The Zollhoes is a former German border office where over the years  customs officers used to live with their families.

Anyone wanting to enter or leave Germany was stopped there and had to show their passports and papers. This happened all over again at the Dutch customs office a little further down the road. During the WW2, the controls became even stricter, of course.

In the seventies with all the transport back and forth, it became too busy over there. A new office had to be built to cope with all the traffic.

Back then opening hours still existed, at 10 pm the barrier shut close. You then had to wait until the next morning to continue your journey.

Needless to say there were also “opportunities” to cross the border secretly through the cornfields to smuggle things.

In the nineties the border restrictions were removed and the Zollhoes became superfluous. The German city of Haren intended to turn the Zollhoes into a border museum. It was never realized, however.

Now it’s our turn to offer anyone wanting to explore the border hospitality and special accommodation in this mystical place!