How youth hostels provide
magic power to surprise almost everybody. Here is little known (yet true) story of origin of hostels.In August 1909 German teacher Richard Schirrmann had been caught in a violent thunderstorm on an eight day migration with his pupils and found accommodation in a barn by a farmer.
While pupils were sleeping, Schirrmann was laying awake whole night.
The thought attacked him suddenly, “One would have to create places, at which move-joyful young people and pupils receive a safe and inexpensive overnight stay”.
He published this idea for first time in 1910 in an essay about “Voksschuelerherbergen” ("elementary school pupil lodgings"),
"…also boys and girls of common man must practice fresh merry moving as counterweight for room stool time of their school years... how do I imagine now appropriate and sufficient lodgings for enormous army of elementary school pupils?... each city and nearly each village has an elementary school, which almost waits in holidays with empty areas for it, into a sleep and a dining hall for move-merry children to be transformed. Two classrooms are sufficient, one for boys, one for girls. The banks are set partly one above other. That gives free area for list of 15 beds. ... each camp place consists of a tautly with straw plugged bag and cushion, 2 sheets and a blanket... each child is stopped to bring its camp place back in order finely neat... "
After publication of this essay in "Koelnische Zeitung” (Cologne Newspaper) numerous money and gift contributions in kind and support offers came from whole Germany.
In 1912 first youth hostel was opened in Altenia Castle, Germany
The first youth hostel was arranged according to Schirrmann’s plans: 2 sleeping halls with 3-storied solid wood beds, a dayroom, kitchen, wash and shower rooms. First hostel warden was Richard Schirrmann. He lived directly above hostel rooms. In same year Schirrmann also published first hostel listing with approximately 140 addresses.
In many of these lodgings however were not even basics of accommodations, e.g. for girls were nothing at all.
In 1913 were already 301 youth hostels in cities and villages. One year later one counted already 535.
In 1920 first expenditure of "youth hostel" magazine appeared, and with approximately 700 addresses first manual with addresses by youth hostels were published.
From 1924-1929 with first lottery in favour to youth hostels 1.5 million realm Marks were gained. In 1932 had already been 2,123 youth hostels in Germany. More than 4.5 million overnight stays took place. But at end of twenties in further countries, like Poland, Holland, France, England, and Switzerland, more than 600 youth hostels were already opened.
