Inn

:For the river named Inn, see Inn River.

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Inns are establishments where travellers can procure food, drink, and lodging. Found in Europe, they first sprang up when the Romans built their famous system of highways two millennia ago. Some inns in Europe are centuries old. In addition to providing for the needs of travellers, inns traditionally acted as community gathering places.

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In today's automobile-ridden world, real inns are fast dying out. The few that are left function primarily as pubs. In North America, inns are usually alcohol-serving restaurants that have never provided lodging or serviced the needs of travellers. In Europe, it is the provision of accommodation, if anything, that now differentiates inns from taverns, alehouses and pubs. These later tended only to supply alcohol (although in the UK the conditions of their licence sometimes required them to have a nominal supply of food and soft drinks). Inns tend to be grander and more long-lived establishments. Famous London examples include the George and the Tabard. There is however no formal distinction between an inn and other kinds of establishment, and many pubs will use the name "inn", either simply because they are long established, or to summon up a particular kind of image.

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The original functions of an inn are now usually split among separate establishments, such as hotels, lodges, motels, pubs, restaurants, and taverns. In North America, the lodging aspect of the word "inn" lives on in hotel brand names like Holiday Inn, and in some state laws that refer to lodging operators as innkeepers.

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The German words for "inn", "innkeeper", and "inkeeping" illustrate the historical importance of inns. An innkeeper is Wirt (a host), the inn itself is a Wirtshaus (a host's house), and innkeeping is Wirtschaft. The last word literally means hosting or hospitality, but is also used to mean economy and business in general. In the Greek language, the word for economy (oikos "house" + nomos "law") is actually identical to housekeeping.

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The Inns of Court were originally ordinary inns where lawyers met to do business, but have become institutions of the legal profession in London.

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:See Also: Public house, Caravanserai, List of lodging types

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Establishment: The term establishment has several meanings:...

Traveller: Redirect Traveler...

Food: Food is any substance consumed by living organisms, including liquid drinks. Food is the main source of energy and of nutrition for animals, and is usually of animal or plant origin....

Inn related Images and Photos (experimental)

Autumn In N-Ga	Joe Henderson In 'n Out	Wayside Inn	Vampire Inn
Country Inn	Holiday Inn DVD (Full Frame)	Holiday Inn DVD (Full Frame)	The Inn Door Near Gravesend
The Inn on the Estuary	White Swan Inn	Inn Yard at Calais 1790	Ocean Inn Wrightsville Beach North Carolina