A beer hall (
German: Bierpalast, Bierhalle) is a large
pub that specializes in
beer.
Germany
Beer halls are a traditional part of
Bavarian culture, and feature prominently in
Oktoberfest.[1] Bosch notes that the beer halls of Oktoberfest, known in German as Festzelte, are more properly termed "beer tents", as they are large, temporary structures built in the open air.[2] In Munich alone, the Festzelte of Oktoberfest can accommodate over 100,000 people.[2]
Bavaria's capital
Munich is the city most associated with beer halls; almost every
brewery in Munich operates a beer hall. The largest beer hall was the 5,000-seat
Mathäser[a] near the
München Hauptbahnhof (Munich central train station), which has since been converted into a movie theater.[4]
The
Bürgerbräukeller, located in Munich, was a particularly prominent beer hall in Bavaria that lent its name to the 1923
Beer Hall Putsch, an attempted Nazi
coup led by Adolf Hitler. The Bürgerbräukeller had long been a Nazi meeting place, and was the starting point of the 1923 coup.[5]
United States
American beer halls became popular in the mid-19th century, following a
wave of immigration from Germany to the United States. They became an alternative to the American-style
tavern.[6]
St. Louis, Missouri is home to a number of beer halls, some of which seat several hundred persons.[7]Hofbräuhaus has eight franchised beer halls in the United States.[8]
German brewers who immigrated to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin built "hundreds of distinctive taverns and beer halls", and also built and established large outdoor
beer gardens.[10]
See also
Beer Hall Boycott – a female-led national campaign in South Africa of boycotting municipal beer halls