5 Officersmässen

When the building was inaugurated in 1843, the call to arms was 'Music' and the password 'Dance'. An architectural gem had been erected on the plain. With its white pillared porch, it looked like a small Greek temple. It was located where the nursing home is now, roughly by the TV antenna.

Originally, the building housed only one large and spacious dining room, a small serving room and a café room. There was no fireplace. It is said that in order to keep warm, the officers took a large meal in the morning, at dinner and in the evening. In 1888, a telephone was installed and given the number 1. Around 1890, the mess hall was rebuilt, with new rooms, tambours, glass verandas and a punch veranda. On the roofs of the wing buildings, officers could sometimes have coffee with brandy, 'the little glass' or an evening grog.