Every person who has already visited or is just planning a tourist trip to Munich must include a visit to the Hofbräuhaus beer restaurant in the itinerary of his trip. "Court brewery", this is how the name of the restaurant is translated into Russian, is a kind of visiting card of such an interesting city as Munich. The Hofbräuhaus has an interesting history, unique attractions, a varied menu and a special atmosphere that makes you want to plunge into again and again. We will tell you about all the features of this beer restaurant in our article.

The Hofbräuhaus restaurant in Munich: foundation story

The history of the beer restaurant dates back to when, by order of the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V, the Court Brewery was built in Munich. This event was preceded by the special love of the Duke and his associates for beer. Unfortunately, the nobles did not like the drink that was previously prepared in Germany, so the beer was brought to them exclusively from Saxony. And then the masters came up with the idea (and the Duke fully approved of it) to build a brewery in a city like Munich.

The Hofbräuhaus, or the Court Brewery, was originally built in the Old Court, which was the first seat of the German feudal family of the Wittelsbachs. And it was here that the first dark beer was brewed in 1592.

The father's business was continued by the son of Duke William V Maximilian I. He did not like the taste of dark barley beer, and he put a lot of effort and money to brew a foamy drink that had no analogues in the whole world. White beer has become not only a good source of income, but also has given Munich 400 years of brewing experience.

New brewery building

The demand for white beer was so high that the small brewery in Stary Dvor could not cope with such volumes. Therefore, it was decided to move it to Platzl, where it is located to this day, only now it is called the beer restaurant "Hofbräuhaus" (Munich). A photo of the Platzl brewery can be seen below.

Since the construction of a new brewery cost a lot of money, but the demand for white beer was also great, the enterprising duke took a cunning move. He allowed small innkeepers to buy beer from the Court Brewery and sell it to the working people. In this way, the duke did well not only for himself, having received good income from the sale, but also for ordinary people for whom the drink of the nobles became available.

The birthday of the Court Brewery is considered to be 1828. It was in that year that beer was poured to working people right in the premises of the brewery. Local newspapers wrote that even Ludwig I himself was present at this folk festival.

Sperger family

During World War II, the brewery was almost completely destroyed. Only a part of the building and the basement remained intact, where several old clay mugs have survived. The premises were fully restored only by the end of 1958.

In 1980, the Sperger family took over the management of the brewery. After the death of the head of the family, Gerda Sperger took over the management of the brewery. In 2004, she handed over the management of the brewery and restaurant to her sons, who happily took over the reins of a traditional venture in a city like Munich.

Since then, the Hofbräuhaus has continued to develop and welcomes thousands of tourists from all over the world every year. And they go to the restaurant not only to taste the famous Munich beer, but also to plunge into the festive atmosphere that reigns in every hall of the Court Brewery.

Main brewery hall: Schwemme

On the ground floor of the Hofbräuhaus restaurant there is its historical part - the main hall of Schwemme. Once there was a real brewery here, where the famous foamy drink was brewed. Today it is a huge hall for up to 1300 people with a musical orchestra in the center of the room and a beer stand on the left. The interior of the room consists of massive antique furniture made at the end of the century before last. On the massive tables, you can still see the scratched names of the restaurant's visitors and their wishes to their favorite establishment.

The party hall has 900 seats. There is a backstage stage for dancing and music events. At least three times a week, the elderly Munich hosts dance evenings here.

Beer garden

In the summer season, many visitors to the restaurant prefer to sit outside in the room, but in the shade of the old chestnuts that grow on the territory of the Beer Garden. This part of the restaurant is surrounded on four sides by a historic brick wall with vaulted gates, through which you can directly enter the brewery from the street.

The Beer Garden can easily accommodate up to 400 people. Traditional beer drinks and salty pretzels can be enjoyed at set tables. By the way, you can buy pastries right on the street from girls in national costumes and, according to some tourists, they will be much fresher than those ordered inside the restaurant.

