### Munich Debuts Alcohol-Free Beer Garden to Combat Public Drinking
Munich, the famed home of Oktoberfest, will launch its first alcohol-free beer garden on Thursday. Known as “Die Null” (The Zero), this initiative aims to reduce antisocial behavior linked with excessive drinking. Located near Munich’s main railway station, Die Null will offer soft drinks, mocktails, juices, water, and non-alcoholic beers.
Visitors can bring their own food and enjoy live entertainment, including bands, choirs, solo artists, and DJ dance nights. This move responds to long-standing complaints from local business owners about public intoxication tarnishing Munich’s reputation.
The city administration hopes that Die Null will help revitalize the area and make it safer and more welcoming. Bar owner Florian Schönhofer, a supporter of the project, emphasized that the goal is not to eliminate alcohol altogether but to offer appealing alternatives. While he expects the venture to operate at a loss initially, he is encouraged by positive feedback.
A municipal taskforce has been working to address issues of public drunkenness, aiming to make city parks and the railway station more secure. Die Null will be open until September 15, just before the start of Oktoberfest.
This alcohol-free initiative follows a similar experiment at a church convention in Nuremberg and aligns with a broader trend of declining beer consumption in Germany. The country’s beer drinking peaked in the 1990s and now lags behind the Czech Republic, Austria, and Poland. As drinking habits evolve, some breweries are shifting focus to non-alcoholic beers, which offer a satisfying taste without the drawbacks of alcohol.
This year, Germany also became the first large EU country to legalize personal recreational use of cannabis, marking a significant cultural shift.
