The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is a

beer hall A beer hall or beer palace () refers to a type of establishment that gained significant popularity in the 19th century, particularly across Central Europe. These venues were pivotal to the social and cultural life of cities renowned for their bre ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany, originally built in 1589 by Bavarian Duke Maximilian I as an extension of the

Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München The Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München (''State Brewery in Munich'', also ''Hofbräu München'') is a brewery in Munich, Germany, owned by the Bavarian state government. The ''Hof'' (''court'') comes from the brewery's history as a royal ...

brewery. The general public was admitted in 1828 by Ludwig I. The building was completely remodeled in 1897 by Max Littmann when the brewery moved to the suburbs. All of the rooms except the historic beer hall ("Schwemme") were destroyed in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

bombings. The reopening of the Festival Hall in 1958 marked the end of the post-war restoration work.

History

William V, Duke of Bavaria William V (29 September 1548 – 7 February 1626), called ''the Pious'', (German: ''Wilhelm V., der Fromme, Herzog von Bayern'') was the duke of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597. Education and early life William V was born in Landshut, the son of ...

found the beer in Munich bad so he imported beer from Saxony. He eventually asked his royal court to find a solution. A local brewery followed in 1589. On February 24, 1920, the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is where

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

made a speech founding the

National Socialist German Workers' Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, or the Nazi Party. The Hofbräuhaus was largely destroyed from allied bombing raids during World War II, but by Munich's 800th anniversary in 1958 the building had been faithfully reconstructed.

Features

The restaurant comprises most of the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, which also includes a ballroom and outdoor '' Wirtsgarten''. Its menu features such traditional favorites of

Bavarian cuisine Bavarian cuisine (; ) is a style of cooking from Bavaria, Germany. More than 285 typical Bavarian products have been recorded in the Bavarian specialities databaseGenussBayern since the 1990s. Recipes and museums can also be found there. With a ...

as ''Brezn'' (

soft pretzel A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twisted bac ...

), ''

Obatzda Obatzda (also spelt Obazda and Obatzter) is a Bavarian cheese spread. It is prepared by mixing two thirds aged soft cheese, usually Camembert ( Romadur or similar cheeses may be used as well), and one third butter. Sweet or hot paprika powder ...

'' (cheese dip), '' Hax'n'', and sausages such as ''

Bratwurst ''Bratwurst'' () is a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal. The name is derived from the Old High German , from , finely chopped meat, and , sausage, although in modern German it is often associated with the ver ...

'' and ''

Weisswurst , literally 'white sausage'; ) is a traditional Bavarian sausage made from minced veal and pork fatback. It is usually flavored with parsley, lemon, Mace (spice), mace, onions, ginger and cardamom, although there are some variations. Then the ...

''. Brews include ''

Helles Helles or hell is a traditional German pale lager beer, mainly produced in Southern Germany, particularly Munich. The German word ''hell'' can be translated as "bright", "light", or "pale". Flavour profile Helles-style beers are typically ...

'' and '' Dunkles'' served in a ''

Maß ' (pronounced ) or ' ( Swiss and Bavarian spelling, elsewhere used for dialectal ) is the German word describing the amount of beer in a regulation mug, in modern times exactly . is also a common abbreviation for ', the handled drinking vess ...

'', ''

Weißbier Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German and Belgian ; other types include Lambic (made with wild yeast), Berliner Weisse (a ...

'', and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

. Munich's largest tourist attraction after the Oktoberfest, the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is also frequented by locals, many of whom keep their personal mugs ("Krüge") stored there. During regular hours traditional Bavarian music is played. The famous Hofbräuhaus song (Hofbräuhaus-Lied), composed in 1935 by Wilhelm "Wiga" Gabriel, goes: "'' In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus, oans, zwoa, g'suffa!'' ("There's a Hofbräuhaus in Munich—one, two, down the hatch!" in the local dialect).

Innkeepers

* 1885–1896: Martin Ammerloher * 1897–1906: Joseph Wittmann * 1906–1919: Karl Mittermüller * 1919–1930: Hans Parzer (during

Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic Hyperinflation affected the Papiermark, German Papiermark, the currency of the Weimar Republic, between 1921 and 1923, primarily in 1923. The German currency had seen significant inflation during the First World War due to the way in which the G ...

) * 1930–1945: Hans Bacherl (during Nazi rule in Germany and WWII) * 1945–1950: Valentin Emmert (during

Post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

) * 1950–1960: Franz Trimborn (during completion of reconstruction) * 1960–1970: Toni Steiner * 1970–1980: Hans Glanegger * 1980–2004: Michael and Gerda Sperger * 2004–present: Wolfgang and Michael Sperger

Famous patrons

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

lived around the block from the beer hall in the late eighteenth century. In a poem he wrote, Mozart claimed to have written the opera ''

Idomeneo (Italian for ''Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', Köchel catalogue, K. 366) is an Italian-language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Vares ...

'' after several visits to the Hofbräuhaus fortified him for the task. In the nineteenth century, most of the breweries in Munich, including the Hofbräuhaus, were converted into large beer halls, restaurants, and entertainment centers with large, cavernous meeting rooms for weddings, concerts, and plays. In the period just before World War One,

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

lived in Munich and reportedly visited the Hofbräuhaus on a regular basis. In 1919, the Munich Communist government set up headquarters in the beer hall, and in February 1920

and the

National Socialists Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

held their first meeting in the Festsaal, the Festival Room, on the third floor. On 24th February 1920, Hitler presented the Nazi Party's Twenty Five Point Program in the ''Hofbräuhaus''. On that day, the Nazi party held a large public meeting and whilst Hitler was speaking, the meeting erupted into a melee. There was a massive fight between the Social Democrat and Communist opponents of the Nazi party, and the anti-fascists eventually won the melee. Hitler managed to finish his address, notwithstanding the chaos of smashed tables and chairs and hurled beer mugs all about him. On 4 November 1921 the ''Hofbräuhaus'' was also the birthplace of the later feared Nazi terrorist organization, the '' Sturmabteilungen'', or SA. After Munich's world-famous

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

(where the Hofbräu has one of the largest beer tents), the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is Munich's most outstanding tourist attraction and historical monument. Other famous visitors include

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist and short story writer. He is known largely for his first novel, '' Look Homeward, Angel'' (1929), and for the short fiction that appeared during the last ye ...

,Jeffrey Gaab, ''Munich: Hofbräuhaus and History'' (Peter Lang Publishers, NY, 2006)

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

, NASA astronauts, and past American Presidents

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

. File:Adolf Hitler - Hofbräuhaus.jpg, Hofbräuhaus watercolor painting by Adolf Hitler File:Mugs stored at the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl in Munich.jpg, Regular patrons store their mugs in small lockers

References

External links