Canadian Forces Single Quarters
becomes “Euro Inn” on Lahr airfield

On Thursday 5 July 2001 the “Euro Inn” motel with 78 rooms was officially opened on Lahr airfield with live brass band music and speeches. It will provide basic accommodation at moderate prices, especially targeting families and groups wishing to visit the Black Forest and Europa-Park in Rust.


It doesn’t rival any of the local Lahr hotels, which haven’t been doing so well since the Canadian Forces left seven years ago, because it doesn’t provide those kind of facilities (the shower and toilet are located right next to the room). On the rating scales, it comes somewhere between a hotel and bed-and-breakfast (Zimmer frei) overnights in private homes.


It’s located on Lahr airfield in Building A70, part of what used to be the Canadian Forces single quarters, opposite the All Ranks Dining Room and the Europahof. The new single quarters were built in 1983 at a cost of about DM 2 million to replace some of the old single-storey barracks. People stationed in Lahr before 1983 will remember it as the site of the Canadian Roman Catholic church (the new one was constructed in a different place nearby at that
time, too).


Of course such overnight accommodation could have been made available to the German public in 1994, immediately after the departure of the Canadian Forces, but the conversion of Lahr airfield from military to commercial use is just one long sad story of missed opportunities, mainly for bureaucratic reasons. Only offices, shops, warehouses, light industry and logistic companies were included in the urban planning for the airfield set up in 1994, so few small companies (including the Canadian firm “Geomatics International GIS Systems” moved into A-70 which was used as office space but most of the rooms remained empty.


The former All Ranks kitchen was rented by Peter Vetter who set up a successful party and outside catering business there. Later he opened a small self-service restaurant popular with employees of other companies that had established themselves on the airfield. The large dining halls were left untouched, but then he had the idea of letting them out as a “Festhalle”, for business conferences, weddings and special celebrations (like the Lahr German-Canadian Friendship Club 30th anniversary in May 2001).


Finally, Mr Vetter had the idea of the motel, together with Jürgen Gackstatter (the new head of the Lahr Airfield Development Board) who was able to provide some official support. The planning permission was granted. The other tenant companies moved into the same type of buildings next door. In the fall of 2000 the building was let to Mr Vetter for two years rent-free, but he had to completely renovate it. The outside renovation cost DM 55 000 (note the bright colours, but the green roof still shows its origins!). The inside alterations cost cost DM 130 000, plus DM 3 000 for the furniture and furnishings in each bedroom. The self-service restaurant where you can get breakfast or a local German meal is just across the road, and there’s plenty of parking space.



So if you come to Lahr and don’t have friends to stay with, try out this new place with a touch of Canadian nostalgia!

Click on the picture to enlarge