Where the lion roars: Where 1860-Fans, Italians, and a lot of tradition are
Well roared, lion. The brewery’s heraldic animal sits 4.5 meters tall above the tent entrance. And it attracts, above all, the Italian
What’s special: the lion roaring “Löööwenbräu”
It’s hard to miss this tent, visually or acoustically – thanks to its impressive four-and-a-half-meter lion, which has been watching over the entrance since 1949 and loudly roars, “Löööwenbräu” every minute. Children especially, who enjoy the beer tents more from the outside, love the lion — and are a bit afraid of him. The Löwenbräu-Festzelt, with its 37-meter-tall lion’s tower (which catches the eye from afar), is also a real eye-catcher in other respects. In keeping with its mascot and the blue and white tent, regular visitors to the Löwenbräu-Festzelt include the fans and players of soccer club TSV 1860 München — once a lion, always a lion!
The history: Under the management of the Hagn & Spendler landlord family since 1979
The Löwenbräu tent was first represented at the Oktoberfest in 1910. Stephanie Spendler, who took over the tent from her father, Wiesn veteran Ludwig ‘Wiggerl’ Hagn, has been the landlady of the Löwenbräu tent since 1999. Wiggerl Hagn had been the landlord of the brewery tent since 1979 and had already been running the Schützenfest tent, where Löwenbräu beer is also served, alongside his mother since 1953. Stephanie Spendler has been running the beautiful marquee with the impressive barrel vault under the marquee sky together with her son Lukas Spendler since 2023.
The audience: “Sechzger” meet tourists at Löwenbräu
Today, around 8,500 people fit into the Löwenbräu tent and beer garden. By its very nature, lion has always been the siren call for the followers of TSV 1860 München ("Sechzger"). But here, too, the concentrated diversity of tourists meets long-established “Giasingers.” If you want to collect country points and have a chat in English or Italian, the Löwenbräu is the place for you. The tent offers the largest mixture of nationalities, together with the Hofbräu tent. From the Italian tour group to the widely traveled Australian, everyone’s represented here. And because most tourists aren’t as experienced as the locals, things get going here much earlier than in other tents.
The music: the legendary “Hey Jude” under the tent sky
The atmosphere in the Löwenbräu-Festhalle rises when the band “Die Heldensteiner,” under the direction of Günter Pilzweger, pulls visitors from the beer benches. Naturally, the musicians have all the Oktoberfest classics in their repertoire: from “Fürstenfeld” to “Skandal im Sperrbezirk,” every Oktoberfest hit is represented to get guests dancing. The in-house cover version of the Beatles classic “Hey Jude” is legendary, and one of the best musical performances at Oktoberfest.
The menu: regional meat and traditional dishes
The Löwenbräu menu offers everything that the hearts of traditional Oktoberfest guests desire: from the Lower Bavarian duck with potato dumplings to pork sausages with barreled sauerkraut. Here the cuisine of the past is upheld with ox bouillon, breast of veal, and sweetbread sausage. But vegans can also get their money’s worth with Carinthian porcini noodles. One specialty is the “Bratreindl” for two people: a roasting pan combining all the delicacies from knuckle of pork, to duck, and suckling pig. The supplying butcher Markus Bauch is an institution on the Munich wholesale market.
For backseat drivers: celebrate sustainably
In the Löwenbräu-Festzelt, great importance is attached to environmental protection. Disposable tableware is not used at all, and the tent’s own water recycling system recycles the water from the beer mug dishwasher for the toilets. The water costs saved this way are donated! The 16,000 light bulbs in the “tent sky” were already converted to LED in 2011. This commitment has been awarded the Free State of Bavaria’s Gold Medal for Environmental Protection several times. The Oktoberfest can be so green!
Löwenbräu-Festzelt: Reservation, Seats, Music, Beer and Contact
- Festival host(s): Stephanie and Lukas Spendler
- Address: Wirtsbudenstr. 14
- Phone: + 49 (0) 89 5007 7530
- Reservation: https://www.loewenbraeuzelt.de/reservierungen/
- Website: https://www.loewenbraeuzelt.de/
- Seating: 5,700
- Seating outside: 2,800
- Brewery: Löwenbräu
- Beer: Alc. 6.1 % vol., 13.8 % wort
- Music: The Heldensteiner under the direction of Günter Pilzweger
- Special: Environmentally friendly - the rinse water from the glasswashers is recycled for flushing the toilet
