The Viktualienmarkt is Munich’s historic open-air food market, located just steps from Marienplatz in the city center.
King Maximilian I established the market by decree in 1807 to replace a smaller market that had outgrown Marienplatz; by 1890 it had reached roughly its present size, and after wartime damage the city rebuilt it, adding memorial fountains honoring Bavarian folk performers Karl Valentin, Weiß Ferdl, and Liesl Karlstadt.
Today around 140 stalls sell flowers, cheese, fish, spices, and Bavarian specialties six days a week (closed Sundays and holidays), with beer garden seating around the market’s maypole, first erected in 1962.
