German Garden Houses

Die Schrebergärten an der Schlossstrasse: Sie sollen günstigen Wohnungen für Familien weichen. Bild: Beat Mathys

There are now over one million allotment gardens in Germany. Berlin has the most with an estimated 67,000 gardens. It is a ridiculously green city. Hamburg is next with 35,000, then Leipzig with 32,000, Dresden with 23,000, Hanover 20,000, Bremen 16,000,

By Erin Porter
About Travel
July 13, 2016

Excerpt:

History: As people moved from the German countryside to city scapes in the 19th century, they weren’t quite ready to leave their green pastures.

Conditions in the cities were poor, with cramped dirty spaces, disease and serious malnutrition. Nutrient-rich foods like fresh fruits and vegetables were in scarce supply.

Kleingärten arose to address that problem. Garden plots allowed families to grow their own food, children to enjoy a larger outdoor space and connect with the world outside their four walls. A phenomenon among the lower-classes, these areas were called “gardens of the poor”.

By 1864, Leipzig had several collections under the direction of the Schreber movement. Daniel Gottlob Moritz Schreber was a German physician and university instructor who preached about topics concerning health, as well as the social consequences of the rapid urbanization during the Industrial Revolution. The name Schrebergärten is in his honor and comes from this initiative.

Read the complete article here.