Pub selection 2024

What exactly is a real pub?

Whether for a quick drink or a hearty meal: everyone is welcome in a pub!(Bild: EVELYN HRONEK)

Kathrin Zollner and Gerfried Hopf have been running the "Kärntner Wirtshauskultur" association for five years. An interview with the restaurateurs.

"Krone": Almost every Carinthian has their trusted innkeeper. But what makes a genuine Carinthian inn?

Zollner: There is often no concrete answer to that. In any case, it is a place to come together in any form - we accompany our guests through the whole circle of tradition and life, from baptism to funerals. Guests, employees and suppliers also become friends in the pub.
Hopf: Inns are cornerstones of our society. Everyone is welcome - from mayors to workers or entire families.

What do the taverns mean for Carinthia?
Zollner: On the one hand, a high level of added value is created in the region. Farmers, winegrowers and producers supply the taverns. The regional aspect has to be there - but how regionality is defined varies greatly.

Hopf: On the other hand, innkeepers also have a social obligation. A place lives through its pub culture!

Kathrin and Gerfried at Gasthaus Zeilinger in Himmelberg.(Bild: EVELYN HRONEK)

You've both been in the restaurant business for a long time, how has the culture changed? What has stayed the same?
Hopf: I grew up in an inn, and many businesses are still run by the family today. Nevertheless, the pub culture is becoming younger and more modern in some cases. All guests need to feel comfortable, from children to young adults to the older generation.

Zollner: A lot has changed since the pandemic! The days of garage parties are over and guests are happy to be able to go to a pub again. Of course, businesses also have to evolve with the times.

The days of garage parties are over!

Katrin Zollner, Obfrau des Vereins „Kärntner Wirtshauskultur“

What will a pub of the future look like?
Hopf: Due to the general conditions, there will be smaller pubs with fewer employees that won't be open from early to late. But the unique thing about our pub culture will remain: The individual charm of every single innkeeper who does their job out of conviction and passion!

Zollner: And for this culture to be preserved, guests simply have to go to the pub; the restaurateurs have to work together. The encouragement and appreciation are always there!

Große Umfrage

„Was verstehen Sie unter einem Wirtshaus?“

CHRISTINE (40) FROM ALTHOFEN: "For me, the pub is a place where I like to go with friends and where I can quickly and easily feel at home."(Bild: zVg)

HEINZ NIEDERBICHLER (53) FROM FELDKIRCHEN "I grew up partly in an inn - I enjoy the home-style cooking there after hiking or skiing. It's part of village life!"(Bild: zVg)

SIEGFRIED KROBATH (50) FROM ST. PAUL I. L.: "There needs to be much more interaction in the pubs again! That's where people come together, that's where camaraderie develops!(Bild: zVg)

MIRA STROHECKER (20) FROM KLAGENFURT: "I associate the pub with beer, pancake soup and traditional cuisine, loud conversations and a good atmosphere! A place where there's always something going on."(Bild: zVg)

BEATRIX ANAWENDER (50) FROM ARNOLDSTEIN: "For me, a pub is a place where you can have a good time, enjoy down-to-earth cooking like you used to at grandma's house and hear the most important gossip."(Bild: zVg)

JULIAN KELLERER (34) FROM VÖLKERMARKT: "For me, pubs are a place to relax and meet people - unfortunately there are fewer and fewer of them, especially in rural areas."(Bild: zVg)

Who is your favorite pub? Take part in the 2024 Carinthia pub vote! You can nominate your favorite inn here.