Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Hanka Rackwitz Leaves Television to Run Dorfkrug Inn in Freist

Her move tests a long personal recovery and aims to turn a century‑old pub into a local meeting place for the 270‑resident village.

Overview

  • Rackwitz, 57, has leased the more‑than‑100‑year‑old Dorfkrug in Freist and opened it to the public in mid‑June, with about 40 guests at the soft opening reported by multiple outlets.
  • The Dorfkrug includes a guest room, a second hall, a bowling alley and a beer garden, giving the project space to host events and larger village gatherings.
  • She has publicly said decades of washing compulsions once limited her life and that overcoming them was necessary to run a public inn; she told reporters she has performed tasks she once could not, including cleaning others' urine.
  • Rackwitz is working daily with former partner Pierre, who helped renovate and run the opening, and local officials and residents have welcomed the reopening as a chance to revive the village hub.
  • Her plans include housemade regional dishes, karaoke, bingo and Sunday brunch and she intends to make the Dorfkrug a fixture at the village festival in September, a step that could help sustain rural social life and local business.