for weddings, concerts, and plays. In the period just before World War One, Vladimir Lenin lived in Munich and reportedly visited the Hofbräuhaus on a regular basis. In 1919, the Munich Communist government set up headquarters in the beer hall, and in February 1920 Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists held their first meeting in the Festsaal, the Festival Room, on the third floor. On 24th February 1920, Hitler presented the Nazi Party's Twenty Five Point Program in the Hofbräuhaus. On that day, the Nazi party held a large public meeting and whilst Hitler was speaking, the meeting erupted into a melee. There was a massive fight between the Social Democrat and Communist opponents of the Nazi party, whose thugs eventually won the melee. Hitler managed to finish his address, notwithstanding the chaos of smashed tables and chairs and hurled beer mugs all about him. On 4 November 1921 the Hofbräuhaus was also the birthplace of the later feared Nazi street fighting organization, the Sturmabteilungen, or SA. After Munich's world-famous Oktoberfest (where the Hofbräu has one of the largest beer tents), the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is Munich's most outstanding tourist attraction and historical monument. Other famous visitors include Marcel Duchamp, Thomas Wolfe, Louis Armstrong, Mikhail Gorbachev, NASA astronauts, and past American Presidents John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush. See also Hofbräu-Festzelt Hofbräukeller References External links Official Website Old Town City Panorama—Panoramic view at the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl Virtual Tourist articles Beer gardens in Germany Buildings and structures completed in 1607 Buildings and structures in Munich Culture in Munich Drinking establishments in Germany German beer culture Historicist architecture in Munich Tourist attractions in Munich