Hofbrauhaus Munich (officially “Hofbräuhaus am Platzl”) is the world’s most famous pub-restaurant, commissioned to be build by Bavarian Duke Maximilian I in 1607.
The beerhall had been founded earlier, in 1589 by Duke Wilhelm V, first as an extension to Hofbräu (www.hofbraeu-muenchen.de) brewery, but at the time, only to serve Weissbier (wheat beer) varieties.
“Hof” (court) on the pub’s name is from the fact that it was originally part of Bavarian royal brewery.
The pub was opened to all Munich residents from 1828 onwards, during the reign of Emperor Ludwig I.
PHOTO: Hofbräuhaus am Platz beerhall at am Platz 9, owned to this day by the historical Hofbräu brewery.
Hofbräuhaus was completely rebuilt in 1897, at a time when the adjacent Hofbräu brewery was relocated to Munich suburbs.
As a reference to its significance even to this day, Hofbräu brewery has the second largest tent (Hofbräu-Festzelt) at the annual Oktoberfest folk festival in Munich.
In addition to the Hofbräuhaus, Munich is home to many famous beerhalls and breweries, and it has been estimated that Bavaria has 1/6 of the world’s 4,000 breweries.
Popular “biergarten” pubs around Munich include…
- Hirschgarten (www.hirschgarten.de, for a maximum of 8,500 customers),
- Chinesischer turm (7,000), and
- Augustiner-Keller (www.augustinerkeller.de, 5,000).
As for the Hofbräuhaus, its main beerhall has space for a maximum of 1,000 customers.
Additional space is available on the upper floor, where a festival hall (with 9-meter (29.5 ft) ceilings) can house 1,500 more customers…
…and the other premises on the upper floor can fit some 1,000 customers more.
Hofbrauhaus Munich
Address: Platzl 9, 80331 Munich, Germany
Official website: Hofbraeuhaus.de
For Hofbräuhaus memorabilia and gifts, you can visit the beerhall’s official shop (www.hofbraeuhaus-shop.de), selling popular products such as…
- Hofbräu beer mugs,
- Oktoberfest items,
- Hofbräu clothing, and
- books about beer brewing.