Youth castle

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The youth castle Streitwiesen as an example of a castle ruin renovated by the youth

Youth castles are medieval castles that were set up in the 20th century as free meeting and educational centers for young people. The owners of the original youth castles mostly come from the Wandervogel or Boy Scout Movement or are at least close to the youth movement .

Terminology

The term youth castle originally refers to the use of castles by the youth .

The differentiation between “youth castles” in this historical sense and “youth castles” in the sense of castles that are used as youth hostels, for example by the German Youth Hostel Association, is controversial. Youth hostels emerged from the beginning of the 20th century as part of the youth movement as accommodation for young people, youth groups and school classes. And as early as 1912, Richard Schirrmann built the first German youth hostel at Altena Castle above the city of Altena (reconstruction from 1906 to 1915). The first youth castle to emerge from the youth movement itself was Rothenfels Castle on the Main . It was opened on February 21, 1919 by the Quickborn Catholic Bund . The theologian and religious philosopher Romano Guardini and the architect Rudolf Schwarz worked at the castle .

During the time of National Socialism , youth castles were used by the Hitler Youth and the Bund Deutscher Mädel , and the term is still sometimes associated with National Socialist ideology . From 1935 to 1943 there was also a school magazine called Deutsche Jugendburg , which was published by the National Socialist Teachers Association .

Youth castles in the youth movement

The Finstergrün Castle belongs to the Evangelical Youth Austria

In connection with youth castles one comes across the names Gustav Wyneken , Robert Oelbermann and Karl Oelbermann again and again .

The reform pedagogue Gustav Wyneken was the chairman of the Federation for Free School Communities and editor of its newspaper in 1910 . He also tried to found a new school or a "youth castle" and his educational reform project to serve the idea of ​​education as the formation of people in the sense of a worldview . For Wyneken it is about redefining the relationship between teacher and student. This should be based on camaraderie and leadership .

As an adult, Wyneken's pedagogical approaches influenced the emerging youth movement, to which he was connected from 1912. Wyneken creates the term “ youth culture ” against the subservience of the Wilhelmine era as well as against school and family. In 1913 he worked on the formulation of the Meissner formula for the First Free German Youth Day on the Hoher Meissner . Here, too, there is tension, as Wyneken has a claim to leadership, which is rejected by many groups at the Youth Day.

Fascinated by the Wyneken ideas, the brothers Robert and Karl Oelbermann dream of the Jugendburg idea after the First World War . In retrospect, Robert Oelbermann is considered to be the founder of the Nerother Wandervogel Association for the establishment of the Rhenish Youth Castle . With Rheinische Jugendburg was Burg Waldeck in Hunsrück meant. "- German Knight Alliance Nerother hikers" of the Nerother Wandervogel was founded as Robert Oelbermann on 27 March 1921 on the Drachenfels in Busenberg in Wasgau.

In the youth castles it was mostly about creating an independent meeting place and also preserving culturally and historically valuable monuments and giving them a new and meaningful use.

Nowadays the goals of a youth castle are unchanged, it is about escaping the taboos and conventions of society and in their place to ensure the free development of young people and their self-chosen community on their own initiative, before their own responsibility and with inner truthfulness .

With the steadily growing number of boy scouts and youth associations, the youth castles have become international meeting places where camps are held.

Construction huts

Nerotherbauhütte at Waldeck Castle (November 17, 1966)

The term Bauhütte, coined by the Nerother Wandervogel, originally refers to the Rheinische Jugendburg Waldeck. Since under the federal leader of the Nerother Wandering Bird Robert Oelbermann, the Waldeck became an adventure and travel center from 1922 and the ambitious settlement and construction project "Rhenish Youth Castle" was started and promoted, a self-built hut was installed at the foot of the medieval castle ruins . This was the seat of the young people who shared “bread and roof” for building the castle and living in the spirit of a knightly religious order.

Today's “construction huts” are mostly limited to the summer vacation time. But here, too, the focus is on living and working together. As a counterpoint to the journey, the groups of migrant birds in particular still attach great importance to the “building hut idea”, since living and working together can shape and weld a community in a very special way.

Youth castles in Germany

Hessenstein Castle
Rotenberg Castle Jugendburg 1

Youth castles in Austria

Youth castles in Switzerland

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ G. Ulrich Großmann: Youth castles . In: G. Ulrich Großmann , Claudia Seelheim, Barbara Stambolis (eds.): Aufbruch der Jugend. German youth movement between self-determination and seduction. Verlag Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg 2013, ISBN 978-3-936688-77-1 , p. 82-91 .