The Bürgerbräukeller (; "citizen brew cellar") was a large beer hall in Munich, Germany. Opened in 1885, it was one of the largest beer halls of the Bürgerliches Brauhaus. Bürgerliches merged with Löwenbräu, which thereby became the hall's owner.
The Bürgerbräukeller was where Adolf Hitler launched the Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923 and where he announced the re-establishment of the Nazi Party in February 1925. In 1939, the beer hall was the site of an attempted assassination of Hitler and other Nazi leaders by Georg Elser. It survived aerial bombing in World War II.
The Bürgerbräukeller was demolished in 1979, and the Gasteig complex was built on its site.
Location
thumb|A meeting of the [[Nazi Party at the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall, circa 1923]]
The Bürgerbräukeller was located in the Haidhausen district of Munich on the east side of the Isar River. The entrance was from Rosenheimer Street, with rear access from Keller Street. Since 1980, the site has been redeveloped with the construction of the Gasteig Culture Centre, the Hilton Munich City Hotel and the headquarters of GEMA.
Description
As early as the 16th century, brewers in Bavaria collected the barrels of beer near the end of the brewing season and stocked them in specially developed cellars for the summer. By the 18th century, brewers discovered they could make a greater profit if they opened their garden-topped cellars to the public and served the beer on site. In the 20th century, the Bürgerbräukeller had both a cellar and a beer garden, as well as the grand hall for indoor functions.
The Bürgerbräukeller was also the site Hitler chose to publicly announce the re-establishment of the Nazi Party on 27 February 1925, some ten weeks after his release from Landsberg prison. With a sense of theater and symbolism, he returned in triumph to the scene of his failed putsch of sixteen months earlier. Three hours before his 8:00 p.m. speech, the hall was filled to capacity with 3,000 attendees and 2,000 more were turned away. Hitler spoke for two hours and reclaimed leadership of the Nazi movement, unifying the feuding factions that had led the fragmented organization while he was incarcerated.
left|thumbnail|A Beer Hall Putsch march leaving the Bürgerbräukeller
In 1939, a time bomb concealed inside a pillar in the Bürgerbräukeller was set to go off during Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch address on 8 November. The bomb exploded, killing eight people and injuring 57, but Hitler had cut short his speech and had already left. A carpenter, Georg Elser, was arrested, imprisoned for years, and executed shortly before the end of the war. and in 1944 at the Circus Krone Building.
During World War II
After the attempted assassination of Hitler on 8 November 1939, repairs began on the Bürgerbräukeller with the intention of repairing the building to its original state. Due to the shortage of materials, work was never completed. During the Allied aerial bombing of Munich, a single bomb hit the hall where the 1939 explosion had taken place, but failed to explode.
After World War II
When American forces entered Munich on 30 April 1945, the 42nd ‘Rainbow’ Infantry Division found the Bürgerbräukeller filthy, piled with Nazi Party records, and unused.
With the departure of American forces in 1957, the Bürgerbräukeller was taken over by Löwenbräu beer company, and after partial rebuilding, it was reopened as a bierkeller at Christmas 1958.
References
External links
- Third Reich in Ruins-photographs
- Hitler Pages-photographs
- 1939 Bürgerbräukeller Bombing-List of Victims