Martin Emmerling works as a cabaret artist, artist and author and invented the “Boazn Quartet” fourteen years ago. It has just released a new edition, and since the 2021 version, ten of the 32 pubs in the card game have closed. Emmerling also brings the experiences from the Boazn, Bavarian for small bar, to the stage; his performance as a pub landlord was last seen in “My Fair Lady” in the Gärtnerplatztheater. The 43-year-old is now traveling to other German cities and exploring parlors and dive bars there.
SZ: Mr. Emmerling, how did your love for Boazn develop?
Martin Emmerling: I remember the curiosity when, as a child, I rode my bike past one of the many boazns with their yellowed curtains. It was clear to me: As soon as I grow up, I want to find out what’s behind them. Later, it was certainly my artistic desire for individuality, to go in where no one else goes. I also feel connected to the working class. I grew up in a workers’ settlement in Unterhaching and love football.
What makes the Boazn special for you?
I get to talk to people there that I probably wouldn’t meet in my everyday life and I want to hear their stories. That’s why I like to travel alone, both when traveling and at home: I’m a passionate observer – and it doesn’t matter whether I’m sitting in a boat or in Schumann’s, in Munich or in Odessa.
Which encounter will you never forget?
In the “Gruam” I remember the “Handwurscht”. It was advertised on a poster for 2.50 euros, but no one could ever tell me what a “Handwurscht” was and it never existed. There were also strange encounters: There used to be a few 24-hour bars around the wholesale market, and you would meet other characters there. If you meet a pimp with cocaine running out of his nose, it’s best not to say anything.
They quickly strike up a conversation in Boazn. Have you ever had the experience of not being welcomed by those present?
Naturally! In places where everything is supposed to stay as it always was, there is great distrust of new things. Some Boazn didn’t want to join the quartet because they were skeptical. And in general there is often a rough tone in the bars, especially among newcomers. You can’t cultivate the Bavarian Grant as a loving trait – often it’s just a damn bad mood and frustration that is projected onto others.
You also do variations of your quartet in other major German cities. Is there a difference to the neighborhood bars in Hamburg and the Veedels bars in Cologne?
As different as the big German cities are, the pub culture is pretty similar everywhere. I traveled for the quartet in Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne and often met the same characters and heard the same stories. For example, that of the neighbor who will soon no longer be able to pay his rent. In Berlin, some neighborhood bars are often 100 years old, but thrive on their young regulars.
With the quartet you get to know Munich’s pub culture in a playful way.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
Some of the regular guests probably have serious addiction problems. How do you deal with this alcoholism?
When I talk to people, it’s often about job loss, failed relationships, illnesses. For many guests, alcohol is the common denominator that ensures that you are quickly accepted and start a conversation. I often maintain a personal relationship with the innkeepers, but I am not close enough to the guests to be able to solve their problems. Since I became a father of two, I don’t drink as often anymore.
In recent years many boazns have had to close. Will your children still experience this part of Munich’s history?
There will be fewer, but the small bars and parlors will still exist. It is left to others to decide whether these are “real Boazn”. On the one hand, in a big city you always have a certain down-to-earth attitude that needs its places – not everyone is poor, not everyone is rich. The retro idea also plays a role: Boazn promise an old Munich that perhaps no longer exists today. But people will continue to want to get together in the future, have a comfortable time and escape to places where they can go alone. This is also an essential point of a Boazn, that you go alone!
While we’re at it, what makes a real Boazn anyway?
The down-to-earth nature – and that is reflected in the prices. For me, pubs that serve beer for five euros or have cocktails on the menu are not one of them. There’s also, of course, a slot machine in the corner and the radio is often on. Fantastic because no one knows what song is coming next!
How has the price of beer developed?
It has changed due to increased prices at breweries, but above all due to higher heating and electricity costs. In some Boazn the beer now costs over four euros, but you can often get it for less. For example, in the “Bierschuppen” in the Dreimühlenviertel for 2.90 euros.
Is it also due to rising costs that so many Boazns had to close?
Many people think that Corona was to blame, but I don’t believe that: Boazn usually have no employees and often a low rent because they only have a few square meters and old rental contracts. I think the Boazn death began with the smoking ban in 2008. At that time, a guest told me that he had built a bar at home so that he could invite his Boazn friends over – because they could smoke there. Many operators are also retiring and there are no young successors.
Why is that?
The interests of the younger generation have changed: Instead of currywurst, there is Asian food, and instead of going to the Boazn, they go to the coffee roastery in the afternoon. There are certainly successful continuations, such as the “Bumsvoll” in Giesing. When you come in, the operator is sitting at the vending machine drinking a light beer from the tap. Of course he is a proud 1860 fan and even though he is only in his twenties, he is a real Boazn innkeeper.