Weihenstephan

Weihenstephan is a district of Freising in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on a hill to the north of Freising, within the Hallertau hop region and about 30 kilometers north of Munich.

The area is best known for the Benedictine monastery of Weihenstephan, officially St. Stephen's Abbey, founded in the early 8th century. The monastery became a center of beer production, and beer brewing at the site is documented from 1040, making the complex closely associated with the history of Bavarian brewing. In 1803, during secularization, the abbey's properties were transferred to the Bavarian state, though the monastic community continued in various forms and the site retained its brewing function.

The Bavarian state continues to operate the Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan on the abbey grounds, often cited as the world's oldest continuously operating brewery. It produces a range of beers under the Weihenstephaner brand, such as Hefeweissbier, Original, and Dunkel, and maintains a historic brewery museum on site.

The Weihenstephan area is also the site of the Weihenstephan campus of the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, which specializes in agriculture, horticulture, and food sciences. The region is part of Bavaria's hop-producing landscape and is connected to the broader beer culture of the Munich metropolitan area.

Weihenstephan remains a destination for visitors interested in brewing history, monastic architecture, and Bavarian beer traditions.