You can taste the intoxicating elixir made from the water of a spring gushing at a depth of 210 m, and pay tribute to classic local dishes in the Biergarten, a beer garden that can accommodate 5,000 people at a time. Here, among the cooling chestnut trees, real concerts with Tyrolean melodies and folk dances are held in the evenings. In inclement weather, visitors move to the cellar, decorated in the style of a medieval fortress. Dinner at Augustiner Keller will cost 15-35 €.

But first, a little history...

The court brewery in Munich was founded on September 27, 1589 by the Bavarian Duke William V the Pious, and initially brewed only heavy dark beer from dark Munich malt. William's son and heir, Maximilian I, did not like this variety, preferring a milder wheat beer (German: Weissbier). In 1602, the Duke banned all private breweries from preparing weissbier, securing a monopoly for his court brewery, which allowed it to produce 1,444 hectoliters of wheat beer in 1605 alone.

In 1607, Maximilian I decided to move the production of wheat beer and build a new brewery in Munich - the Hofbräuhaus (“court beer house”) on Platzl street. Since 1828, the brewery has been open to the public. In 1897, the building was rebuilt as a restaurant, and in 1958 it was completely reconstructed.

In 1610, Maximilian I, by his edict, allowed Munich innkeepers to purchase beer from the Hofbrauhaus and serve it not only to the courtiers, but also to ordinary citizens. Since 1781, the composer Mozart came here. Over the course of 200 years, in addition to statesmen, many burghers also became addicted to the royal beer.

In 1828, by decree of King Ludwig I, a public beer hall and tavern was opened right in the Hofbräuhaus. On October 1, 1844, the king again demonstrated his concern for the people by lowering the price of beer: from now on, instead of 6.5 kreuzers, a liter mug of Hofbräu beer cost only 5, so that, as Ludwig I said, “the working class and the soldiers were able to afford a healthy and affordable drink.”

To protect against counterfeiting, in 1879 the “HB” (Hofbräu) brand became a registered trademark; the director of the brewery assigned the exclusive right to use it to the Royal Court Beer House in Munich.

During his first emigration, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, at that time an active member of the RSDLP, living illegally in Munich on Kaiser Street, visited the Hofbräuhaus. During this period, the editorial office of the Iskra newspaper operated illegally in the city. The editorial staff, in addition to Ulyanov-Lenin, included Plekhanov, Martov, Axelrod, Zasulich, Parvus and Potresov. From April 1901, Krupskaya became the editorial secretary, who later wrote in her diary in German: “Besonders gern erinnern wir uns an das Hofbräuhaus, wo das gute Bier alle Klassenunterschiede verwischt” (We especially fondly remember the Court Brewery, where there is excellent beer erases all class differences).

On February 24, 1920, the first major public meeting of the German Workers' Party began in the Main Hall of the Hofbräuhaus, attended by more than 2,000 people. At this meeting, which lasted four hours, Hitler announced the 25 Point Program, which became the official program of the Nazi Party, and proposed renaming the organization the National Socialist German Workers' Party.
This date is considered the date of the formation of the NSDAP and for 11 years every year, starting in 1933, after the National Socialists came to power, it was celebrated at the Hofbrauhaus. On February 24, 1941, at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Nazi Party at the Hofbräuhaus, Hitler announced a plan to intensively use submarines in combat.

All photos are taken from Google image search, incl. from the archives of Life magazine.

During the Second World War, during strategic bombing, the building was heavily damaged, with the exception of a small part of the ground floor and cellars, thanks to which several hundred valuable antique beer mugs were saved. The building was completely restored after the destruction of World War II only in 1958. The total number of seats in the restaurant is about 4,000.

Today it is a bright, lively and cheerful place, although 100% touristic...

Personalized mugs with locks:

A couple of years ago, on May 9, a group of friends and I were passing through Munich on the way from Dortmund to Salzburg. Naturally, we stopped at the Hofbräuhaus in the evening; in the huge hall, several “Russian” tables sang “Katyusha” and raised their glasses to Victory Day, completely drowning out the Bavarian barrel organ. Whether it’s good or bad to sing “Katyusha” in the Hofbräubaus on Victory Day is a debatable question, I think that in the modern world you just need to remember Victory Day. And the beer hall is precisely created for songs and fun, I don’t see anything reprehensible in the fact that Russians can raise a toast together on May 9 anywhere in the world.
Much has changed since the war, and a resident of the victorious country now needs to “humble himself” by going “to bow” to the German embassy for a visa...

I have long wanted to devote a separate page to this interesting topic, but I could not find a more detailed description anywhere except in Alexander Petrochenkov’s guidebook “Bavarian Beer”. I am pleased to present an excerpt from this book dedicated to the Big Munich Six.

Publishing house of Anton Zhigulsky. Moscow 2008

All photographs presented in this section are from my personal collection. Complete photo collection.

Munich Big Six

Speaking about the capital of Bavaria, Munich, it is impossible to do without mentioning the “Big Munich Six” - the six largest brewing companies in Munich, whose formation is most closely intertwined with the history of this city: Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Spatenbräu, Augustiner-Bräu, Paulanerbräu and Hacker-Pschorr Br äu. Beers from these six brands dominate Munich, and for many foreign beer drinkers, these brands limit the horizon of Bavarian brewing.

