What links football World Cup ’74 winner Georg ‘Katsche’ Schwarzenbeck with Karl Valentin? Well, quite simply their hometowns. The Au is a district located right on the Isar River and a stone’s throw from the city centre. Incidentally, Georg Schwarzenbeck is now the owner of a stationary shop which he took over from his aunt after his career as a footballer came to an end.
The Deutsche Museum, along with the Ludwigsbrücke bridge, makes up the northern end of this introspective part of the city, while the Wittelsbacher bridge makes up the southern end. Despite the tranquillity it enjoys today, the cramped conditions of this former worker’s quarter cannot be forgotten.
The first mention of the Au comes from December 12th, 1340, as ‘Awe ze Gyesingen’. Awe means ‘land on water’. In 1808, the community of Au became a city. As of 1818, Au joined with Untergiesing (which was called Nockherberg at the time) to form a new community. On October 1st, 1854, it was annexed to the city of Munich.
Originally, the Au was a residential area for craftsmen, small time traders, workers and labourers outside the city gates. The small residences serve as a poignant reminder of the humble and cramped living and working conditions of former times. In the ‘Gründerzeit’ (the Wilhelmine period in the latter half of the 19th century), especially during the years of the economic revival after the war of 1870/71, the Au developed into a worker’s suburb. The district expanded and living space for the growing number of civil servants, employees and workers in the city had to be created. At the turn of the century, communal lodgings were introduced. However, over half of the households in the Au were destroyed during World War II.
The Rocky Horror Picture show has attained cult status in the Au. One of the craziest films of the last thirty years is celebrated in the Museumslichtspiele cinema. Fans throw rice and dress up like Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Unfortunately this cinema belongs to a dying breed, so we ought to visit it more often. One wing of the building leads to Zeppelinstrasse, where visitors can immerse themselves into the world of Bertolt Brecht. A real culinary experience awaits you in the Dreigroschenkeller, where Mackie Messer (Mack the Knife) is sometimes sang and even the Dreigroschen Opera is performed.
Residents of Munich prepare for the Oktoberfest at the ‘Wirtshaus in der Au’ pub. In July, two months before the big ‘booze-up’ on the ‘Wiesn’, the Royal Bavarian Lederhosen Festival takes place. It’s like a dress rehearsal, displaying the best of traditional attire. People who like big dumplings will be well taken care of. As well as the self-proclaimed biggest dumplings in the city, many other similar meals to this original Bavarian specialty are also on the menu.
The Au has managed to maintain a piece of traditional everyday culture too - the Auer Dults (fairs). One special feature of the Au in the past was the plurality of breweries that were located in an ideal position for water wells and storage cellars on the edge of the River Isar. There aren’t any breweries in the district any more, but the tradition has been preserved in the Au to this day. The ‘Starkbieranstich’ (Strong Beer Festival) in the Salvatorkeller am Nockherberg ushers in the start of the ‘fifth season’. The politicians and VIPs present aren’t just served a stout beer; they’re also on the receiving end of some brutal remarks from Bruder Barnabas.
by Dietmar Stanka
Location: S1-S8 Isartor oder Rosenheimer Platz
Highlights: Wirtshaus in der Au - Authentic Bavarian cuisine
Lilienstraße 1, 81669 München
Telephone 089 44 81 40 0, www.wirtshausinderau.de
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