From Carnival to football and even odder hobbies like rabbit-breeding, there's a club for everyone in Germany. Nearly half of Germans belong to one - and the numbers continue too grow.
The Rote Funken from Cologne are one of the oldest clubs in GermanyImage: picture-alliance/Geisler-Fotopress/C. Hardt
Advertisement
Germany's curious clubs celebrate beards, bunnies and robots
There are more than 600,000 clubs in Germany. Most of them are quite common, devoted to everyday things like football, pigeon breeding or singing. But there are also some very curious clubs celebrating unusual habits.
Rabbit breeders, sports clubs and shooting clubs are very popular in Germany and have a long tradition. There are also, however, clubs in which members have devoted themselves to somewhat more unusual preoccupations. The Streetbunnycrew, for example, sees members dress up in pink rabbit costumes to ride their motorcycles. They collect donations for a good cause while spreading good cheer.
Image: Streetbunnycrew
Clubs for left-handers
The life of a left-hander is full of hurdles. Scissors, a computer mouse or a can opener - all these tools of everyday life are designed for a right-handed population. The association Linkshänder wants to support those who favor their left hand, and does so by marking, for example, International Left-handers Day or organizing left-handed painting parties.
Image: Colourbox
To the moon and beyond...
Under the Alexanderplatz in Berlin lie the remains of a 4.5 billion-year-old space station, its antenna the city's famed television tower. At least that's what the association c-base believes. In a 700-square-meter cellar (around 7,500 square feet), members investigate this space station and give seminars for computer nerds. It's also where, in 2006, the Pirate Party was founded.
The club Langer Menschen Deutschland offers people who are taller than average the opportunity to meet face-to-face. The group has failed in its mission to achieve a tax reduction for very tall people, but it continues to lobby clothing manufacturers for a greater selection in oversized clothing. To join, women must be at least 1.8 meters tall (5 feet 9 inches). For men, it's 1.9 meters (6'2").
Image: mago/Icon SMI
Hold your nose!
In 2004, a member of this fun club caused a bit of a stir. The chairman of the Furz dich frei (Fart yourself free) club held an office as a municipal politician in Rhineland-Palatinate. Some of his colleagues didn't find it so amusing, and demanded his resignation.
Image: Colourbox
With a beard and a bike to the finish line
"No beard, no starting number": that's the motto of this whimsical club. Its members are united in their love of facial hair - and the folding bike. Once a year, they organize the World-Klapp, an international folding bike race. People with inadequate beard growth can also register, but only upon presentation of a medical certificate.
Image: Ute Herzog
People of the future
Cyborgs are technologically modified creatures, with the name derived from the term cybernetic organism. They're best-known from science fiction films, but they also exist in real life. The association Cyborgs deals with the possibilities and limits of technical modification by implants and so-called wearables, as demonstrated here by Neil Harbisson, probably the world's most famous cyborg.
Image: Dan Wilton/The Red Bulletin
7 images1 | 7
"Basically, we are open to everyone," says Günter Ebert.
He has been a member of the Carnival club Rote Funken for 25 years. The Cologne-based organization was founded in 1823. Like other carnival clubs, its members make fun of 19th-century soldiers, mocking the military with parades in uniforms and marching bands.
And that is why Ebert admits that, actually, they are not really open to everyone. "Women don't belong here," he conceded. Nevertheless, he is quick to emphasize, his club is anything but sexist. It is just that in 19th century, there were no women in the military.
Members of some clubs - or "Vereine" - have to wear special uniformsImage: Schwind‘ Agentur für Medienkommunikation
For years, the number of registered clubs in Germany has been on the rise, surpassing 600,000 in 2016 for the first time ever. Approximately 44 percent of Germans are members of at least one club, with sports clubs being the most popular, according to a survey of 6,300 clubs by the foundation Zivilgesellschaft in Zahlen. Most of the clubs state that they have stable or even rising membership numbers.
However, membership in parties, trade unions and churches has been declining since the 1990s - but that does not mean that people are less active. More and more people are committing themselves to civil society instead, according to the authors of the survey.
The history of Germany's passion for clubs
The Haus der Geschichte historical museum in Bonn was inspired by these social developments and is opening on Wednesday an exhibition called "Mein Verein" (My Club).
The show, which will run through March 4, 2018, is devoted to various aspects of German club culture, ranging from traditional ones like Cologne's Rote Funken to 19th-century shooting clubs.
One part of the exhibition also deals with the clubs in former East Germany, which were supervised by the ruling communist party, the SED.
Becoming a member of a club sometimes starts the moment you are bornImage: FC Schalke 04/Haus der Geschichte/Axel Thünker
The New Bach Society, for example, nevertheless succeeded in maintaining its club structures and was able to bring people from East and West Germany together even before reunification in 1990.
