Restaurant owner from Cologne to take over the ‘Gequetschten’
The tradition pub/restaurant ‘Zum Gequetschten’ in the Bonn Sternstraße will continue to be run and a new tenant has been found. The question is, who is this new tenant?
Karola Scholz (52) the current tenant is leaving at the end of the year, as reported by GA. The premises will then be renovated and reopened next year. Scholz confirmed to General-Anzeiger that she is leaving after 15 years due to her health. The spokesperson for the owner of the building, Julia Endres had recently also given this reason. Originally, it was thought that the pub/restaurant would close because the terms of the lease were no longer in order. “It all came at the same time,” said Scholz, “but first and foremost, my health no longer allows me to run a restaurant.”
She assured GA that she did not know who will take over the lease. According to GA information, the new tenant will be a well-known restaurant owner from Cologne, who will work with the Radeburger group as Scholz did. GA further learnt that it will definitely remain a traditional pub/restaurant. It is not yet known whether the name ‘Zum Gequetschen’ will be kept.
The name comes from Jesus’ broken arm
The pub’s history goes back over 400 years. At the beginning, there was a tavern called ‘Zum Elefanten’ (at the elephants) on the site, which was later renamed ‘Zur schiefen Ecke’ (at the crooked corner). This tavern was first mentioned in historical records in 1578. In 1726, it was purchased by master baker Johann Peter Asbach. As the building was destroyed in the second world war and later rebuilt, it is nowhere near as old as the tradition of ‘Gequetschten’ (see below).
According to records, the name ‘Zum Gequetschten’ was first given to the public house in 1850. Legend has it, that a religious procession on its way to Pützchen stopped off at the pub for a drink. They were carrying a saviour’s cross which they put in the doorway whilst they were there. As some Bonn students charged into the pub, they crushed the cross behind the door and one of Jesus’ arms was broken off. From then on, the pub became known as ‘de gequetschte Heiland’ (the crushed saviour) or for short „em Gequetschte“.
(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen, Leonie von Wangenheim, Translation: Caroline Payne)
