The local pub: The Germans' living room

The local pub, known in German as the "Kneipe," has often enough been declared dead.

In 1953, for instance, Germany's Federal Court of Justice set the first blood alcohol limit when driving a vehicle — but the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level of 1.5 per mil permitted at the time still left ample space for a beer after work at a local bar.

When more and more families were able to afford a television in the 1960s, people also predicted that going to the pub would become a thing of the past.

Read more: German brewery gives away free beer after COVID-19 dashes sales

But the local pub ultimately survived the arrival of that new technology, just as did with the introduction of bottled beer and the later reduction of the alcohol limit to 0.8 and then 0.5 per mil.

"The tapster is a good trade," noted Shakespeare at the end of the 16th century in The Merry Wives of Windsor. The demise of such an institution as the pub could largely be kept at bay.

The law prohibiting smoking in pubs to protect non-smokers in Germany in 2008 didn't seem to faze the livelihood of pubs either.

It seems that people have the backs of pub owners, even if they have been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns. Since mid-March in Germany, bar stools have remained unoccupied to help stem the spread of the virus, leading sales to fall to zero overnight.

Read more: Coronavirus: How Belgium's breweries are adapting to lockdown

The pub as an 'in-between' location

"The pub is an intermediate place between family and the world of work," says Christoph Wulf, an anthropology professor at Berlin's FU university. "It's local; you don't meet friends there, but acquaintances." The place offers something that normally does not exist in this combination: Offering anonymity and familiarity at the same time. "You don't keep your distance; you get closer."

As Germany's pubs are gradually opening again following the coronavirus-related lockdown, it may seem like a step towards normal life again. Yet many of the seats will still remain empty due to physical distancing regulations. Despite the easing of lockdown restrictions, it is not yet clear which pubs will ultimately have to shut down completely. No one knows how long the pandemic will last — and how willing people truly are to reenter indoor spaces due to the risk of contracting the virus.

According to the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA), by the end of April, one in three businesses had reported that they could remain solvent for less than 20 days following the lockdown, but the number is probably even more dramatic.

The industry had been under pressure even before the pandemic. Nationwide, the number of exiting pubs dropped by almost 3,800 between 2012 and 2018. However, there have always been regional differences in the overall figures: While the number of pubs in Hamburg decreased by almost 50% between 2001 and 2011, the number doubled in Berlin during the same period.

A safe haven?

In the classic corner pub, people from all walks of life come together: students, craftspeople, people from the middle class. People stand or sit around together, chatting over a cold beer, a liquor shot, or a glass of wine, speaking their minds. Problems are discussed in a public sphere. In times of rising aggression on social networks, the local pub almost seems like a safe place.

The appearance of a classic local pub has also remained largely the same in many places in Germany, with dark wooden interiors adorned with scrappy-looking, yellowed curtains. Snacks are also often the same old pretzels, pickled herring or little hamburgers, depending on the region of the country.

Of course, alcohol plays a central role, says anthropologist Christoph Wulf. "It's not about getting completely drunk, but about enjoying being slightly tipsy. This offers people a sense of breaking free from the mundane routines, obligations and discipline of everyday life."

This feeling was described by the rather disciplined writer Thomas Mann, who did not live an excessive life, in his 1906 essay "On Alcohol." It is "a state of wishing with all one's heart, a state which occasionally may bear fruit in a useful idea, but a state which is exactly opposite to that of work, struggle and defeat."

The social function of a pub

Unlike some social encounters, going to a pub during the coronavirus pandemic cannot be simulated in a video chat. "In a pub, you are physically there, in other words, present as a person," says Wulf.  There is also a considerable social component for people who go to the pub to play cards or a round of billiards. "The players enter another world altogether, a kind of third dimension. The pub is more than just a bar for drinking. Going there is an important ritual; you feel a sense of familiarity with the place and the people."

This ritual has been missing for weeks. "In the current situation, people have been much more confronted with a sense of loneliness, especially in big cities," says Wulf.

It's human nature to want to communicate with others. "Meeting up with other people gives meaning to life. It doesn't have to be goal-oriented," adds the anthropologist. What is important is not "what you talk about, but that you talk."