Of course, Munich beer is not limited to the products of the Big Munich Six. A detailed examination of the worthy products of these six traditional brewers is certainly worth some time and effort. Which pub, beer garden or beer hall in Munich to go to - you can decide on the spot. The main thing is that there can be no mistake here: in Munich you will not be offered bad beer anywhere.

However, even more refined Bavarian beers can be found outside of Munich. But this will be discussed further. In the meantime, let's look at what the Big Six Munich brewers offer.

The Hofbräuhaus is one of the oldest breweries in Munich. Now it is a beer garden with a garden located on Platzl.

Hofbräuhaus was founded in the 16th century as the court brewery of the Bavarian dukes. Over time, beer became available not only to dukes, but also to ordinary citizens. In the 19th century, the Hofbrä u brand was registered to protect against counterfeiting. In the same century, the old brewery building was replaced by a new restaurant building.

The new building can accommodate about 4,000 people. Halls of the Hofbräuhaus: the Schwemme hall (cellar) with Bavarian music, the Bräustüberl office (beer room), decorated in retro style, the main hall, which in addition to the stage and tables houses a museum of the history of the brewery, and an open-air garden. Evenings with Bavarian music and dancing are held daily in the halls. People are offered three types of beer: dark bottom-fermented, light bottom-fermented, and top-fermented wheat. They also make beer cocktails with lemonade. For a snack - Bavarian dishes (white sausages and roast pork). At the kiosk you can purchase memorable souvenirs with Hofbräu branded attributes.

Beer Paulaner

The Paulaner beer garden is very popular among locals and tourists, so it is not very cozy here until 7 pm due to the large number of visitors. After the townspeople go home, the pub becomes much more comfortable. In summer, this place is even more cozy: you can sit at tables outside under the spreading chestnut trees.

There are 400 seats in the beer hall with self-service and 300 with service, there is also a VIP box and a children's playground. The beer hall serves all types of Paulaner beer, which is produced by the largest brewery in Bavaria, which has the right to present its beer at the beer festival - Paulaner Oktoberfest. The beers presented here are: Paulaner Original Munich Hel, Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier, Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel, Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier non-alcoholic and even seasonal varieties Paulaner Maibier and Paulaner Oktoberfest.

The establishment is open from 10 am to 1 am.

Beer Augustiner

The Augustiner Beer Hall is a great place to sample traditional Bavarian cuisine, sample local brews and enjoy the atmosphere of a beer festival. It is located in Munich, Germany. The territory of the pub is very large, it occupies an entire square and consists of a lower and an upper zone (the lower zone has a self-service principle).

In the beer hall you will find high-quality cuisine combined with a traditionally cozy atmosphere. The various rooms and halls of the old building, which literally breathes history, will satisfy a wide variety of needs and tastes: from the wonderful homely furnishings of the "Birstüberl" to the cellar with its unique vaulted ceilings, which are about eight meters high. Here you will be offered traditional Bavarian dishes, as well as a variety of specialties from other cuisines, including light vegetarian ones.

They rely on the highest quality and use of local, seasonal products, the only downside is that you won't be able to book a table here during Oktoberfest.

Beer Hacker Pschorr

The traditions of real Bavarian brewing are carefully preserved in the Hacker Pschorr beer hall, located in the center of Munich, on Weinstrasse. This is a rather small establishment, designed for 100 people. The products of the monastery brewery, founded in 1455, are served here, namely one type of dark beer and two types of light beer.

One of the signature dishes is the “Bavarian plate”, on which several types of Bavarian sausages and meat are aesthetically laid out. Guests are also offered a large variety of snacks. Beer is drunk from 0.5 liter glasses. Its cost ranges from 10 to 15 euros per glass.

The beer was named after the Hacker Pschorr trademark, created in 1417, when a new Hacker brewery was built in Munich, named after the surname of its founder. This place is very popular during Oktoberfest, so if you want to book a table, make sure to do so in advance.

Beer Hall Spaten

The Spaten beer garden is located in Munich on Marsstrasse directly opposite the Kings Hotel Center. This is a small classic German establishment where you can not only enjoy the national drink, but also have a hearty meal. The atmosphere here is quite simple, without any special frills, but the food is excellent!

Translated, Spaten means “shovel”, this is a symbol of the brewery of the same name, which implies a shovel for malt. The owner of the establishment is a colorful Croatian who adheres to all the rules for transporting and storing beer, you can be sure of the quality of the drink provided to you. Spaten beer, like all Bavarian beers, is brewed in accordance with the Purity Law, which was passed in 1516.

Many beer-goers prefer to drink a light drink between meals to cleanse their taste buds. If you want to try the original taste of German beer, you will have to pay about 10 euros for a liter mug. These are the prices that were here at Oktoberfest 2012.

Lowenbrau beer hall

The most famous beer establishment in Munich is Lowenbrau. This iconic restaurant seats 2,000 people, has a 1,000-seat beer garden and is located close to Munich Central Station.

The establishment was opened in 1883, and in the past it accommodated almost twice as many visitors. The fact is that during the bombing in 1944, the huge hall was destroyed, and after the end of the war it was restored in a much smaller size. But, nevertheless, Lowenbrau remains one of the most luxuriously decorated beer establishments in Munich.

The establishment attracts visitors all year round, bringing joy not only from beer (which, by the way, is brewed across the street), but also from excellent Bavarian cuisine. Here it is customary to enjoy beer with fried pork ribs.

Sights of Munich