Sterneckerbräu

Lore & Background

The present building originally covered three plots of land. In Jakob Sandtner's model of Munich from 1570, three two-story houses are visible. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the corner house was owned by the beer brewer family Sternegger, after whom the street is named since 1696. A brewery had been there since 1557. In the 19th century, the corner house and its eastern neighbor were replaced by a four-story building with a classical facade, which was demolished in 1901. The current building was built in 1901/02 by Heilmann & Littmann for brewer Joseph Höcherl on the site of those two buildings and an additional adjoining plot.

The German Workers' Party (DAP) of Anton Drexler met once a week in the restaurant on the first floor. On 12 September 1919, Adolf Hitler attended a DAP meeting on behalf of the intelligence command of the army; Drexler invited him to join, and Hitler accepted, becoming the party's 55th member. In October 1919, the first branch of the DAP (which changed its name to the Nazi Party in February 1920) was set up in a side room. In 1921, the Bavarian nationalist and royalist league In Treue fest was founded there; it was banned by the Nazis on 2 February 1933 and re-established in 1952. On 8 November 1933, Hitler opened the Museum of the Nazi Party at the Sterneckerbräu, mentioned in the Baedeker. The building survived World War II. In 1957 the restaurant closed and the first floor was converted into a store.

Reader's Guide

The Sterneckerbräu holds significance as a pilgrimage site for the Nazi movement, similar to the Bürgerbräukeller, due to its role in the early history of the Nazi Party. It was where Adolf Hitler joined the DAP on 12 September 1919, becoming member number 55, and where the party's first branch was established in October 1919, before the DAP renamed itself the NSDAP in February 1920. The building later housed the Museum of the Nazi Party, opened by Hitler on 8 November 1933, which was listed in the Baedeker travel guide. The building survived World War II and is now a registered monument on the Bavarian monument list, used as a residential and commercial building. Its legacy is tied to these historical events, as documented in the source article, without additional interpretation.

Did You Know?

• The Sterneckerbräu had a brewery on the site since 1557.
• Adolf Hitler became the 55th member of the DAP at the Sterneckerbräu on 12 September 1919.
• The first branch of the DAP (later the Nazi Party) was set up in a side room of the Sterneckerbräu in October 1919.