Founded | 1919[1] |
---|---|
Founder | Richard Schirrmann, Wilhelm Münker and Julius Schult |
Type | registered society |
Focus | Umbrella organization for youth hostels |
Location | |
Area served | national |
Website | www |
The German Youth Hostel Association[2] (German: Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk) or DJH is a non-profit registered organization (eingetragener Verein). It was founded in 1919 to provide affordable and safe accommodation for travellers, especially schools, youth groups and individuals across Germany.[1] Today, with 438 youth hostels, it caters to schools, youth groups and are also open to anyone else seeking an alternative to hotels like families, backpackers, business travellers, etc. Through the state (Bundesland) associations, it is the representative of the 438 youth hostels in Germany (as at 2021) and thus the largest member of the international youth association, Hostelling International (HI). The headquarters has its seat in Detmold, it operates through 14 state associations and 178 local and county volunteer associations. It has about 2.38 million members.[3]
The German Youth Hostel Association is a member of the European Movement Germany.