If beer gardens (literally translated this word) did not exist, they would have to be invented. But, as Deutsche Welle notes, it all happened by chance, thanks to a confluence of historical circumstances and popular initiative. The lower classes wanted it, the authorities allowed it. How did it happen?
The creation of the first infrastructural prerequisites in Munich began as early as the 16th century, without even suspecting such far-reaching consequences. The legislative framework was laid a couple of centuries later during the time of Napoleon. His conquests would soon end in complete failure, while Biergarten was just beginning its victorious but peaceful march through German lands and beyond.
In 2012, this Bavarian contribution to global consumer culture officially celebrated its 200th anniversary. For that many years, the tradition of leisurely drinking beer outdoors, not far from the cellar, in a circle of friends and like-minded people, has existed. The ideal version also includes shade from spreading chestnut trees.
At the beginning of 1812, Emperor Napoleon, who had conquered half of Europe, was planning an attack on Russia. Bavaria, under French protectorate, had become a kingdom from an electorate six years earlier by his grace. It was during these years that the foundations of modern Bavarian statehood were laid, including the adoption of the first constitution, as well as legal and administrative reforms based on the then-advanced French model.
The emergence of beer gardens was a kind of byproduct of the legislative and administrative activities of the renewed Bavarian authorities – an attempt to regulate public life, protecting the interests of some without harming others. What was the problem?
Let's look back another couple of centuries to the mid-16th century. For building houses at that time, wood was mainly used. It is not surprising that fires were a real scourge of medieval cities. The risk of fires increased greatly in summer – in hot and dry weather, and frequent causes of summer fires were breweries. No beer without fire...
In connection with this, in 1539 a radical decree was issued in Munich, allowing beer to be brewed only from September 19 to April 23. That is, there was a need to make stocks and store them somewhere.
Mountains are visible from Munich, but the local landscape is flat. For beer cellars, the banks of the Isar River were best suited, but due to groundwater, underground storages could not be located deep. Refrigeration units had not yet been invented; natural ice was brought from the Alps. For better thermal insulation, chestnut trees were planted over the cellars, casting dense shade, and the surface was additionally covered with white gravel: it did not heat up as much from sunlight. They were guided not by aesthetics, but by purely practical considerations, but it turned out cozy and beautiful.
After some time, city residents who came in the summer to replenish their home beer supplies began to quench their acute thirst on the spot, raising their mugs: «Hoch de Depf und schwoàbt sas owe, de Bria. Prost!» This is Bavarian dialect. Summer heat, shade of chestnut trees – why rush, why carry extra load with you? And if there's also a snack...
Gradually, there was no place for a picnic on the banks of the Isar, and a new idea appeared on the horizon of enterprising brewers: to open, pour, and offer food to go with the beer themselves.
However, they made their calculations without the city innkeepers, literally illustrating the German expression «Die Rechnung ohne den Wirt machen»... (to reckon without one's host). In short, they miscalculated, as the owners of eateries and snack bars saw a threat in this endeavor and, fearing loss of customers, complained to the authorities, demanding that the brewers' self-initiative be stopped. Like, everyone should mind their own business.
After considering the matter, the first Bavarian king Maximilian I issued a compromise royal rescript that laid the foundation for the tradition of beer gardens. In the decree of January 4, 1812, he allowed cellar owners to serve beer on site in June, July, August, and September, but strictly forbade selling food. True, it was allowed to bring food with you. It can be done today as well, although no one will be left hungry in a Biergarten these days. But if someone wants to save money or simply prefers homemade food, the establishment owners will not object.
The outdoor beer season is now determined not by the calendar and the provisions of the royal rescript, but by the weather: from spring to autumn and as long as possible, including the famous Oktoberfest, which takes place in huge tents. Munich and Bavaria are rich in tourist attractions, but beer gardens are a special chapter. The largest ones can accommodate several thousand visitors at once. Among them are Hirschgarten (8,000), Am Chinesischen Turm (7,000), Augustiner-Keller (5,000), and Paulaner am Nockherberg (4,000), and their total number in Munich alone exceeds fifty.