Firm shoes pay off; dancing is on gravel and grass.
- Do not forget a light jacket for the cool morning hour.
Good to know
- No entry fee, no registration, no obligation to reserve a table.
- The ball is a family festival. Children are warmly welcome.
- Food and drink are available at the Chinese Tower beer garden.
- A blanket or folding chair pays off; seats are in demand.
- An open-air festival; in steady rain things may change at short notice.
Chapter V · Getting there
By rail and tram, not by car
There is no parking at the Chinese Tower, and the English Garden is car-free. If you come early, come by public transport or bike. On early Sundays these run less often, so check the first suitable connection the evening before.
Chinese Tower stop
Also bus 154, right at the destination.
Tivolistrasse stop
A few minutes' walk to the tower from there.
Giselastrasse stop
About ten minutes on foot, or onward by bus.
Bicycle
The English Garden is well connected. Racks along the paths.
Chinese Tower · English Garden · 80538 Munich Open in maps
Chapter VI · Our table
You will find us there every year
We are a Munich Stammtisch, a regulars' table long bound to the Chinese Tower. The Kocherlball is one of the dates we never miss.
The festival is not put on by us. It is a grown Munich folk festival, older than any of us, with roots in the 19th century. The Kocherlball is traditionally run by the tenants of the beer garden at the Chinese Tower together with the cultural department of the City of Munich. For us it is not a date we organise but one we love. Every third Sunday in July we are at the tower early, in Tracht, at the long tables.
This page is our small homage to a festival that has shaped Munich for generations. Come by, join the dance, and if a cheerful Stammtisch is sitting under the tower, that might be us.
Chapter VII · Questions
What is often asked
When does the Kocherlball take place?
How much is entry?
Do I have to reserve a table?
What should I wear?
Does the ball take place in the rain?
Can I learn to dance without prior knowledge?
Are children and families welcome?
Where can I park?
Chapter VIII · In depth
More about the Kocherlball
For everyone who wants the details: the key questions about the ball, each answered on its own page.
Date, times and the third-Sunday-of-July rule.
Why there are no tickets, and how to still sit well.
Dirndl, Lederhosen or Sunday best: what suits the early morning.
From the waltz to the Francaise, and where to practise beforehand.
Servants' festival, ban and revival in detail.
The morning at the tower in pictures, plus photo tips.
How the last ball on 19 July 2026 went.
Where else Bavaria dances early: Bad Tölz, Abensberg, Osterhofen.
Be there when the band strikes up
No ticket, no stage, no entry fee. Just the early hour, the music and all of Munich in Tracht. Mark the date and come by.
See how to get there