Monday 7th April 2014

Bob Thompson

If you were walking along the main street of Windischeschenbach towards the Stadtplatz (town square) you could easily miss this beautiful pub. Just before the square you will see the Pfarrkirche (Parish church) on the right. If you then turn towards it into a short and uphill street called Lehnerberg, you will soon see the welcoming Weissen Schwan in Pfarrplatz on the left.

This is a true inn as it has rooms, is a restaurant and a pub all rolled into one. It would make a good place to stay if you were touring the beer-laden countryside of the Oberpfalz region. As a restaurant it comes highly recommended and specialises in venison and also fish from their own ponds.

At the side of the building you will find their butcher's shop (Metzgerei) so the quality of the meats is assured. They have their own slaughterhouse and all the sausages and cold meats are made in-house. The hotel guest's breakfasts must be very good indeed.

It is closed on Sunday so the only opportunity I had to pay a visit was at around 10.00 on a Monday morning. However I wasn't the only one as there were a group of senior gentlemen enjoying some Zoigl beer.

This is brewed at the town's Kommunbrauerei (Commune brewery) which is around 200 metres away. It's brought the day after brewing to the inn where it undergoes fermentation in their cellar after the yeast has been pitched and the hops added.

I entered the main room of the pub, which is left of the main entrance door. This has a service area on the right and beyond the "stammtisch", which is the table reserved for regular visitors, there is a traditional "kachelofen", a wood burning stove. The furniture is all made of light beech wood and the seats are cushioned.

There are cloths on the tables, each of which had vases of flowers upon them. There are deer antlers on the walls and plants on all of the window shelves. The room is full of many other decorative touches and the lampshades are made of wicker. To the right of the main door is an even larger room furnished in a similar style. This is used for functions or as an overflow from the main room.

I thought the beer here was about the best I have had from this brewery, having a lot of body and a wonderfully bitter aftertaste, so congratulations to the Schrembs family who are the proprietors. This pub is now in its fifth generation of ownership, being acquired by them in 1859.

As I left I noticed the terrace at the front and thought it would be a lovely place to while away an hour or two. This is a new feature and wasn't there when I last visited.

So there you have it. There are many reasons to visit this venerable inn.

Important Information:

Weisser Schwan, Pfarrplatz 1, 90670 Windischeshenbach. Tel: 09681 1230

Open: Monday-Friday 07.00-24.00; Saturday Closed; Sunday 07.00-14.00

Buses to Windischeschenbach are infrequent and usually run only Mondays to Fridays.

The station is served by trains of Vogtlandbahn Railway Company and they operate about every hour Monday to Friday, and two-hourly on Saturday and Sunday.
They run from Regensburg to Marktredwitz via Schwandorf and Weiden.