Gasthaus Topic

Back around twenty years ago, I sat watching German TV and they were hyping up the trend of pubs and Gasthaus operations dwindling.  The problems?  They went along three simple lines.  First, fewer people (referring primarily to men) drinking immediately after work.  Second, the profit margin that the Gasthauses were making....wasn't enough to draw replacement owners as people retired from ownership.  Finally, there was the issue of evening beer consumption.  If you could buy your own beer, and drink it comfortably on your patio or balcony....then why walk down to the pub?

I noticed that topic came up via HR (our Hessen local public TV network).

Back in 2002, there were 3,000 Gasthauses or pubs in Hessen.  Today....16 years later, there are 1,800 of these in existence.  Every year, more shut down.  It's worth a read at HR, but it's a woeful tale in some ways.  It will not likely improve.

When I arrived in Germany in 1978, the Gasthaus tradition interested me.  In rural villages, you would have had one single pub.  In the larger villages of a thousand or more people....maybe two or more.  You could walk in around 7 PM and found two or three tables with retired guys playing cards and discussing some soccer game results or some political theme.  Five or six guys would be there at the counter and discussing their frustrations, their lost love, or the stupid boss at work. In the background, you'd see two guys by the 'casino' machine and intent on winning the jackpot (they never did).  A local club might have the back room in use while they discuss some grand parade or big party for Oktoberfest celebration. Along about 10 PM, the bartender would chase everyone out, and shut down the bar.  Folks would walk home....either half-drunk or completely drunk, and get some frustrations off their mind.

Somewhere over the past thirty years, that lifestyle ended.

Maybe along the way....hard-drinkers became harder to find.  Some German women probably demanded their husband or boyfriend to clean up their act.  And the sales of premium beer made in-the-house consumption easier.

In my village, there used to be three pubs or places where you could gather.  Today, there are two of them.  I would guess and say that ninety-percent of the population (figure 4,500 residents) don't ever mingle or gather at either pub or Gashaus.

It's a German tradition that is slowly dying away.