The Heimat- und Verkehrsverein Eßweiler e. V. was founded on June 30, 1973, in the town hall of the municipality. Its purpose was to promote tourism in the region.
From that point on, the association took on important responsibilities. In addition to preserving local heritage, it also concerned itself with enhancing the appearance of the village and of homes and farmsteads. For tourists, a place offering “peace and refreshment” was to be created near the glider airfield, providing “simple meals, beverages, as well as coffee and homemade cakes.”
At first, a temporary construction hut was used for Sunday food service. Later, a decommissioned kiosk trailer was obtained and operated near the glider airfield on the parcel known as “Zum Stollen.”
Subsequently, it was agreed that a permanent shelter should be built for the association. A building application was therefore submitted for a site in the “Striet” area, opposite the glider launch runway. However, the application was denied in 1975 for reasons of flight safety.
As a result, a new location for the shelter was promptly sought, and land in the “Landscheid” area was leased—for an impressive period of ninety-nine years. Building approval for this site was granted later the same year. Nevertheless, despite subsidies from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the municipality of Eßweiler, financing the construction project remained difficult. The construction of the Landscheid shelter was carried out largely through voluntary labor by association members and residents of Eßweiler, without whose diligence and sense of community the project would not have been possible.
