Meiningen cooperative targets 500,000 euros for village inn

A cooperative in Meiningen is raising 500,000 euros to convert the 120-year-old Frenerhus building into a village inn, ORF reports. The project aims to restore a central meeting place in the Vorarlberg municipality, which has been without a village inn for a year.

Residents can buy cooperative shares for 500 euros each. The organisers, Thomas Muther and architect Ulrich Feistenauer, want to reach the half-million-euro target by the end of this year. They say around three-quarters of the sum has already been raised.

“We are basically satisfied, but we also know that the final third will be the most difficult,” Muther said, urging more people to take part.

If the target is reached, the money will be used to renovate and expand the building next to Meiningen’s church. The cooperative will not run the inn itself. Instead, it plans to lease the premises to a publican and use the rental income to repay the loan needed for the project, Feistenauer said.

A village square is also planned between the new inn and the church, with a fountain and seating. The Frenerhus is expected to include a beer garden, playground and ice cream parlour.

Construction could begin in 2028 if the project proceeds as planned, Muther said. The organisers also want the cooperative model to encourage proactive village development and serve as an example for other municipalities and residents.

Village inns have become increasingly rare in Vorarlberg. Two years ago, the state introduced the so-called Wirtshauspakt, which included annual support of 500,000 euros. According to the Vorarlberg Economic Chamber, the region now has 152 village inns, about 10 more than two years ago.

However, gastronomy representative Mike Pansi said the increase was misleading. Some former village inns had been taken over and converted into pizzerias or Asian restaurants, meaning they were village inns only on paper. Pansi said the number of traditional village inns had therefore continued to decline.

He also said that most of the support promised under the Wirtshauspakt had been affected by the state’s cost-cutting measures. Pansi is calling for more assistance for the industry, which is already under pressure from rising costs.