Piast Brewery
A defunct Wrocław brewery with a German and Polish legacy.
Piast Brewery is a defunct brewery located in Wrocław, Poland. It was founded in 1872, when the city was known as Breslau and belonged to the German Empire. The brewery is notable for its multiple name changes over its history and for being the last operator of the site before brewing ceased.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 1872
- Founder
- Carl Scholtz
- Original name
- Brauerei Pfeifferhof Carl Scholtz
- Brewing terminated
- 2004
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The brewery was founded by Carl Scholtz in 1872 under the name Brauerei Pfeifferhof Carl Scholtz. By 1910, it had been renamed Schultheiss' Brauerei AG, Abt. V (ZBv.Berlin). It underwent further name changes in 1920 to Schultheiss-Patzenhofer-Brauerei AG, Abt. V, and in 1938 to Schultheiss-Brauerei AG Berlin, Abt. Breslau. In 1945, after Breslau was annexed by Poland, the brewery was renamed Piast Brewery, after the Piast dynasty, the first Polish historical royal dynasty. The name remained until 2005. After World War II, production was run by Polish brewmasters from the brewery of Lwów, who had been ordered to leave their native city and move to the Recovered Territories. In 1951, the brewery produced 350,000 hectolitres of beer and 9,000 tons of malt annually.
Reader's Guide
Piast Brewery's significance lies in its long operational history spanning the German Empire, interwar Germany, Nazi Germany, and post-war Poland, reflecting the shifting political boundaries of Wrocław. The brewery was part of Wrocław's company Zakłady Piwowarskie S.A. in 1991, and was purchased by Ryszard Varisella on January 23, 1996, for $9,500,000. In November 2001, it was bought by Carlsberg Polska, and brewing was terminated in 2004. Several old buildings were destroyed in 2008, but three main buildings entered in the register of monuments in 2004 are being restored and converted into loft apartments named Browary Wrocławskie. The brewery's legacy includes its role in the post-war resettlement of Polish brewmasters and its eventual closure under Carlsberg ownership.
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