Inns in the countryside - memories from the southwest
They were the main meeting place, especially for the male village community: the country inns in the southwest. Many landlord families used to run a brewery, butcher's shop and farm on the side. The dining room was often the living room where the innkeeper's children grew up. Biographies took place between the kitchen and the bar - over generations. Thomas Blank took over a brewery inn from his parents in Zwiefaltendorf on the edge of the Swabian Alb. Even as a child, he had to lend a hand everywhere - there was virtually no free time.
It was only with great difficulty that his mother managed to get a day off on Sundays. Much to the annoyance of the regulars, who then didn't know where to go after church. Thomas Blank later decided not to take over his parents' business under any circumstances. After training as a brewer, however, his passion for the craft grew and today he is a passionate brewer and also a landlord at Gasthof Rössle. Peter Schröder's parents also ran a pub: “Zum Jägerhaus”. The special thing about it: The state border ran right through the middle of the house.
The Schröders lived in Rhineland-Palatinate and the restaurant was in Belgium. There is a lot to tell. It is a house with a special tradition, as it was originally a forester's lodge that was granted a “license to serve fermented beverages” as early as 1855 and was owned by the family for generations. Peter Schröder remembers the long working days of his mother, who ran the pub alongside the farm. Before tourism took off in the area, a pub was not profitable enough.
The extra income from working in the fields was necessary. Brigitte Holstein was also a landlady for many years, at the “Adler” in Grüningen in Upper Swabia. The Adler is the only inn in the village that has stood the test of time. Brigitte Holstein talks about the early days, when hardly anyone came to eat in the pub - at most there were a few fried eggs or a Swabian “Vesper”. Instead, people came to drink beer and chat. When the Adler then introduced guest rooms, travelers made up a large part of the clientele from the 1960s onwards: Salesmen for milking machines or gummy bears often came back again and again for years.
Friendships developed with the landlady's family. Klaus Frölich is an enthusiastic hiker and a veteran of the Palatinate Forest Association. For him, a visit to a hiking hut is a natural part of proper hiking. There are more than a hundred such places to stop for refreshments in the Palatinate Forest region today. The first one was built more than 100 years ago to offer hikers an inexpensive, simple place to stop for refreshments. Many have the offer and flair of the past - with long tables that quickly become sociable.
Klaus Frölich is convinced that a good hut warden is the soul of the association. The SWR authors Elmar Babst, Holger Wienpahl and Elke Wißmann drove through the villages of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate and listened to their reports: What was it like in the village inns back then? What has remained? Their documentary collects stories from childhood days and describes many big and small incidents that form a lively panorama of life in the inns of yesteryear. Many black and white photos complement the footage.
Broadcasting on 29th of May 2025 at 02.00pm on SR/ARD
Music: POPVIRUS Library