Grüner Bräu Keller

Beer Cellars Grüner Brewery

Useful Information

Location:	Below the hospital of Fürth. Robert-Koch-Straße, rear entrance Klinikum Fürth, between the ramp of the Emergency Room and the dialysis center.
Open:	During art exhibitions daily 11-18. Guided Tours several times a year. [2006]
Fee:	During art exhibitions: free. Guided Tours: Adults EUR 4, Children (8-18) EUR 3, Children (0-7) free. [2006]
Classification:	Cellar
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	T=12 °C, AR=1,820m², VR=12 m.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Untergrund Fürth e.V., Richard Linz, Jakob-Henle-Straße 6, 90766 Fürth. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1870	cellars built.
~1900	cellars abandoned.
1940	sold to the city of Fürth.
1944	part of the cellars converted into air raid shelters.
1980	plans for the use of the abandoned cellars.
13-DEC-1988	ice shaft roof collapses when a excavator with 16 tons crosses it.

Description

The former cellar of the Grüner Bräu (Grüner Brewery) was orignally built and used as beer cellars. It was dug out of the sandstone in 1870, and at the same time the Grüner Park was created at the surface. The beer was brewed in the headquarters of the brewery at the Garten-/Wasserstrasse and then brougght to this cellar. But after only a few decades, at the end of the 19th century, the cellars were abandoned.

Before refrigerators were widely used, this kind of cellar was absolutely essential for the cool storage of the beer. They were cooled down additionally by ice, which was harvested on the lakes of the are during winter. The ice was thrown into the cellar down a so called Eisabwurfschacht (ice drop shaft). Later this shaft was covered by a concrete ceiling. But in 1988 a 16 ton excavator, which was hired for some construction work by the hospital, crossed this cap and caved in.

After the cellar was not necessary for the storage of beer, only a small part was still used. The plants, ivy and boxwood trees, which were used as dividers in the beer gardens of the Grüner Brewery during summer, were stored in the entrance of the cellar during winter.

The Brewery sold the cellars finally during World War II. In 1940 the city of Fürth bought the cellar, and in 1944 a part of the cellars was transformed into air raid shelters. Two new entrances were created towards the Robert-Koch-Straße, with the intention to connect the shelter with the hospital. There were plans to use the cellar as underground emergency hospital, but this was never realized.

Although there were plans to reopen the cellars in 1980, they were never carried out. Finally in 1992 the city withdrew the permit and the reserved funds. Since 2003 the club Untergrund Fürth e.V. reopened the cellars and mmakes regular guided tours. Several times a year the cellars are used for art exhibitions.