New
Munich, a city in section 18 of Oak Township, was founded about 1856
and incorporated on January 28, 1896; its post office was established in
1859 as Oak and changed to New Munich in 1863; it had a station of the
Soo Line. "It received its name from a Bavarian hunter, who came from
Munich, Bavaria, and stayed with the first settlers for several years"
Hungarian
immigrant Mathew Pitzl bought a New Munich Brewery in 1900 at the
current intersection of Main Street and Seventh Avenue. for $5,500.
Thanks to Pitzl's renovations and branding of Weiner Lager Beer, the
Pitzl Brewing Co. became Minnesota third-largest beer producer by 1910.
The
Pitzl Brewery of New Munich was charged with illegally selling beer in
1924. The remaining products were destroyed but during one of the raids
federal prohibition agent Albert Whitney suffered a fractured skull.
Owner Mathew Pitzl moved the brewery equipment to Estevan, Saskatchewan
in Canada via a 14-car Soo Line train.
Pitzl died in Canada in
1931. His remains were returned to New Munich for a funeral. An attempt
to resurrect the brewery in 1933 failed.