Munich’s famous Hofbräuhaus – “oans, zwoa, g'suffa!”

Categories: Dining

Hofbräuhaus from the inside

[ source: Wikipedia]

When Germans think of Bavaria’s capital, the Hofbräuhaus usually is the first thing that comes to mind. This old—established beerhouse is the unofficial landmark of Munich (Munich vacation rentals | Munich travel guide) and just oozes Bavarian gemütlichkeit.

Although the Hofbräuhaus we know today is more than 400 years old, the Hofbräu brewery has existed even longer. In 1589 Wilhelm V., the Duke of Bavaria, decided to found his own brewery because he did not enjoy the beer that was brewed in Munich at that time. The new beer created by his master brewer was a dark ale beer and sold at the so—called brown Hofbräuhaus at the Old Court. Wilhelm’s successor, Duke Maximilian I., had a somewhat different taste in beer and preferred wheat beer to the prevalent heavy brown ale. The clever businessman he was, he secured himself the monopoly on wheat beer by simply forbidding all other breweries to brew this white beer. Soon the demand was so great that he had to move the Hofbräuhaus from the Old Court to its new and grander location at Platzl, a square right in Munich’s town center, where the white Hofbräuhaus still stands today. The beerhouse has been immensely popular with locals and foreigners right since its beginnings and so also the new building at Platzl was soon too small to house the brewery as well as the inn. When the brewery was finally relocated to a new site at Innere Wiener Street in 1896, it was high time. During the Second World War the Hofbräuhaus was almost completely destroyed and it took more than ten years to reconstruct the historical building. In 1958 the inn finally opened its gates again to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Munich. The Hofbräuhaus has found back to its old popularity in no time and today is still the place to go for local beer lovers and tourists from all over the world.

A trip to Hofbräuhaus is like entering Bavarian heaven. Most local visitors are dressed in traditional attire, beer flows like water, the pork dishes and other typically German dishes served there are steaming hot and tasty, and traditional oompah music is played by life bands all day long. If you truly want to get a sense of Bavarian culture, do not miss out on visiting Munich’s famous landmark.

[ source: hofbraeuhaus ]

Location, Map, and Driving Directions

Opening Hours

Daily from 9 am until 11:30 pm

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About this Article

This travel guide has been written by Kathrin Wagner.

She grew up in a small town in Bavaria and then studied Media studies, Literature and History in Erlangen and Munich. As a student she already spent half a year in London and moved back there after graduation in 2006. She is still living in London, where she works in publishing.

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