The Bayerischer Hof opened on October 15, 1841. It was constructed by
Joseph Anton von Maffei and designed by
Friedrich von Gärtner. The original structure had about 100 rooms and two banquet halls. Some of its renowned guests included
Empress Elisabeth of Austria and
Sigmund Freud. In 1897 the hotel was purchased for 2,850,000 Marks by Herrmann Volkhardt, who purchased additional adjoining properties and rebuilt the hotel in the
Neo-Renaissance style. The hotel hosted performances in the grand ballroom by artists like
Enrico Caruso. Herrmann Volkhardt died in 1909 and left the hotel to his three sons – Hermann, Ernst and Wilhelm, with Hermann managing the property. The Bayerischer Hof was almost completely destroyed in an Allied air raid on April 25, 1944, with only the Spiegelsaal (Hall of Mirrors) surviving. On October 22, 1945, Hermann Volkhardt and his son Falk established Munich's first post-war restaurant in the Spiegelsaal. The hotel was rebuilt in stages, with 74 rooms open by 1949 and 250 beds in 1951. Hermann Volkhart died in 1955, and Falk purchased the remaining 2/3 of the property from his two uncles by 1959. Between 1959 and 1961, Falk Volkhardt completed construction of the modern seven-story, 71-meter hotel structure at . == Palais Montgelas ==