The nearby villages of Öschberg/Öschfurt and St. Niklaus were used as resting places along the east-west road. St. Niklaus was named after the chapel of St. Niklaus that was built there before 1448. In 1448 the Chapterhouse established a hostel in the village and required the hostel keeper to maintain the chapel as well. The Chapterhouse also established a hostel in Öschberg around the same time. In 1523 Koppigen took over the two villages and their hostels. After the Reformation, the hostels became taverns and inns. The hostel in St. Niklaus eventually became the Gasthof Bären became a boys' boarding school in 1924 and is now the children's home of Friedau. The hostel in Öschberg became the Gasthof Sonne which became a work house and model farm in 1906.