In 1738, Mathias Wilhelm opens the tavern and purchases the house in 1746. After his parents’ death, their son Josef takes over operations.

After a period of ownership by Josef Laurent, Christian Hummel takes over the property in 1834. After long negotiations with the municipality, he succeeds to get permission to turn the drinks-only tavern into a restaurant being allowed to serve warm dishes, which had been requested by the owners of the market stalls for a long time. After taking over from his father in 1863, Eduard Hummel buys the other half of the building from the shoemaker Johann Schmid in 1870 and turns the entire ground floor into a restaurant. This is the state in which all of Freiburg knows the restaurant, everybody in town knew «Der Hummele am Münsterplatz».

Elise und Karl Oberkirch bought the house in 1936. According to legend, Karl Oberkirch managed to extinguish a fire breaking out in the adjacent historic merchant hall during the heavy bombing of the city in 1944 – by using the content of his wine cellar. The Oberkirch building right next to the impressive hall was miraculously spared and remains one of the few real historic buildings in Freiburg. In 1951, his daughter Helga starts working in the restaurant – and another building is added; the former horse stables of the palace of the Sickinger family (today housing the provincial court) is rebuilt as hotel building after being destroyed in the war.

In 1967, Helga Oberkirch takes over operations with her husband Herbert. In 1991, she hands the house over to her son Helmut Johner and his life partner Doris Hunn, together they run the hotel and restaurant until Helmut Johner’s death in 1997. During this period, the Münsterplatz building was renovated entirely, today offering modern komfort with the atmosphere of the historic building. From 1998 until November 2022 Doris Hunn was running the Oberkirch alone.

Since December 2022, Toni F. Schlegel has been running the hotel and restaurant – the long tradition of the Oberkirch continues….