Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München

The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl was founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V. It is one of Munich's oldest beer halls. It was founded as the brewery to the old Royal Residence, which at that time was situated just around the corner from where the beer hall stands today. The beer quickly became popular thanks to the first brewer, Heimeran Pongratz, and the "Bavarian Beer Purity Law" of 1516 that stated that only natural ingredients could be used in the brewing process.

Maximilian I, Wilhelm's son and heir, did not care much for the Braunbier, which was the dark and heavy brown beer. So, in the beginning of the 17th century Maximilian I turned the brewery's focus to wheat beers and forbade all other private breweries to brew wheat beer, thus creating a monopoly. In 1612, Heimeran Pongraz's successor, Elias Pichler, was under pressure to brew a stronger beer, hence the Maibock. In fact, the Maibock beer became so famous that it once helped save the city from annihilation. When King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden invaded Bavaria during the Thirty Years' War in 1632, he threatened to sack the city of Munich. He agreed to leave the city in peace after the citizens paid a tribute of 300,000 Reichsthaler and 1000 buckets of beer, of which one third were Hofbräuhaus Maibock. In 1852, King Maximilian II transferred ownership of the brewery to the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Adolf Hitler announced the official program of the Nazi Party to a meeting of around 2,000 people at the Hofbräuhaus on 24 February 1920. At the time, he was propaganda chief of the party whilst the organisation was still relatively small. On 29 July 1921, he was elected Führer of the Nazi Party during a meeting at the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl.