Siemens technologies at the Munich Oktoberfest

The showman couple Irene and Alexander Kunz

How many love stories involve a ghost train? When Alexander Kunz joined Siemens as a young man he appeared to have a promising career with the company ahead of him. His path was mapped-out ready – all he had to do was follow it. But then, at the 1964 spring festival in his home city of Munich, he happened to meet and fall in love with the daughter of the owner of a ghost train ride. They married and he became a showman, but he has always remained a Siemens man at heart.

The showman couple Irene and Alexander Kunz

The front figures of the "haunted castle" tune visitors in on a ghostly adventure. The ghost train has about 40 horror effects hidden in the dark. The Kunz family has been continuously introducing innovations such as laser light or beamer shows as well as new effects – living ghosts – to bring a breath of fresh air into the business.

The funfair on the Wiesn fairgrounds opens in Munich on September 16, 2017. Alexander and Irene Kunz will again be there with their haunted castle ride, the "Geister-Schloss" and a particularly interesting tale to tell. Alexander Kunz was 16 years old when he started his training in telecommunications manufacturing at Siemens in 1961.

He met his future wife Irene in 1964 at a time when things in the ghost train family were far from straightforward: his future father in law was seriously ill and the very existence of the company hung in the balance. With heavy heart, Kunz resigned from his job with Siemens and set about saving the show family. This meant embarking on a completely new life with a rhythm all of its own: put the ride up, do the fair, pack the ride up again and drive on to the next venue, all in a matter of days and with barely a pause in between. It was a new and unfamiliar environment too and one that tended to take a critical view of outsiders like him, but his technical expertise and ability to fix electrical problems quickly and without fuss were enough to see him firmly accepted in his new community. The skills he had learned during his training with Siemens, it turned out, earned him respect as well as income.

1967 was Kunz's first year as a showman on the Wiesn. Today, half a century later, the grandfather and his family have plans for a complete redesign of their ghost train. It is going to be bigger, better and even more of a draw. And it will again feature a wide range of Siemens technology.

The Judenhofer-Kunz family has a long history at the funfair on the Wiesn having first appeared on the Oktoberfest bill in 1923 – with a confectionery business. The ghost train era began after the war and the family, which attends funfairs all over Germany and elsewhere in Europe, has so far had seven ghost train rides. Their current "Geister-Schloss" (ghost castle), which has around 40 separate effects lurking in the shadows, has proved a great success. Time and again the family has seized on innovations (lasers and projector shows, for example) and new effects (there will be live ghosts in Munich) to keep its business steaming ahead.

While the big tents are waiting in the “Wirtsbudenstrasse”, the “Schaustellerstrasse” attracts visitors with exciting rides. More than 150 fun attractions are available. Many of them use switching and drive technology from Siemens.

High Energy is a power plant with supernatural power. It takes 30 daring visitors on a journey 30 meters above the ground. A Simatic S7 ensures controlled movements.

The French-made Rio Rapidos Rafting Ride operated by Siegfried Kaiser jr. provides for fun with its bubbling torrents, unexpected rapids and with a Siemens Simatic S7 controller.

Modern technology for the Oktoberfest's Giant Ferris Wheel: the ride – whose 40 gondolas can carry up to 400 passengers – is controlled by a SIMATIC S7 controller from Siemens. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival's rides and attractions.

Siemens offers the Sitrans LR250 HEA, a radar level transmitter that determines the contents of the tank without coming into contact with the product.

Based on date of manufacture, the Euroscooter is one of the newest and most modern bumper-car rides in the whole of Bavaria. A Simatic S7 controller ensures that the cars are controlled and run safely – despite mayhem on the deck.

High Energy is a power plant with supernatural power. It takes 30 daring visitors on a journey 30 meters above the ground. A Simatic S7 ensures controlled movements.

Reliable technologies for decades: Almost all the drives and control systems used in world's largest mobile wild water ride are from Siemens. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival's rides and attractions.

Control technology and software from Siemens are used to pump the tasty festival beer securely and quickly from the tanks to the taps, via an underground pipeline loop. In the taprooms, a so-called "Liter-Meter" indicates the exact rate of flow of the beer, like a speedometer. The system sends data on the quantities of beer sold and any error messages to the brewery and the taproom operator via SMS.

The picture shows Uwe Daebel, Head of the department of Filling and Packaging Technology at Paulaner brewery.

Control technology and software from Siemens are used to pump the tasty festival beer securely and quickly from the tanks to the taps, via an underground pipeline loop. In the taprooms, a so-called "Liter-Meter" indicates the exact rate of flow of the beer, like a speedometer. The system sends data on the quantities of beer sold and any error messages to the brewery and the taproom operator via SMS.

Control technology and software from Siemens are used to pump the tasty festival beer securely and quickly from the tanks to the taps, via an underground pipeline loop. In the taprooms, a so-called "Liter-Meter" indicates the exact rate of flow of the beer, like a speedometer. The system sends data on the quantities of beer sold and any error messages to the brewery and the taproom operator via SMS.

Reliable technologies for decades: Almost all the drives and control systems used in world’s largest mobile wild water ride are from Siemens. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival’s rides and attractions.

Reliable technologies for decades: Almost all the drives and control systems used in world's largest mobile wild water ride are from Siemens. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival's rides and attractions.

Modern technology for the Oktoberfest's Giant Ferris Wheel: the ride – whose 40 gondolas can carry up to 400 passengers – is controlled by a SIMATIC S7 controller from Siemens. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival's rides and attractions.

Modern technology for the Oktoberfest's Giant Ferris Wheel: the ride – whose 40 gondolas can carry up to 400 passengers – is controlled by a SIMATIC S7 controller from Siemens. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival's rides and attractions.

Powered by a Siemens-Schuckert electric motor over 70 years old, the Journey to Paradise rollercoaster at the Historical Oktoberfest is still going strong. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival's rides and attractions.

Powered by a Siemens-Schuckert electric motor over 70 years old, the Journey to Paradise rollercoaster at the Historical Oktoberfest is still going strong. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival's rides and attractions.

Modern technology for the Oktoberfest’s Giant Ferris Wheel: the ride – whose 40 gondolas can carry up to 400 passengers – is controlled by a SIMATIC S7 controller from Siemens. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival’s rides and attractions.

Powered by a Siemens-Schuckert electric motor over 70 years old, the Journey to Paradise rollercoaster at the Historical Oktoberfest is still going strong. With its drives and control technologies, Siemens has a long tradition of ensuring the smooth operation of the festival’s rides and attractions.