Restaurant menu: beer

At each free table, visitors will find a menu in German. But Russian tourists will be pleasantly surprised by the innovation of the Hofbräuhaus restaurant (Munich). The menu in Russian will be provided to them as soon as they ask the waiters about it.

The first reason people come to the Court Brewery is, of course, beer. Here visitors will be offered a choice of seven varieties at once: "Hofbrau" dark and "Hofbrau Original" light, "Radler" and "Dark Radler" with lemon, special beer for Russians with lemon lemonade, "Munich" white (wheat) and "Hofbrau" non-alcoholic. The beer is sold in 1 liter glass mugs. And even if the visitor finds it too much, only the last two beers can be bought in a smaller volume of 0.5 liters.

Local delicacies from the Court Brewery

You just need to order traditional beer. Most often, the Germans savor beer with sausages. You can order a choice of fried pork sausages with sauerkraut or the white boiled sausages for which Munich is so famous.

The Hofbräuhaus has a pretty good menu. If there are not enough sausages, you can order an appetizing hot one. Juicy pork knuckle with sauce and roast pork with sauerkraut and flour knodel will easily satisfy even the most severe hunger. Also at any time in the restaurant you can taste beef cream soup or potato soup with roots.

You can also try homemade desserts. For example, tourists often order apple strudel with whipped cream or fancy noodles steamed with crispy honey. In a word, you can dine in a restaurant quite decently, although not cheap.

Beer Hofbrau Munchen is one of the world's leading brands that set the tone for the brewing industry. The products of the Hofbrauhaus, a state-owned brewery, can be safely ranked in the highest quality category and in the highest price segment. The Hofbrauhaus brewery flawlessly adheres to the golden laws of brewing that were. This brewery is one of the few where modern accelerating processes are not used, designed to reduce the brewing period of beer (at the expense of quality, but for the sake of profit) three times, but a full cycle is maintained. Hofbrau Munchen owns the largest and one of the most famous beer restaurants in Europe with 3,600 seats - the Hofbrauhaus am Platzl, which is a landmark and the most popular establishment in the city, and the first largest tent with a capacity of 13,000 people, on the world famous, which takes place annually in Munich.

How the Hofbrau story began

William V the Pious, Duke of Bavaria (1579 - 1597), had a drink-loving and fastidious staff of courtiers. Munich beer was not good enough for them, so the "liquid bread" had to be imported into Munich from the Lower Saxon city of Einbeck. This was very costly, and William ordered his courtiers to think carefully about how cost and pleasure could be brought to a consensus. On September 27, 1589, chamberlains and advisers, "who ate more than a dozen dogs" in court intrigues, appeared before the bright eyes of the Pious with the idea: "Why not build your own brewery?" Wilhelm accepted this ingenious plan very favorably and hired brewer Heimeran Pongraz at Geisenfeld monastery on the same day to plan and supervise the construction, and later to work as the first master brewer of the "Dark Brewery" ... And in 1592 Pongraz began building the Court Brewery (Hofbräuhaus München). The brewery was called "Dark" because it brewed exclusively malt beer, dark brown in color.

William's son and heir, Duke Maximilian I had slightly different beer preferences than his father: he was not a fan of dark malt beer, the favorite drink of those times, but preferred light beer. In addition, he turned out to be not only a gourmet, but also a very sophisticated financier and marketer. Immediately banning all other private brewers from brewing light beer, he thus monopolized the production of light beer in his Ducal Brewery. This meant not only a constant source of income for the yard, but also for Hofbräu München over four hundred years of exclusive experience in the production of light Bavarian beer.

The court brewery generally had many exclusive rights. The privilege of supplying beer only to a narrow circle of the court nobility was soon supplemented by the exclusive right to trade outside Munich, for export.

Over time, the Duke notices that his light beer is in great demand. The court brewery can no longer cope with the production of beer. And yet the ducal court factory brewed a record 1.444 hectoliters of beer in 1605 - a huge beer lake at that time! After that, Maximilian I decided to relocate the light beer brewery and began construction of a new “White Brewery” on Platzl, near Munich's central Marienplatz. At this place it is to this day. "White Brewery" - because only light beer was brewed there.

