The Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München (''State Brewery in Munich'', also ''Hofbräu München'') is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

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 ...

, Germany, owned by the

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 ...

n state government. The ''Hof'' (''court'') comes from the brewery's history as a royal brewery in the Kingdom of

. The brewery owns the '' Hofbräuhaus am Platzl'', the '' Hofbräukeller'' and one of the largest tents at the

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 ...

('' Hofbräu-Festzelt''). There are many types of beer brewed using original recipes handed down by Wilhelm V, the Duke of Bavaria. The current beers produced include a Weißbier and

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 ...

, Maibock, Dunkel and

lagers. The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl in Munich inspired the song "oans, zwoa, g'suffa" (The

Bavarian dialect Bavarian (; ), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria, and South Tyrol in Italy. Prior to 1945, Bavaria ...

for: "one, two, down the hatch").

History

The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl was founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V. It is one of Munich's oldest beer halls. It was founded as the brewery to the old Royal Residence, which at that time was situated just around the corner from where the beer hall stands today. The

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

quickly became popular thanks to the first brewer, Heimeran Pongratz, and the "Bavarian Beer Purity Law" of 1516 that stated that only natural ingredients could be used in the brewing process. Maximilian I, Wilhelm's son and heir, did not care much for the Braunbier, which was the dark and heavy brown beer. So, in the beginning of the 17th century Maximilian I turned the brewery's focus to wheat beers and forbade all other private breweries to brew wheat beer, thus creating a monopoly. In 1612, Heimeran Pongraz's successor, Elias Pichler, was under pressure to brew a stronger beer, hence the Maibock. In fact, the Maibock beer became so famous that it once helped save the city from annihilation. When King

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

invaded Bavaria during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

in 1632, he threatened to sack the city of Munich. He agreed to leave the city in peace after the citizens paid a

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...

of 300,000

Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...

and 1000 buckets of beer, of which one third were Hofbräuhaus Maibock. In 1852, King Maximilian II transferred ownership of the brewery to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

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 ...

announced the official program of the Nazi Party to a meeting of around 2,000 people at the Hofbräuhaus on 24 February 1920. At the time, he was propaganda chief of the party whilst the organisation was still relatively small. On 29 July 1921, he was elected

Führer ( , spelled ''Fuehrer'' when the umlaut is unavailable) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler officially cal ...

of the Nazi Party during a meeting at the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl.

Franchises

After World War II, thanks in part to legions of American soldiers stationed in Munich bringing home beer mugs with the "HB" logo, the Hofbräuhaus quickly became a major tourist attraction in Munich. Demand for Hofbräuhäuser in other parts of the world began almost immediately. The first Hofbräuhaus in Europe outside Germany was opened in Genoa, Italy, see Hofbräuhaus Genova. In 1968, Helmut Meyer opened the first Hofbräuhaus outside of Europe, in Market Lane,

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

, where it still operates today. The complex includes Alpine Bar and Bier Hall. Since October 2005, there has been a Hofbräuhaus in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany. In October 2008, a Hofbräuhaus in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

opened. There are also Hofbräuhäuser in other German cities including

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Hofbräuhaus franchises have opened in several places around the United States.

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. It is at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers across from Cincinnati. The population was 14,150 ...

(

Greater Cincinnati The Cincinnati metropolitan area (also known as the Cincinnati Tri-State area or Greater Cincinnati) is a metropolitan area with its core in Ohio and Kentucky. Its largest city is Cincinnati and includes surrounding counties in the U.S. states ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

) in April 2003,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, in January 2004,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in March 2009,

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in January 2013,

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

in October 2014 and

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

in November 2014. A franchise opened in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

in September 2020. A franchise had operated in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

from September 2015 until March 2020. There is also a chain of Hofbräu Beer Gardens in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Panama City Beach, Florida Panama City Beach is a resort town in the Florida Panhandle, and principal city of the Panama City Metropolitan Area. It is a popular vacation destination, especially among people in the Southern United States, and is located in the "Emerald C ...

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, and

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

which provide the traditional food and but do not brew their own Hofbräuhaus beer, only serve it. The first Hofbräuhaus in Latin America was opened in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in November 2015. The Marriott International in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

has licensed the brand and has opened a restaurant in their hotel. The Hofbräuhaus

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

was the first Hofbräuhaus in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. There was also a franchise at the Don Mueang International Airport in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

References

External links

Official websitePanoramic virtual tour inside Hofbräuhaus in Munich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofbrauhaus in Munchen Staatliches Buildings and structures in Munich Brewery companies of Munich Beer brands of Germany Drinking establishment chains Drinking establishments in Germany Tourist attractions in Munich Kingdom of Bavaria es:Hofbräuhaus eu:Hofbräuhaus fr:Hofbräuhaus it:Hofbräuhaus pt:Hofbräuhaus ru:Хофбройхаус

History

Franchises

See also

References

External links