The Bergkirchweih is an annual Volksfest (beer festival and travelling funfair) in Erlangen, Germany.
Locals nickname it Berch, which is the East Franconian pronunciation of the German word Berg, meaning mountain or hill.
The Bergkirchweih starts on the Thursday before Pentecost at 5 PM. The opening ceremony called "Anstich", which is carried out by the city's mayor, takes place at a different beer cellar, the traditional storage and cooling facilities of the local breweries, every year. Thousands gather to watch the opening spectacle hoping to receive a stein of free beer of the first barrel.
Traditionally, twelve days later the last beer barrel is buried at the cellar where the next Anstich will take place.
The Bergkirchweih area is located in the north of the city of Erlangen and is roughly a kilometer long (0.6 mi).
It consists of beer cellars and a long road with spaces for booths and rides; a huge Ferris wheel is the Berch's traditional landmark.With its wooden benches under elm, chestnut and oak trees it is one of the biggest Open Air Biergartens of Europe boasting more than 11,000 seats.The Bergkirchweih has taken place since 21. April 1755, making it 55 years older than the Oktoberfest. Locals often refer to the two week window when the beer festival is taking place as the "fifth season". Roughly a million people - about ten times the city's population - visit the event, making the Bergkirchweih, together with Oktoberfest in Munich, Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing, Michaeliskirchweih in Fürth and Volksfest in Nuremberg one of the great five in Bavaria.
There was an American Military Kaserne (Ferris Barracks) located in southern Erlangen until 1994. Soldiers commonly referred to the festival as the "Strawberry Festival", probably due to the difficulty in pronouncing 'Bergkirchweih'.