Bavarian beer tent becomes refugee camp

A Bavarian beer hall has been transformed into an emergency camp for Middle Eastern refugees.

More than 250 refugees are being housed in a beer tent like this one (Photo: Flickr)

The annual Landshut autumn beer festival had only just ended when they received a call asking whether they could accommodate around 250 refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and five other crisis-hit countries.

Thousands of migrants boarded trains for Munich after German chancellor Angela Merkel announced last week that Germany would welcome more than 800,000 refugees this year.

With banner ads for beer still hanging from the marquee, camp beds and other basic living equipment were hurriedly installed to make the arriving guests more comfortable.

“They are really taking such good care of us,” 18-year-old Reza Hashimi from Afghanistan told the Guardian. “I am confused about what this place is though. Is it a camp or something else? It looks like a place for big parties.”

Beer tent manager Peter Vorholzer recalled his kitchen team while also recruiting cooks who knew how to prepare Syrian food so that the refugees would feel at home, the Guardian reported.

Landshut, which is home to the annual Landshuter Hochzeit (Lasndshut Wedding), one of Europe’s largest medieval pageants, was already home to more than 600 refugees who had arrived over the past year.