In 1610, the Hofbräuhaus began supplying beer to innkeepers and private individuals. And in 1614 the master brewer became the head of Hofbräu Elias Pichler, a native of the town of Einbeck, which previously supplied excellent strong beer to the Bavarian courtyard. Elias was simply lured to Munich, where he began, which in the Bavarian pronunciation turned into Ainpökisch, then into Oanbock, and eventually became known simply in Bock -. This seasonal Maibock Hofbräu beer is still brewed today.

In 1850, the Hofbräu was leased to the Schneider family by the royal family. And beer was brewed in it until 1896.

But the brewery was not destined to go on a well-deserved rest. Already in 1897, the city fathers noted an unprecedented influx of tourists to Munich, who necessarily included the Hofbräuhaus in the program of their visit. Such a profitable item of income could not have been allowed to decline! Therefore, the Royal Planning Department commissioned the architect Max Littmann, a native of Chemnitz, to transform the building on Platzl into a state-of-the-art restaurant. And on September 2, 1896, Littman's father-in-law, the owner of a construction company, began demolition work at the old brewery, freeing up the site for the construction of that huge beer restaurant with a beer garden, which is known all over the world today. Reopened its doors to the visitor of the Hofbräuhaus on September 22nd, 1897.

Since 1896, the Hofbräukeller restaurant, which is located on Munich's Vienna square, took over the brewing baton. The dimensions of this establishment are more modest and in it, including an open-air beer garden (beer garden), "only" 1800 seats.

From 1988 to this day, beer has been produced at the new Hofbräu München brewery in the Trudering-Riem district.

Speaking about Hofbräu beer, it is impossible not to mention another event that, thanks to Hofbräu, went beyond the boundaries of history books and gained worldwide fame.

In 1810, the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, heir to the founding father of the Hofbräuhaus, and Teresa von Saxe-Hildburghausen was widely celebrated. In honor of this event, a horse race was organized on the Theresienwiesen (Terezin Lug). These races and festivities, accompanied by the distribution of Hofbrau beer and snacks, were so liked by the people that it was decided to hold a similar event annually. This is how Hofbräu beer presented to all beer lovers and connoisseurs the world famous Oktoberfest beer festival!

Hofbroy's tent at Oktoberfest is the largest in Teresa's meadow. It is he who is most popular with foreign guests, especially with guests from Australia and the United States. After all, only here you can enjoy beer right next to the stage, where there are special standing places. The ceiling in Hofbräu is also original, decorated with garlands of hops with a total weight of 12 centners. Five days before the start of the beer festival, two large cargo vans arrive at Theresienwiesen, loaded to the brim with a green, aromatic cargo: 12,000 freshly picked hop vines, six to seven meters in length. The 15th tone of this fragrant splendor is unloaded every year under the arches of the Hofbräu festive tent. Velvety hop inflorescences from Wolnzach are needed not for brewing, but for decoration. There is enough work for 20 pairs of male and female hands: luxurious garlands of hops soar under the arches of the tent and twine around the racks, and 40 large wreaths freeze in full of air and light. “Aromatic hops create the preconditions for a pleasant atmosphere under our roof,” says the owner of the Hofbrauhaus Munich brewery, Gunter Steinberg, “it has become our symbol for a long time.” Another symbol of the Hofbräu tent - the "Angel Aloysius" invented by Ludwig Thoma, the legendary "Heavenly Munich" - also hovers in the air under the arches. The seven-meter tall one with a thick mustache and a harp, according to tradition, soars in the air under the clouds above the heads of the festival guests. Angel Aloysius for them from year to year is not only a particularly desirable object for photography, but also a target for various firecrackers. And if pyrotechnics are not at hand, fans of the brewery are in a drunken stupor, with pleasure trying to get into all this beauty with whatever they have to - from T-shirts to bras ...

