Those who squeeze through the narrow passage between Burgstrasse and Ledererstrasse on their way to the Hofbräuhaus tend to miss one of the most important architectural monuments in the old town shortly afterwards, especially since it is no longer used for gastronomy: the Zerwirkgewölbe, Munich’s second oldest building, housed before Corona three restaurants and is now a renovation case with an as yet unexplained future.
The house from the second half of the 13th century (presumably 1264) stands out from the outside with two wall paintings, which refer to the eponymous “dismemberment”, i.e. the dismantling of the hunted prey. The story brought various uses, from the first ducal, later bourgeois game butcher’s shop to falconry, to various restaurants, including Germany’s first vegan bar and most recently the “Crux Club”, the Italian “Fedora” and the “Spezlwirtschaft”, which has moved to Sendling “. The state brewery Hofbräu – the former owner from 1733 to 1808 – had leased the building from 2005 to 2020 from the Free State and rented it to the landlords. In autumn 2019, on the eve of the corona crisis, the state brewery planned a kind of branch of its world-famous bar on Platzl, at the same time there was a considerable need for renovation in the old walls.
Far beyond the necessary conversion of the small-scale interior into a single restaurant, it was and still is important to strengthen the foundations and secure the roof structure. A first rough cost estimate was already in the seven-digit range, reports Dieter Knauer, managing director of the state property management “Immobilien Freistaat Bayern”. With the premonition that they would open a big barrel, the two state partners discussed the project, but did not conclude any renovation contracts, which, according to the original plan, should be largely for the account of the Hofbräuhaus, financed from its income.
After the first lockdown had already shaken the project, “the transfer of use was terminated by mutual agreement in October 2020,” said Knauer. Of course, the Free State does not want the monument to come down. In the meantime, further surveys have been completed. Investments were also made in maintenance measures, such as securing the heating. A caretaker service regularly checks that everything is in order. How things will continue is the subject of a concept study, which should be available by the end of the year. First of all, according to Knauer, it will be checked whether the Free State can use its property itself and convert the interior accordingly, then of course for non-gastronomic purposes. Only and only in the event that the move of an authority or public institution does not make sense here, plan B takes effect: The Free State takes over the “mandatory substance-preserving measures” and starts looking for private partners who can tailor a conversion to their needs finance.