Cross the market and you almost inevitably walk towards it. The tree bundles what defines the place: trade, beer, music and a piece of Munich's self-image, cast in wood and set into the sky.
Facts and figures
- Height
- 34.5 metres
- Current tree
- raised on 1 May 2022
- Renewal
- roughly every five to six years
- First maypole
- 1962, donated by Munich's breweries
- Figure groups
- six, designed in 1992 by Paul Ernst Rattelmüller, painted by Arno von Lossow
What the figures show
The six figure groups tell the story of the market and the city: the patron saints of brewers, Florian and Boniface; the market women and serving staff; musicians and dancers; the Schäffler with their historic coopers' dance; the carousel and beer-tent culture; and the brewery horse teams. The trunk also carries a plaque on the Bavarian Purity Law, signed in 1487 by Duke Albrecht IV. The tree becomes a hanging picture book of Munich's commercial and festive culture.
Why a new one every few years
A maypole lives outdoors, and wind and weather wear on the wood. That is why the tree at the Viktualienmarkt is renewed about every five to six years. As the current tree has stood since 2022, the next change is on the horizon, one more reason to keep an eye on the coming season: see Munich Maypole 2027.
Visiting
The Viktualienmarkt lies between Marienplatz and the Gärtnerplatz quarter, a few minutes on foot from Marienplatz (U-Bahn and S-Bahn). The maypole stands year-round; it is at its finest in May, when the market lies in the sun.