Varieties and characteristics

Hofbräu (HB) produces and sells under its own brand a fairly wide range of beers, among which it is worth mentioning Hofbräu Original - very well-known both in Munich and outside Germany, Munich's light bottom-fermented beer; Münchener Kindl Weissbier (Hofbräu Hefe Weizen) - bottle-ripening, refreshing and rich in fruit and confectionery bouquet; beer with the paradoxical name Hofbräu Schwarze Weisse, which translates as "black white beer", is rather dark in color, which is distinguished by a rich aroma and a pronounced taste of roasted malt. Hofbräu offers one of the best dark Munich brands, Hofbräu Dunkel, and in addition, seasonally, some other beers and brands: Maibock (May bock), Oktoberfestbock (festive Oktoberfest bock), Weihnachsfestbier (special).

A little more about these varieties:

Hofbräu Original

Alcohol: 5.1%

Transparent, bright golden color, long-lasting white head. Fresh aroma of hop herb, malt, a little lemon. Creamy, slightly malty flavor with a slight hop bitterness. In general - a classic beer with no frills, refreshing, good thirst quencher.

Münchner Kindl Weissbier (Hofbräu Hefe Weizen HB Munchner Weisse)

Alcohol: 5.1%

Hazy golden yellow color. Nice large and persistent white head. Very pleasant, slightly perceptible aroma of dry cloves, lemon, a tiny hint of banana and, in the end, freshly baked wheat bread. Good flavor balance, not too fruity or dry wheaty, harmonious. Really will be to your taste to quench your thirst on a hot summer day.

Hofbräu Schwarze Weisse

Alcohol: 5.1%

Top-fermented dark wheat beer. The Hofbrau Schwarz Weisse is a dark wheat version of the Hofbrau Munchner Weisse. Distinct aroma and rich roasted malt flavor.

Hofbräu Dunkel

Alcohol: 5.5%

Ruby brown color with a subtle creamy white head. Toffee and caramel are the most dominant aromas, a slight hint of cocoa and a very mild noble scent of freshly cut grass (the emphasis is actually on the scent). The taste matches the aroma: sweet burnt sugar, hints of chocolate and caramel. The bitterness is normal, the sweet aftertaste is wonderful. The first beer to be brewed at the Hofbräuhaus brewery.

Hofbräu Maibock

Alcohol: 7.2%

Amber color with a faint white head, not very persistent. The aroma is very grainy, rather sweet, with notes of vanilla, puffed rice and barley. Nice enough, but no frills. The taste corresponds to the aroma, a lot of grain, barley with puffed rice. The texture is thick.

Traditionally, the first Maybock barrel is opened at the Hofbräuhaus in the last week of April, just in time for the start of the merry month of May.

Hofbräu Oktoberfest Book

Alcohol: 6.3%

Bottom-fermented festive light beer. Brewed for the most famous beer festival - Oktoberfest. More dense than the original Hofbräu. The foam does not just cover it up, but in the form of whipped cream. Good malt flavor, but since there are no dark malts, the alcohol is not veiled and quite palpable, although not annoying. It has a bitter aftertaste.

Weihnachtsfestbier

Alcohol: 5.7%

Pale golden in color, with good white foam supported by streams of small to medium bubbles - do you recognize the characteristics of the main New Year's drink?

The aroma and, dispersed by soft touches of dough, the soothing sourness of fruit and hop herbs. Fresh and clean taste, refreshingly carbonated, medium-gravity lager ... The balance is well thought out and the amount of hop bitterness makes it more successful than most of its Christmas counterparts. In addition to the fact that Hofbrau beer is the most famous and very tasty beer, it is, even for those who are prone to order and cleanliness of the Numbers, whose Deutsche Ordnung has long been the talk of the town, the object of ridicule or kind envy, it is the standard of quality beer, in the production of which it is fully taken into account "Law on the purity of beer" of 1516. So when Hofbräu beer is labeled “Brewed by the 1516 Law” or simply “1516,” it means that no food chemicals were used in its production.

