Tradition preserved

The last inn in the village: History

The pub around the corner - where does that still exist? In many places, this tradition is passé. A message from St. Gertraudi in the Tyrolean lowlands is good news. New life is being breathed into a centuries-old inn there. 

It's hard to believe: according to Martin Reiter, his home village of St. Gertraudi (municipality of Reith i. A.) once had ten (!) inns - with just around 250 inhabitants. 

All that remains of the traditional inns is the 250-year-old Gasthof Kammerlander next to the church. Waggoners, miners and boatmen from the Inn River once stopped there. Tiled stoves warmed the dining rooms and a chestnut tree in the garden provided shade in summer. Historical photos from the archive of hobby historian Reiter bear witness to the splendor of the pretty inn. 

Long-time landlady held the fort until the age of 83
The lights went out at the Kammerlander the previous year because the long-serving landlady Elisabeth retired at the age of 83. The end of the last inn seemed sealed. "But now a tenant couple has been found," says Reiter with good news. On Saturday (31.8.), the Kammerlander is celebrating its reopening. A centuries-old tradition is being continued in St. Gertraudi. In other villages, all that remains is the memory of the pub around the corner - and perhaps a few old pictures of it.