Aussauffen in the Aff
The ape box (lovingly called Aff) in Aarau closes at the end of October 2006.
In honor of the Aff we have - in the so-called classical occupation - afflicted the Aff again. (2006 by Roman)
In "Monkey Box" even Albert Schweitzer and Federal Councilors turned up
Leisurely after-work party on the boulevard in front of the Restaurant Affenkasten before the reconstruction in 2006. Toni Widmer / Archive
Leisurely after-work party on the boulevard in front of the Restaurant Affenkasten before the reconstruction in 2006. Toni Widmer / Archive
On October 31, 2006, the restaurant Affenkasten in Aarau closed its hospitable doors and made way for a bookstore. The az has leafed through the guestbook: Albert Schweitzer and Federal Councilors have even returned to the legendary "ape box"
On October 31, 2006, the restaurant Affenkasten in Aarau closed its hospitable doors and made way for a bookstore. Much to the regret of a large crowd of guests, the "Aff" numerous memories and legends linked, which are still present today.
Thanks to the estate of the innkeepers Hans and Marili Burger, who operated the "monkey box" from 1927 to 1944, another chapter in the history of the restaurant, which is well known far beyond the city limits, is brightened up.
According to grandson Ruedi Burger, family history also includes an explanation for the restaurant's richly exotic name. As early as the middle of the 19th century, there was a small brewery with a restaurant on the rear suburb, which was in the hands of a Gerber family for two generations.
Cantonal students met eagerly in the stain, eagerly handing it over to the barley juice. In the vernacular it was said then, the students were back in the brewery (or in the "box") and would have carried an "Aff" home, so a swindle or intoxication. In this way, the term "monkey box" is to be created, which is first officially named in 1877.
Courtyard with monkey cage
The "Aff" belonged since that time the brewery Feldschlösschen and included a "front part" (against the front suburb out), were served in the dishes of home-style cuisine. In the "back part" (against the rear suburb), the "working economy" was more down-to-earth.
The space on the ground floor next to a bowling alley and a Säli belonged in the middle of an open garden with a chestnut tree. Son Rudolf Burger recalls: "During the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival of 1932 in Aarau, the garden was occupied from morning to night. Once a huge thunderstorm broke out and the guests in the open air fled with their food and drinks to all sorts of impossible corners ".
The attraction in the courtyard at that time was a cage with two or three living monkeys, which disappeared after the roofing in 1936. Hans Burger gave it away in his hometown of a family Stettler, who led the "bear" in the Emmental village.
Well-kept family tables
The landlord family Burger (he a down-to-earth Bernese, she a merry Eastern Swiss) put great importance in the "Aff" on well-groomed Stammtisch, such as those of the Aarau craftsmen, which was also heavily politicized.
At the time, the canton police were in the "back", the inventory included the cantonal school KTV, the gymnasts of the BTV, the city singers and the Aarau section of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), which even had its own magnificent arena for meetings.
Finally, the military also went in and out of the restaurant, and many a merry evening on horseback by the cavalry recruiting school rose in the "ape box", which thus gained national fame. In any case, many postcards from all directions with the simple address "Aff", Switzerland, in most cases reached the destination.
Famous guests
With the reconstruction of 1936, a large hall was built on the first floor, in which memorable social and political events took place.
Some of these guests immortalized themselves in the guest book, the grandson Ruedi Burger today still guards. The "Aff" included the physician Albert Schweitzer, the federal councilors Heinz Häberli and Albert Meyer, Gottlieb Duttweiler, the founder of Migros, the writer Maria Dutli-Rutishauser, the German film actor Conrad Veidt, Rudolf Rominger, World Ski Champion of 1936, and of course also the city-known divisional Eugen Bircher.
In 1944, the host couple Burger moved to the Graben in the "Burgerstube" (later Restaurant Feldschlösschen, today Pickwick), but only for four years, because Hans Burger died a little later.
Ruedi Burger, a resident of Aarau (formerly a senior executive at Coop), is working hard today to preserve this special chapter of Aarau's diverse "economic history".
by Hermann Rauber - az Aargauer Zeitung24.12.2015 at 06:33 clock