That's roughly what it would have sounded like in here a century and a half ago.
The cigar manufacturer Adolf Friedrich Bader extended the mansion’s west wing and converted the ground floor into a coach house with stabling for his horses. Like any other medium sized to large 19th century industrial enterprise, the Bader cigar factory couldn’t do without teams of horses as draught animals.
Of course, Bader's sales territories extended well beyond the range of a team of horses. An old manual mentions South America, Canada, Mexico, Greece, Portugal, Egypt, Algeria, Switzerland and the "French maritime locations", in other words, French colonial ports. So Bader maintained an extensive network of international relations!
His horses, on the other hand, were well stabled and safe here in Lahr. On the outer wall of the stables overlooking Tiergartenmühlgasse, small openings similar to embrasures are still visible. They served as ventilation shafts for the stables.
Since the renovation, they’ve provided an authentic ambience in holiday apartment number 9.
And rest assured – there’s been no aroma of stable or fresh horse droppings in there for quite some time!
All depictions: © Palais Wunderlich
