The Frankfurt Beer Riot Leaves Twenty People Dead

On April 21, 1873, severe civil unrest broke out in Frankfurt am Main after local brewery taverns had raised the price of beer from four to four and a half Kreuzer per half-liter. The increase of 12.5 percent particularly affected poorly paid workers, for whom beer was widely regarded as a nourishing everyday staple. Because no half-kreuzer coin existed, customers initially paid five Kreuzer and received a half-kreuzer token or voucher that could generally be redeemed only with the same publican. The unpopular arrangement intensified resentment over the price increase. The unrest erupted during the final-day celebrations of Frankfurt’s traditional spring fair. Demonstrators formed a procession through the city while chanting “Mir wolle Batzebier”—“We want Batzen beer,” referring to the four-Kreuzer price traditionally represented by one Batzen. The crowd attacked brewery taverns and other premises, smashed windows and furniture, plundered some businesses, and poured beer into the streets. Frankfurt’s police force, which had only 53 uniformed officers in a rapidly growing city of around 100,000 inhabitants, was unable to regain control. The authorities deployed six companies of the Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 81. Soldiers fired live ammunition into crowds in the city, and military forces restored control only around midnight. Twenty people were killed, including bystanders, an elderly woman, and a ten-year-old boy; dozens more were injured. The following morning, soldiers occupied important public places, bridges, and railway stations, while schools, shops, and hotels remained closed. Around 300 suspects were detained. On July 14, 1873, the city court convicted 47 defendants and imposed prison terms of up to four and a half years. The Frankfurt breweries subsequently announced that they would withdraw the price increase and restore the former four-Kreuzer price. The Frankfurter Bierkrawall became the city’s deadliest episode of social unrest between the Revolution of 1848 and the upheavals surrounding the First World War.