The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is a beer hall in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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

Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München The Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München (''public Royal 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 ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 Duke of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597. Education and early life William V was born in Landshut, the son of Alb ...

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.. It is also a place in where

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

made a speech founding the

National Socialist German Workers' Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported th ...

, or the Nazi Party.

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. Bavarian cuisine includes many meat and Knödel dishes, and often uses flour. Due to its rural conditions and cold climate, only crops such as beets and potatoes do well in Bavaria, be ...

as ''Brezn'' ( soft pretzel), ''

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 powde ...

'' (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 ''Brätwurst'', from ''brät-'', finely chopped meat, and ''Wurst'', sausage, although in modern German it is o ...

'' and ''

Weisswurst A Weisswurst (German ''Weißwurst'' , literally ''white sausage''; bar, Weißwuascht) is a traditional Bavarian sausage made from minced veal and pork back bacon. It is usually flavored with parsley, lemon, mace, onions, ginger and cardamom, ...

''. Brews include ''

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

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

Maß ' (pronounced ) or ' ( Swiss spelling, elsewhere used for dialectal ) is the German word describing the amount of beer in a regulation mug, in modern times exactly . The same word is also often used as an abbreviation for ', the handled drinki ...

'', ''

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 ''Weizenbier'' and Belgian ''witbier''; other types include Lambic (made with wild ye ...

'', and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. Munich's largest tourist attraction after the Oktoberfest, the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is also frequented by locals, many of whom keep their personal steins 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, eine, zwei, 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 German Papiermark, the currency of the Weimar Republic, between 1921 and 1923, primarily in 1923. It caused considerable internal political instability in the country, the occupation of the Ruhr by France and Belgium, ...

) * 1930–1945: Hans Bacherl (during Nazi rule in Germany and WWII) * 1945–1950: Valentin Emmert (during Post-war) * 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 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

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'', K. 366) is an Italian language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a Frenc ...

'' 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. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

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 ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

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, whose thugs 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 street fighting organization, the ''Sturmabteilungen'', or SA. After Munich's world-famous

Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...

(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, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist of the early 20th century. Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels as well as many short stories, dramatic works, and novellas. He is known for mixing highly origin ...

,Jeffrey Gaab, ''Munich: Hofbräuhaus and History'' (Peter Lang Publishers, NY, 2006) Louis Armstrong, Mikhail Gorbachev, NASA astronauts, and past American Presidents

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and George H. W. Bush. 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