Franz Xaver Krenkl - Wer ko, der ko - München wunderschön

Das Bild zeigt eine Bleistiftzeichnung von Franz Xaver Krenkl aus dem Jahr 1847. Der Maler ist unbekannt. this picture shows a drawing of Franz Xaver Krenkl.

Franz Xaver Krenk, 1847. Der Maler ist unbekannt. The painter is unknown.

Franz Xaver Krenkl Steinkopf am Karlstor in München

Grabstein von Franz Xaver Krenkl auf dem Münchner Südfriedhof

Franz Xaver Krenkl (1780-1860) was actually a Niederbayer. Born in Landshut, he came to Munich at a young age and quickly became a living legend. His jokes with the Bavarian crown prince and later King Ludwig I in particular are still remembered today.

The Story

Franz Xaver Krenkl was one of the most successful horse dealers and horse breeders in Munich. He was highly respected in Munich, as his racing stable had won the championship title at the Oktoberfest races fourteen times. Munich’s high society liked to hire Krenkl as a coachman and loved his coarse Munich manner.

Krenkl’s most famous anecdote is probably an incident with the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig in the English Garden. Crown Prince Ludwig was driving his carriage, a six-horse carriage, through the English Garden when he was illegally overtaken by Franz Xaver Krenkl’s carriage. When the monarch angrily pointed out the offense from the carriage, Krenkl simply shouted “Majesty, wer ko, der ko.” as he passed. (in English: “whoever can do it, can do it”). This exclamation is still a common saying in Munich and beyond.

The crown prince’s answer came the next day. When Krenkl wanted to drive out of his driveway, he could not. The royal carriage with Crown Prince Ludwig was parked in front of his driveway, blocking the exit. After a while, the crown prince said to Krenkl: “Look Krenkl, wer ko, der ko!”.

Today, Franz Xaver Krenkl is immortalized at the Karlstor. He is one of the four Munich Originals who shaped Munich in the 19th century. There is also Krenklstraße, and the German political party SPD Munich-South has awarded a prize named after him for civil courage and civic engagement since 1990. Prize winners include a lot of Munich`s famous people for their achievements and charitable activities like Helmut Fischer, Peter Neuhauser (1994, Munich Caritas Director), Günther and Elisabeth Hölzl (2004), and the Munich actors: Miroslav Nemec (2005), Ruth Drexel (2006), Marianne Koch (2007), Jutta Speidel (2008), and others.