The History of the Restaurant
The Karl and Friedrich restaurant boasts a unique history, which began in the 18th century and involved Emperor Peter the Great. The story can be easily searched online and is confirmed by a special stone on the restaurant’s premises. It bears an inscription that says: the first Russian brewery was founded here in 1724 by order of Peter the Great.In 1724 Peter the 1st visited the first German church in St. Petersburg.
The Emperor had a long conversation with a pastor named Reichmuth. Among other things the pastor mentioned that his sons, Karl and Friedrich Reichmuth, not only graduated from the famous Munich school of brewers, but had hopes of opening a real Bavarian brewery in the capital of Russia. Peter the Great ordered to give the pastor’s sons travelling allowance, granted them ownership of a large piece of land on Krestovsky island and personally took part in laying the corner stone for the future wind mill and brewery.
Alas, the Emperor’s imminent death shuttered these plans, and the subsequent anti-German campaign turned them into dust. However, the tale of Karl and Friedrich Reichmuth, the founders of The Beer Mill, the cornerstone of which was laid by the Emperor himself, continued to live in the people’s memory. The tale became an urban legend, not just in the Northern Capital, but in the distant city of Munich as well.
As years passed, life on Krestovsky island was flourishing. Several settlements were established here including the German one. Immigrants from Germany opened beer taverns on the island, serving good strong beer. A first-class restaurant called Krestovsky Island opened on the site where Karl and Friedrich Reichmuth founded the first Russian brewery. It was a true biergarten, a traditional German garden to relax and enjoy beer. The Krestovsky Island restaurant served the finest Bavarian beer, brewed according to the golden standard. It remained one of the city’s most popular spots until its closure in 1910.
In 1999, German businessman Ludwig Reichmuth, the great-great-grandson of one of the Reichmuth brothers, came to St. Petersburg.
Ludwig contacted the owners of the legendary restaurant Russian Fishing on Krestovsky island and offered an original family beer recipe, that had been passed down from generation to generation.
The only condition that Reichmuth set was that the brewery should be built on the same land that Peter the 1st granted to his ancestors, which had gained fame due to the Kestovsky Garden biergarten.
Nowadays, the Karl and Friedrich restaurant and brewery has been repeatedly voted the Best Restaurant in St. Petersburg. It is a true beer town that resembles an old Bavarian suburb and reflects the spirit of old times and German traditions. Its fame extends far beyond the borders of St. Petersburg and Russia itself.
The legendary stone laid by the Emperor
«Hie domini MDCCXXIV iussu mperatoris Russiae Petri I prima bracina Petropolitana est.».
Here, in 1724, by the order of Peter the 1st, the first Russian brewery was founded.
The Karl and Friedrich restaurant and brewery complex has been repeatedly voted The Best Restaurant in St. Petersburg.