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Munich played a huge role in the history of the Third Reich. Adolf Hitler moved here in 1913, evading conscription into the Austrian army, which he considered unworthy of his presence. After the First World War, Hitler settled again in Munich and here he began his political career. During the reign of the Nazis, memorial meetings were held in the city, although the main parade, shown in the film "Triumph of the Will", took place in Nuremberg. The most important event in Munich at that time was, of course, the Beer Putsch. It began in the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall, which has not survived to this day, but was located somewhere between the current center of contemporary art and the Hilton hotel.

From here, the drunken stormtroopers, demanding power, headed to the city center, specifically to the War Department. The road went across this bridge ...

Through the old gate ...

To the main square of Marienplatz.

“The fight against the Jews will be as popular as it will be successful ... I will put as many gallows, for example, at the Marienplatz in Munich, as the traffic will allow. And I will hang Jews on them one by one, one by one, and they will hang until they stink. As soon as one is removed, another will be immediately hanged in his place - and so on until there is not one of them left in Munich. Exactly the same will happen in other cities, until Germany is cleansed of them "

From here - to the right.

And forward towards Odeonsplatz.

It all ended to the left of the Feldherrnhalle (a memorial to the victories of the Bavarian army), where they started shooting at the demonstrators.

Exactly at this very place.

Until 1945, there was a memorial to those killed during the Beer Putsch with a guard of honor. All who passed by were obliged to zig.

Who did not want to zig, walked around the Hall of Fame from behind.

The annual parades reached Royal Square.

Here is another important building - "Führerbau", the residence of Hitler.

It was here, behind this balcony, that the "Munich Agreement" of 1938 was signed. Now the building houses a music school, you can't just go inside.

Opposite was the office of the Nazi Party.

What about Bürgerbräukeller? The pub was badly damaged in 1939 by Georg Elser's assassination attempt on Hitler. The Fuehrer completed the traditional speech very quickly and left a few minutes before the explosion. In memory of this, there is a memorial plaque at the place of the pub, which I could not find for a long time, since I was examining the walls, but I had to look at my feet.

An important place in the history of the Nazi Party was also the Hofbräuhaus, probably the most popular in Munich today. The first meeting of the NSDAP was held here and its political program was adopted. And about 10 years before that, the Russian political emigrant Lenin went here.

Now both tourists and local residents come here with families.

Menu. Beer in Munich is served mainly immediately in liter mugs.

On the tables, you can see inscriptions carved by many generations.

An orchestra plays in the evenings.

And sometimes strange personalities come along.

Today we will go to the very heart of Bavaria - the famous Munich brewery Hofbrauhaus. The Hofbräuhaus is popular with numerous foreign tourists and locals as one of the attractions of Munich.

The history of the Hofbräuhaus restaurant

The Hofbräuhaus ("Court Brewery") is a world famous restaurant in Munich, which is located in the very center of the city near the central square of Marienplatz.

The Hofbräuhaus Brewery was founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria Wilhelm V as a court brewery. Since 1828, the brewery has been open to the public. In 1897 the building was rebuilt into a restaurant, and in 1958 it was completely reconstructed.

Over the years, the Hofbräuhaus restaurant was visited by famous political and cultural figures such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Elizabeth of Bavarskaya, Vladimir Lenin with his wife Nadezhda Krupskaya, Adolf Hitler, John F. Kennedy.
I'll tell you about some interesting historical facts about the restaurant:

• After visiting this pub, Mozart wrote the opera Idomeneo, King of Crete.
• During the First World War, Lenin lived in Munich and loved to visit this drinking establishment.
• In 1920, Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists held their first meeting on the third floor of the restaurant. Later, the Nazis took a fancy to this restaurant and held celebrations here, and Hitler on February 24, 1920 proclaimed the "25 Points Program" here.

After the Second World War, the Hofbräuhaus became one of the most important sights in Munich. This was partly aided by American soldiers who were stationed in Munich and then brought in mugs with the “HB” logo. And then celebrities such as Louis Armstrong, Mikhail Gorbachev, NASA astronauts, George W. Bush, etc. In addition to Munich, there are restaurants licensed by the Hofbräuhaus in the following cities: Genoa, Stockholm, Dubai (Marriott Hotel), Seoul and Las Vegas.

