Inn

Inn

Inns are establishments where travellers can procure food, drink, and lodging.

History & Origins

Found in Europe, they possibly first sprang up when the Romans built their system of Roman roads two millennia ago. Some inns in Europe are several centuries old. In addition to providing for the needs of travellers, inns traditionally acted as community gathering places.

"Inn" in more recent times has often come to denote a business serving alcoholic beverages, especially in North America, where they are usually alcohol-serving restaurants that have never provided lodging or serviced the needs of travellers.

In Europe, it is the provision of accommodation, if anything, that now differentiates inns from taverns, alehouses and pubs. The latter tend only to supply alcohol (although in the UK the conditions of their licence sometimes require them to have a nominal supply of food and soft drinks). Inns tend to be grander and more long-lived establishments. Famous London examples include the George and the Tabard. There is however no longer a formal distinction between an inn and other kinds of establishment, and many pubs will use the name "inn", either simply because they are long established and maybe were once a Coaching inn, or to summon up a particular kind of image; however, originally an "Inn" had to provide not only food and lodging, but also stabling and fodder for the traveller's horse(s) and for fresh horses for the Mail coach.

The original functions of an inn are now usually split among separate establishments, such as hotels, lodges, and motels, all of which might provide the traditional functions of an inn but which focus more on lodging customers than on other services; pubs, which are primarily alcohol-serving establishments; and restaurants and taverns, which serve food and drink. (Hotels often contain restaurants and also often serve complimentary breakfast and meals, thus providing all of the functions of traditional inns.) In North America, the lodging aspect of the word "inn" lives on in hotel brand names like Holiday Inn, and in some state laws that refer to lodging operators as innkeepers.

Germany

The German words for "inn", "innkeeper", and "innkeeping" illustrate the historical importance of inns. An innkeeper is Wirt (a ), the inn itself is a Wirtshaus (a host's house), and innkeeping is Wirtschaft. The last word literally means hosting or hospitality, but is also used to mean economy and business in general. In the Greek language, the word for economy ("oikos" "house" + "nomos" "law") is actually identical to housekeeping.

Inns of Court

The Inns of Court were originally ordinary inns where lawyers met to do business, but have become institutions of the legal profession in London.

ee also

*Bed and breakfast, B&B
*Public house
*Coaching inn
*Caravanserai
*Pub names
*Ryokan (inn)
*List of lodging types
*"The White Horse Inn"

External links

* [http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer-News/Article-312.htm A Brief History of the British Pub]
* [http://www.congleton-cheshire.co.uk/congleton_inn_signs.htm Congleton's ancient Inn Signs]
* [http://www.closedpubs.co.uk The Lost Pubs Project] : Lost and closed pubs of the UK.


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  • Inn — Flussverlauf des Inns Daten Gewässerkennzahl …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Inn — ([i^]n), n. [AS. in, inn, house, chamber, inn, from AS. in in; akin to Icel. inni house. See {In}.] 1. A place of shelter; hence, dwelling; habitation; residence; abode. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Therefore with me ye may take up your inn For …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • INN — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom …   Wikipédia en Français

  • INN — [Abk. für engl. international nonproprietary name = internat. nichtgeschützter Name]: svw. ↑ Freiname, auch in Zus. wie pINN (engl. proposed = vorgeschlagen) u. rINN (engl …   Universal-Lexikon

  • inn — [in] n. [ME yn < OE inn (akin to ON inni) < adv. inn, inne, within: see IN1] 1. Obs. any dwelling or lodging 2. a) an establishment or building providing lodging and, usually, food and drink for travelers; hotel or motel, esp. one in the… …   English World dictionary

  • INN 33 — (Бангкок,Таиланд) Категория отеля: 3 звездочный отель Адрес: 1091/110, Petchburi 33, Petchbur …   Каталог отелей

  • Inn 22 — (Турку,Финляндия) Категория отеля: 3 звездочный отель Адрес: Vanha Littoistentie 22, 20540 Ту …   Каталог отелей

  • INN — steht für: InterNetNews, eine Referenzimplementation eines Newsservers, die vom Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) bereitgestellt wird Flughafen Innsbruck in Österreich (IATA Code) International Nonproprietary Name, weltweit gültiger… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Inn — ([i^]n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Inned} ([i^]nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Inning}.] To take lodging; to lodge. [R.] Addison. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Inn — Inn, v. t. 1. To house; to lodge. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] When he had brought them into his city And inned them, everich at his degree. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. To get in; to in. See {In}, v. t. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Inn [1] — Inn (engl.), Gast , Wirtshaus; Inn keeper (spr. kihp r), Gastwirt. Früher bedeutete I. (wie franz. Hôtel) auch Amtsgebäude, Lehranstalt etc., daher Inns ot Court (s. d.) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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