Středověké kořeny štamgastenství

Regular custom as a noteworthy cultural phenomenon - one which for centuries has had a hold on a large number of inhabitants of this territory - can be distinguished by various attributes which serve to typify it. It might be a matter of seeking out with great regularity the same inn or public house, where one sits always in the same place, drinks from one's own glass and has a special relationship with the waiting staff. Some would be surprised to learn that many of the features of pub life and regular custom characteristic of the 19th and 20th centuries have their origin in the Middle Ages. The backbone of the economic and social life of the towns of those times was the guilds - associations of craftsmen and tradesmen - whose meetings would take place in social surroundings typical of the age (inns and taprooms). At the same time the guilds and the journeyman fellowships with which they were closely affiliated established their own hostels and members' rooms, where every member was required to present himself on certain occasions in order to attend a "session". It was during these sittings of the guilds (both official and, more commonly, informal) that the basic features of "regular custom" as we know it today became set.