Thursday 29th May 2014

Bob Thompson

It’s funny that when travelling around Germany I have often been made aware of momentous events in history at the places I visit. However, in this case I was being reminded of something learned at school a very long time ago. When mentioned during a history lesson, the Diet of Worms naturally raised giggles from the class. I remember it being explained back then and no doubt because of the name, remember the facts even now.

The Diet was a sort of travelling parliament of the German Catholic church. The famous meeting at Worms occurred in 1521. Radical Protestant Martin Luther appeared before it accused of heretical writings. The judgement went against him but he had managed to escape before sentence was pronounced. The Edict of Worms is the statement issued afterwards declaring his guilt and offering reward for his capture.

Previously, I had never been to Worms apart from changing trains. That was back around 1970 and I had come to the city on a steam-hauled service from Darmstadt. Forty-four years later and that was the same method of propulsion as I arrived and left the main station with steam locomotives on the front. It was all part of a celebration to acknowledge the foundation of the transportation authority of the Rheinland-Pfalz state, twenty-five years earlier.

The five days of the festival included many exhibitions as well as over a hundred steam-hauled trains that were available to use with normal railway tickets. So, we ended up with two hours in Worms. I was with Steve Carol and Russell. We got to and from the pub by taxi. There were several reasons for this; there being four of us, we had limited time, and the bus service is poor, see below for more details on this.

So, we soon arrived at the pub. It is a very interesting location on the banks of the River Rhine (Rhein) which is very wide at this point.

We settled in the biergarten at the front of the building and soon ordered a beer. The pub and garden are huge with a capacity for 500 outside and I’m sure every seat is filled on good summer days. Inside there is room for 600 and this includes a concert hall!

After we settled in I went for a walk I went for a walk. There a many rooms and I noticed that there was accommodation for those visiting just for a drink to be found in front and at the bar itself. The furniture is all varnished wood and the walls have old brewing tools on them.

Behind the bar this was the brewery which was installed with the opening of this brew pub in 1994. It turns out 1,300 hl of beer per annum, which is very high considering it is only sold at this location. There are eight fermentation vessels and five storage tanks of 2,000 l for serving. The beers is stored at 2-5C and served at 6C.

There are three all year round beers and monthly seasonal specials. The regulars are:
Helles (4.8%) (light);Dunkles (5.2%) (dark); Weizen (5.4%) (wheat).

The seasonal beers are shown below, with details:

At the main entrance visitors are greeted by a rather odd dragon that appears to wearing a wig. As this city is very flat cycling is common and all around the dragon and the building there are many cycle racks. Naturally, they offer a full menu. Should you be in this part of Germany, possibly visiting on a Rhine river cruise, then this pub is well worth a visit.

Important Information:

Hagenbräu, Am Rhein 3, 67547 Worms, 67547. Tel: 06241 921100

Open: Summer (May-October): Monday-Friday 10.00-23.00;
Saturday-Sunday 09.00-23.00

Winter: Monday-Tuesday Closed; Wednesday-Friday 11.00-23.00;
Saturday 10.00-23.00; Sunday 10.00-21.00

Food is served: Monday-Saturday 11.30-22.00; Sunday 11.30-20.00

The pub is 1.6km (just over a mile from the main station and bus station.
The bus stop is Rheinpromenade.
However it is not that easy as the only direct bus is the 419 that only runs in evenings Monday to Saturdays. However it does operate hourly all day on Sundays.
The route 410 also stops there but only comes from the city centre, so a change of buses is required if coming from the station.