Beer for the Bräustüberl

On February 22, 1675, Abbot Bernhard Wenzl secured the coveted concession for the “beer consumption” in Tegernsee – the beginning of a 350-year success story for the Bräustüberl, which continues to attract guests from all over the world.

February 22, 1675 – the year on the memorial plaque next to the tavern dates back to the reign of Tegernsee's great abbot, Bernhard Wenzl, who came from near Salzburg and led the Tegernsee monastery from 1673 to 1700. "Bernardus Abbas," who is also immortalized on the central column opposite the Bräustüberl entrance with the year MDCLXXX (1680), was the one who, on the advice of his cellarer, brought the brewing rights from Holzkirchen to Tegernsee.

This was by no means about the monks' own beer consumption; the tables in the refectory mostly featured products from their own vineyards in the Wachau and South Tyrol. Rather, the capable cellarer may have calculated that by operating independently, the monastery would no longer have to share its profits with a brewery operator, and the brewery could thus make a significant contribution to the costs of building the monastery.

The monastery's profit was generated by the so-called "beer consumption," that is, the public serving of beer and its sale to innkeepers. The authorities maintained strict supervision over this, as a tax had to be paid on the beer sold.

The then-reigning Elector Ferdinand Maria was on friendly terms with Tegernsee Abbey, but the state budget still needed money. Thus, Abbot Bernhard managed, "not without effort and expense," to transfer the brewing and dispensing rights from Holzkirchen to Tegernsee. On February 22, 1675, the moment had come: the abbey received the coveted "Electoral Concession for Beer Sale" in Tegernsee.