Chinesischer Turm e.V.Law and custom
The right to bring your own picnic
Bringing your own food to a Bavarian beer garden is not a tolerated habit. It is the feature by which Bavarian law recognises a traditional beer garden in the first place. The connection, however, works differently from how it is usually told.
Almost every article about Bavarian beer gardens claims that a law once permitted visitors to bring their own food. That misses the point. The Bavarian Beer Garden Ordinance of 20 April 1999 is not a food regulation. It is a noise regulation, issued under the Federal Immission Control Act. Its subject is decibel limits and operating hours.
The picnic still appears in it, at the decisive point: it is one of the features that distinguish a traditional beer garden from ordinary outdoor catering. And only the traditional beer garden receives the privilege that the ordinance is really about.
What actually happened in 1995
On 12 May 1995 around 25,000 people demonstrated in Munich. The trigger was not food but a ruling by the Bavarian Administrative Court: the beer garden of the Waldwirtschaft in Grosshesselohe was ordered to close at 9.30 pm to protect residents from noise. The protest entered city history as the Biergartenrevolution.
The state government responded with a first ordinance in 1995. It did not survive judicial review: in January 1999 the Federal Administrative Court struck it down because it failed to limit the noise burden on neighbours. Only the revised version of 20 April 1999 has stood since.
What the ordinance actually says
- Legal basis
- Federal Immission Control Act. The ordinance protects the public and neighbours from harmful noise.
- Daytime
- 7.00 am to 11.00 pm
- Noise limits
- 65 dB(A) in mixed and core areas, 60 dB(A) in general residential areas, 55 dB(A) in purely residential areas
- Music
- ends at 10.00 pm at the latest
- Food and drink service
- ends at 10.30 pm at the latest
- Closing time
- 11.00 pm
The real move lies in how the noise is weighed. Traditional beer gardens are not treated like any other restaurant but privileged, similar to sports facilities. A beer garden may be louder than the restaurant next door because the legislator classifies it as an institution of public life, not merely a business.
The two criteria
1. Garden character
The premises lie outdoors, in greenery, with substantial planting. A few parasols on a paved surface do not qualify. At the Chinese Tower the canopy of chestnut trees supplies exactly this feature, and for a historically sound reason.
2. Traditional form of operation
This expressly includes the possibility of consuming your own picnic free of charge. It is precisely this that separates a beer garden from every other outdoor establishment.
Hence the logic that is rarely told correctly: the landlord does not allow your picnic out of kindness. He allows it because otherwise his premises would not be a traditional beer garden under the ordinance and would lose the noise privilege. The picnic right is the price of the late closing time.
Where the limits are
The right applies to the self-service area, meaning the tables without tablecloths. Where there is table service, you order. Drinks are not covered: they are bought on site. That too is consistent, because the bar is the economic basis without which the garden would not exist.
Frequently asked questions
Can you bring your own food to a Bavarian beer garden?
Yes, in the self-service area of a traditional beer garden. The possibility of consuming your own picnic free of charge is one of the features by which the Bavarian Beer Garden Ordinance recognises a traditional beer garden. Drinks are bought on site.
Which law governs the right to bring your own food?
The Bavarian Beer Garden Ordinance of 20 April 1999, published in the Bavarian Law Gazette at page 142. It rests on the Federal Immission Control Act and is essentially a noise regulation.
What was the Biergartenrevolution?
On 12 May 1995 around 25,000 people in Munich demonstrated after the Bavarian Administrative Court ordered a 9.30 pm closing time for the beer garden of the Waldwirtschaft in Grosshesselohe.
How late can a Bavarian beer garden stay open?
Music ends at 10.00 pm at the latest, food and drink service at 10.30 pm, and operations close at 11.00 pm.
Can you bring your own drinks?
No. The right covers food only. Drinks are bought in the beer garden.