The Park Café

The building in which the Park Café is located was built in 1935 – 1937 after plans prepared by the architect Oswald Bieber. The building at Sophienstrasse 7 in the old Botanical Gardens originally served as a coffee house and pavilion for exhibitions.

The main entrance of the neoclassical structure is dominated by the portico with its four columns. To the right and left of the main building are the two wings, behind which are the idyllic beer garden with its own bar and small kitchen. The dance café was already an established part of Munich nightlife in the 1960s and 1970s. Over the years, it became known as one of the coolest clubs on the Munich scene.

A- and B-list celebrities have used the café as their chosen rendezvous. The “Blub Club” met here for many years. Hugh Hefner came here to celebrate with his Playmates. The 089 Bar has recently had to be given a temporary home. The internal rooms were currently closed for technical reasons and the whole building was undergoing refurbishment with the aim of restoring the original neoclassical architecture. The result is a traditional Bavarian hostelry with beer garden and dance café. The brand new Park Café finaly opened on february 24th 2007.
We´re looking forward to serve You in the Park Café!


Did you know…

“Der Stenz”

A “Stenz” is a slang expression used to describe, among other things, a dandy and lady’s man.
Helmut Dietl, director of the legendary 1982 German TV series “Monaco Franze – Der Ewige Stenz”, described a “Stenz” as follows:
“With a sort of blowsy elegance, always a proud step ahead of the current fashion, the “Stenz” has made the upkeep of his head of hair and of his shoes (of which he possesses countless pairs) into a sort of cult ritual. He considers correct manners (or at least, what he thinks of as correct manners)to be highly important but never forgets to maintain those central aspects that form the core of his allure: always appear cool and laidback.”

“Monaco Franze”

As is well known, Munich has the reputation of being the northernmost town of Italy and as such is the ideal hunting ground for any Casanova who may be a little advanced in years but who, with his slightly Mediterranean appearance and seductive southern charm, can still make female hearts flutter.

Monaco Franze (‘Monaco Frank’) is actually the character’s (appropriate) nickname; his real name is Franz Münchinger. Already in his late forties when we first get to know him, he is still working as a police detective, but soon takes early retirement. This gives him more time for his various amorous escapades which he undertakes with all the relish of an “eternal Don Juan”. His favourite motto: “a little of what you fancy…”.

Monaco Franze is still supported by his elegant and well-heeled wife Annette von Soettingen, whom he calls “Spatzl” (`birdy`). She is an antiques dealer and, in accordance with her patrician background, likes to associate with the so-called best circles. Monaco, on the other hand, grew up in one of the less salubrious quarters of Munich and already has a long career as a suburban Casanova to look back on. Much of the charm of the series was attributable to the contrast between the two main characters. When Monaco Franze is not actually trying to put one over on the local high society, he is driving his wife Annette crazy thanks to his entanglements with young women. But in the end, she finds it difficult to be seriously angry with this sympathetic philanderer when he gazes at her with his spaniel eyes and says “Oh come on, Spatzl, just look at me.”

The traditional “Schäfflertanz”

In Munich, barrel makers or coopers have always been called “Schäffler”. According to tradition, they were the first to hold a public procession with dancing and music in order to cheer up the local population after Munich had been visited by a particularly severe outbreak of the plague in 1517. The guild of coopers has since had the right to hold a public dance every 7 years.

The Oktoberfest/the Wiesn

On 12 October 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig, who would later become King Ludwig I of Bavaria, celebrated his wedding to Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The celebrations, to which all the citizens of Munich were invited, were held in a meadow that at the time was outside the gates of the city. In honour of the bride the meadow has ever since been known as the “Theresienwiese”.

The celebrations were terminated with a horse race in the presence of the Bavarian royal family and this became a festival for the whole of Bavaria. It was the decision to hold the horse race again in the following year that formed the origin of the annual Oktoberfest.

The other “Stenz”

The term “Stenz” actually originates from the world of the old travelling artisans. The journeymen would use a walking stick entwined with creeping plants and this stick they called their “Stenz”. In Bavaria, the term came to be applied to a charmer or Don Juan.