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The German Youth Hostel Association (german: Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk) or DJH is a not-for-profit, registered association (''
eingetragener Verein An (; "registered association" or "incorporated association"), abbreviated (), is a legal status for a registered voluntary association in Germany. While any group may be called a , registration as confers many legal benefits, because it con ...
''). It was founded in 1919 to create an organized network of affordable and safe accommodation away from home for travelling school and youth groups and individuals all over the country. Today, the 438 youth hostels in the association still cater to school and youth groups but are also open to anyone else looking for an alternative to hotels - families, backpackers, business travellers, etc. Through the state (''Bundesland'') associations it is the representative of the 438
youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...
s in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(as at 2021) and thus the largest member of the international youth association,
Hostelling International Hostelling International (HI), formerly known as International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF), is a grouping of more than seventy National Youth Hostel Associations in over eighty countries, with over 4,000 affiliated hostels around the worl ...
(HI). The headquarters has its seat in
Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...
and is divided into 14 state associations and 178 local and county volunteer associations. It has about 2,38 million members. The German Youth Hostel Association is a member of the
European Movement Germany European Movement Germany (EM Germany) is a non-partisan network of interest groups in the field of EU politics in Germany. It cooperates closely with all EU stakeholders on a national and European level, most particularly with the German Federal ...
.


DJH Membership

Membership of the German Youth Hostel Association is a prerequisite for an overnight stay in a hostel in Germany. Abroad, DJH members can stay in hostels that are associated with
Hostelling International Hostelling International (HI), formerly known as International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF), is a grouping of more than seventy National Youth Hostel Associations in over eighty countries, with over 4,000 affiliated hostels around the worl ...
and may be entitled to discounts there. DJH membership is obtained through the state association responsible for each residence. In addition, organizations such as clubs or schools may apply for corporate membership. The membership fee is due once a year.


History

By the end of the 1920s, there were over 2,300 Youth Hostels across Germany. These Hostels clearly didn’t compare to today’s standards. Often, they were no more than straw beds in “makeshift shelters,” located, for instance, in village schools that were closed for the holidays. Today, the German Youth Hostel Association runs about 438 hostels. The DJH was merged into the
Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
in 1933 until the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In 1949 it was re-founded at
Altena Castle Altena Castle (german: Burg Altena) is a medieval hill castle in the town of Altena in North Rhine-Westphalia. Built on a spur of Klusenberg hill, the castle lies near the Lenne in the Märkischer Kreis. The castle was erected by the early Count ...
in
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
. As a result of the travel restrictions and accommodation bans imposed in the wake of the
coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, all DJH Youth Hostels had to cease operations in spring 2020. The only exceptions were those hostels that could accommodate guests for absolutely necessary purposes or that had been converted for temporary special use (accommodation for the homeless, fever ambulance, women's shelter, etc.). In 2019, the DJH, with its around 450 Youth Hostels in 14 DJH regional associations, was able to record around 10 million overnight stays. In 2020, it was only a little more than 3.6 million - a significant decline of 63 percent. The non-profit association was hit particularly hard by the almost complete loss of school trips and other group stays, which had previously been the largest guest groups at the DJH. The strongest guest groups in the possible travel season in 2020 were families (many of whom discovered youth hostels as holiday destinations for the first time).


Educational programmes

One of the aims behind Richard Schirrmann’s idea, apart from providing youngsters who were exploring the countryside on foot with a simple and inexpensive place to stay for the night, was teaching them about the great outdoors they were venturing into and raising awareness for the environment, the vegetation and wildlife around them. This educational aspect of the hostelling idea is one that the Youth Hostels continue to take just as seriously as its other values – tolerance, international understanding and open-mindedness


References


Further reading

* * Jürgen Reulecke; Barbara Stambolis: ''100 Jahre Jugendherbergen 1909–2009. Anfänge – Wandlungen – Rück- und Ausblicke''. Klartext Verlag, Essen, 2009,


External links


English website of the DJH
{{Coord, 51.93157, N, 8.9165, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NW, display=title, format=dms Backpacking Hostelling International member associations Youth organizations established in 1909 Non-profit organisations based in North Rhine-Westphalia Charities based in Germany Detmold