Restaurants Munich have big names like Beim Sedlmeier. Which was very welcoming some time ago, so I decided to write about my visit. As I have dozens of experiences every week, is hard to choose which is the most interesting one.
But it always goes in that way so that is not anything new when it’s about me.
I had one of my Churches in Munich Tour and decided to visit this restaurant again.
This place brings me partially back to my first years in Munich in the early years from the 80ies. The great history and all the things that have happened around it, I hope you are going to like it.
Who was Walter Sedlmeier
The owner of this bar was no one else to famous Walter Sedlmeier. He was the symbol of Bavarian masculinity until he died and was horribly killed by his lover.
He was a popular German stage, television and film actor from Bavaria.
His murder in 1990 was widely publicized as he was one of the most popular Bavarian’s in that time.
After his 1945 wartime ‘Abitur’, Sedlmeier served as a Flakhelfer towards the end of ‘World War II’.
His acting career began with some minor roles with the ‘Munchner Kammerspiele’ for which he played more than 25 years and numerous ‘Heimatfilme’ during the 1940s and 1950s.
Nothing is completely perfect
In 1971, by now an associate of ‘Rainer Werner Fassbinder’, Sedlmeier was briefly arrested because a stolen artwork, the ‘Blutenburger Madonna’ was found in his house.
Later, he was acquitted of all charges and the media attention given to his trial helped him gain major roles.
This incident surely got to his nerves if we have in mind his influence and authority he possessed during that period.
But, eventually, all this thing around hasn’t left any bigger impact on him. His breakthrough came with the leading role in Hans – Jurgen Syberberg’s film called ‘Theodor Hierneis oder Wie man ehem, Hofkoch wird’(1972).
For the role in this film, he won the outstanding individual achievement. He won an ‘Actor Deutsches Filmpreis Award’ for his role.
Afterwards, he had a role in numerous films on different genres. So, Sedlmeier was cast in many popular German TV shows including ‘Munchen Heschichten’, ‘Der Herr Kottnik’, ‘Der Millionerbauer’ and ‘Polizeiinspektion 1’. Also, he frequently appeared on stage and in other media.
Horrible truth behind his murder
On 15th July 1990, Walter was found dead in the bedroom of his ‘Munich apartment’. What happened to him really can be disturbing, especially if you are weak in this kind of thing.
He had been tied up, stabbed a couple of times in the stomach with a knife and beaten about the head with a hammer.
On the 21st of May in 1993, two half – brothers Wolfgang Werle and Manfred Lauber who were former business associates of Sedlmeier were found guilty of his murder.
They were then sentenced to life in prison but they got outside and were released from the prison in 2007 and 2008.
You can only imagine how Walter’s loved ones felt when they found out this information. As far as I’m concerned, every person who takes some other’s life should die locked behind the prison cell.
Sedlmeier’s life and murder were the subject of the 2001 biopic ‘Wambo’ by Jo Baier.
Jurgen Tarrach played Walter Sedlmeier and of an episode of the ‘ARD TV series Die grossen Kriminalfaelle’.
The killers and their names
In the year of 2009, the two men convicted of the killing took legal action demanding the removal of their names from the German and English language Wikipedia. They claimed intrusion on their rights to privacy. They claimed to not publish their names.
German Wikipedia removed their names. While the English – speaking Wikipedia community declined to do it. It was supported by the ‘Wikimedia Foundation’, which contested the validity of the ruling as it neither operates nor has assets in Germany, so they had a right on that one.
In December 2009, the ‘Federal Court of Justice’, the highest court of ordinary jurisdiction in Germany, ruled that the convicted have no right of removal of their names from Internet archives. As that would interfere too strongly with the right of free speech, they couldn’t do that no matter what.
According to this decision, their names were again included in German Wikipedia. In June 2018, the ‘European Court of Human Rights’ upheld the decision of the ‘Federal Court of Justice’ to reject the request to ban publication of killer’s names.
The price of popularity
He was a man with a large life experience. As you could possibly notice, he had many unpleasant encounters and unfortunately finished on the way he did.
On the one side, his life was tragic because everything simply had to stay hidden from the eyes of society. As he was a man of authority and popular among the people, he couldn’t do things so clearly without any pressure. When you are that kind of person, you will try to save your privacy as much as you can. So, he does too. He only tried to keep his safety as a well – known man and I fully understand how his behavior functioned.
I can say that he somehow enjoyed in his life. Of course, he couldn’t dream what have happened to him. Nobody can.
He was very funny person, admired in all the state of Bavaria. And that has its both sides of the medal. For someone that can be a burden because of all responsibility that goes with the price of being famous. I think that Walter bears it really well though. He was a person who was able to suppress his feelings when it’s necessary.
Maybe he paid a price for being a little bit arrogant or too much confident. We’ll never surely know.
A homophobic act
Paulaner stopped completely the advertising campaign in all Munich when discovered that he was gay. Many people accuse other’s opinions and attitudes about the sexuality. I don’t know why they cannot accept if someone has ‘an odd’ sexuality or it is a homo. I think that every living person deserves its happiness whether it is with a partner of the same gender or the opposite one.
But this homophobic act is excused with some arguments that are really not solid enough.
If some person has the opposite sex than you, it doesn’t mean that he is a bad person, a freak or similar.
So, if Sedmleier was a homosexual it doesn’t mean that he was a ‘weirdie’ or whatever.
He was a victim of the religious morals in Bavaria. They couldn’t recognize his true personality and his true potentials, ideas, and attitude.
Walter needed more support and friends Paulaner’s attitude on that situation was wrong either. They were not fair towards Sedlmeier and he had to suffer because of it.
Paulaner never got any statement of apology to him. In my opinion, they should apologize for that.
What’s about the restaurant?
Walter Sedlmeier’s restaurant exists still nowadays.
It is very well visited I must emphasize. I had a privilege to be a guest there some times.
This place is located in the heart of Munich, on a side street from ‘Viktualienmarkt’, the central market in the city.
It is named after a well – known local actor and entertainer, the restaurant offers traditional Bavarian cuisine.
Where else can you find a liver, kidney, heart and similar dishes in Munich?
I don’t eat those as you probably know until now that I’m a strongly vegetarian but my friend, who was with me told me that the meat is unbelievable.
The atmosphere is very informal and the prices are really reasonable, especially for the downtown area. I couldn’t ask for more indeed.
Going Out in Restaurants Munich
This establishment was also recommended to us, by another restaurant in the area that could not accommodate us. That means, that many still consider this a very good place.
It was a great recommendation on a busy Friday night. As my friend enjoyed himself in different juicy kinds of meat, I enjoyed myself in some alcohol-free Beer as I had no appetite on that night.
It was really a topnotch experience. Everything somehow recalls on its famous owner and his life. It was like he was with us guests all the time. There is some feeling in the air that his presence still lingers and like he never left his beloved restaurant.
The service is really good too. The waiters spoke with my friend on English because his German is lower than average, as most of my abroad friends. They didn’t bother it at all. That just shows a good manner of a top-level restaurant.
Overall, I was more than satisfied with a visit of this bar and I strongly recommend it to anyone.