Now I'll tell you a little about the restaurant menu. Since the restaurant is visited by more and more Russian tourists every year, here you will be given a menu in Russian.

The restaurant offers three types of beer "Hofbräu Dunkel"(dark Munich bottom-fermented beer with a strength of 5.5%), hel "Hofbräu Original"(light Munich bottom-fermented beer with a strength of 5.1%), "Münchner Weiße" (top-fermented wheat beer with a strength of 5.1%). All beer is brewed "Hofbräu Munich"(Hofbräu München). The restaurant serves Bavarian pork, pork knuckle, Munich white sausages and beef dishes as meals.

Below are the prices in the Hofbräuhaus restaurant:

Halls of the restaurant

The restaurant consists of 4 so-called halls, each hall has long massive tables, so don't be surprised if you have to sit close to other people.

Schwemme- the lowest hall, the most revelry takes place here, with a capacity of 1300 people. There is also a stage where the orchestra of the court brewery performs.

Beer hut (Bräustüberl)- this is a hall on the second floor overlooking the Platz square, there is no noise and din and you can relax in peace. The hall has antique retro-style furniture.

Festival Hall- a large, beautifully decorated hall on the third floor, with a capacity of 900 people. Most often there are free seats in this hall, but when Chinese or Korean delegations arrive, they usually book 2/3 of the hall, and therefore it is very difficult to find a place for dinner. There is also a stage where musicians play. To make the musicians play more fun, beer is constantly brought to them.

Beer Garden- this is a garden, spread out under the chestnuts, with a capacity of 400 people.

Interesting facts about the restaurant:

• The brewery is, of course, represented at the famous festival and has one of the largest tents. Please note that places in the Hofbräuhaus tent and in other tents at the Oktoberfest must be booked in advance, you can find out how to do this in the corresponding post.
• The restaurant seats over 3000 people at a time.
• The musicians perform Bavarian and German songs every day from 8 pm, as well as songs from the Oktoberfest.
• The great attraction of the Court Brewery is the world famous beer mug safes. These special, forged from iron and lockable cells, which hold up to 424 beer mugs, were made back in 1970 according to numerous orders of regular customers. Many people want to have a place in such a safe, but the places in the safe are passed down only from generation to generation!

Restaurant address

Hofbräuhaus restaurant address: München, Platzl 9, subway station Marienplatz or Odeonsplatz... The restaurant can also be reached by tram to the Nationaltheater stop.

The Hofbrauhaus in Munich is a world famous beer hall on Platzl. The first beer building was built at the beginning of the 17th century with the aim of expanding the court brewery. In the 19th century, the brewery was open to the public, and beer was sold here at discounted prices "for soldiers and working people" by order of King Ludwig I. The Old Brewery [...]

- the world famous beer hall on Plazl square... The first beer building was built at the beginning of the 17th century with the aim of expanding the court brewery. In the 19th century, the brewery was open to the public, and beer was sold here at discounted prices "for soldiers and working people" by order of the king Ludwig I... The old brewery was rebuilt in 1897 and rebuilt after the war. the building was badly damaged.

Hofbräuhaus is a place visited by Lenin and Krupskaya, Hitler. Krupskaya left a positive review of the Hofbräuhaus in her diary. And Hitler in this beer hall organized the first public event of the Nazi party on February 24, 1920. And this date has been annually celebrated as the date of the formation of the Nazi Party of Germany since 1933.

In the large Hofbräuhaus hall on the ground floor, a brass band plays in the evening, there are also smaller rooms on the second and third floors and a beer garden. The menu is represented by Bavarian national pork dishes. Beer is served here in liter mugs.

The Hofbräuhaus is popular with locals and tourists alike. The pub can accommodate up to 2,500 visitors, including all the halls and the summer courtyard. Bavarian evenings, accompanied by live music, national dances, are held here every day.

Beer Hofbrauhaus
Platzl 9, 80331 München, Deutschland
hofbraeuhaus.de

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