Of course the most popular type of German club, the football clubs associated with the professional Bundesliga teams, is also a part of the exhibition.
"We opted for Schalke 04, because it has the most members of any football club in the Bundesliga and is still structured like a club. Even the professional team players are part of the club," explains Angela Stirken, project manager for the exhibition.
Stirken's favorite exhibit in the show is also related to football: a Schalke 04 gravestone. Above the gravestone, which was especially made for the exhibition, there is an aerial photo of the Schalke fan field - a cemetery only available to Schalke fans. Next to it is a blue baby onesie and the photo of a family that baptized their newborn baby in the Schalke chapel.
Club ties and even membership can start as early as birth in Germany. And for "devout" club members, it is important to find eternal peace close to what truly mattered to them during their lifetime.
Traditional shooting clubs remain popular, even with younger generationsImage: picture alliance/dpa/R. Jensen
The pros and cons of clubs
Although clubs create a sense of community and people join them to pursue common interests, they can have negative aspects as well. Two-thirds of German clubs say that their members have a similar cultural background.
This suggests that people with multicultural backgrounds rarely join clubs. Stirken also points out that, while clubs can support integration, they can also lead to the formation of groups within a society.
Günter Ebert from the Carnival organization "Rote Funken" is nevertheless convinced of the positive effect of clubs. He only invests so much time in the club because being together is fun. "And in the end, a great deal of appreciation comes back."
10 very German passions
Admittedly, not all Germans are deeply enthusiastic about these cultural habits — but you shouldn't be surprised if you meet one who is.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Road rules
As an adult, you may feel you can take your own risk and cross on a red light when there aren't any cars. However, in Germany, you shouldn't be surprised if you hear someone yelling at you: "It's RED!" Often, cyclists, pedestrians and car drivers all feel the need to "educate" their fellow road users.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
Beer
It's a cliché, so might as well get it out of the way: Only the Czechs drink more beer on average than the Germans. It's not that every German likes beer, but it's just so socially established. An older woman drinking a pint at noon will not be seen as an alcoholic. And any German beer fan knows extremely creative methods to open a beer bottle without an opener.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Paperwork
The binder is a German invention, and this might help explain why Germans are so fond of keeping their records. Yet even the most chaotic person will quickly find out that keeping any official document is a necessity in Germany. You actually need them more often than you'd think. Despite digitalization, German bureaucracy also remains surprisingly reliant on good-old paper forms — stacks of them.
Image: Colourbox/M. Chab
Bargains
It's a country where discounter stores often serve as supermarkets for all classes of society. People who are always searching for the best deals are called "Schnäppchenjäger," or bargain hunters. The mentality is ingrained in many Germans, allowing this advertisement slogan, "Geiz ist geil!" — being stingy is sexy — to become part of pop culture.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Murat
Travel
If you're to meet any other tourists in a remote area of, say, the Middle East, they could well be middle-aged Germans in high-tech hiking gear. Passionate travelers, Germans are everywhere. Many prefer to stick to established habits, though. A favorite is the Spanish island of Mallorca, nicknamed "Malle." "Ballermann 6" (pictured) is a particularly famous bar known for its excesses.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Schrebergärten - garden colonies
The Germans who prefer to stay in the city throughout the summer might be doing so because they have a garden in one of the country's 1.4 million "Schrebergärten," which are colonies divided into plots with a little shack. There, they can work on their flowerbeds, barbecue or line up garden gnomes. Germany, however, strictly regulates these allotments, and each colony also has its own rules.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Schmidt
FKK
The German nudist movement was the first worldwide, developing at the end of 19th century through clubs promoting "Freikörperkultur," or FKK, which translates as Free Body Culture. It became especially widespread in former East Germany, and not only in nudist camps. To this day, you shouldn't be surprised to see naked people in parks or around lakes in the eastern part of Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/ dpa
Stammtisch
There's no exact translation for this German tradition: "Stammtisch" initially referred to a table reserved for regular clients in a pub, where they'd often play a card game called skat or discuss politics. The discussions weren't always elaborate, though, leading to the expression "Stammtischniveau" (Stammstisch level). Now, Stammtisch is also a regular meet-up organized by any imaginable group.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Weigel
Tatort
Most Sunday evenings, nearly 10 million Germans tune in to the TV series "Tatort" (Crime Scene), which has been continuously running since 1970. Regional public broadcasters take turns producing episodes, so investigations are set in a different city each time. As it's more fun to watch with other people, many pubs organize screenings. Tweeting during the show is another popular option.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hoppe
Cake every day
The "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake) tradition allows Germans to eat cake any afternoon, like British teatime - although most people now indulge in this treat on weekends only. You're also expected to show up with a cake for your colleagues on your birthday. Children sometimes start theirs with cake for breakfast, then bring one to school and get a third one for their party with friends.