Löwenbräukeller, Munich

Löwenbräukeller is a beer hall and event venue, occupying a building that opened in 1883. Albert Schmidt designed it, working with Friedrich Thiersch on its later development. The place has long carried a political history alongside its hospitality: in 1923, Hermann Esser addressed an audience here shortly before the failed Hitler putsch.

From 1940 to 1943, commemorative Nazi gatherings moved here after the Bürgerbräukeller became unusable following Georg Elser’s assassination attempt. An air raid in 1944 destroyed the hall, and reconstruction followed in 1950. On the terrace, the resting lion is a work by Wilhelm von Rümann dating from around 1900. The building now combines its historic beer-hall identity with spaces including the festival hall, gallery hall, tavern rooms and a beer garden on Nymphenburger Straße.