Intentional Communities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Germany

Of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Germany has the greatest number of intentional communities, equaling the United States or Israel in its concentration of intentional communities.

A useful resource for the study of intentional communities not only in German-speaking countries but for Europe at large is Eurotopia: Directory of Intentional Communities and Ecovillages in Europe, published in English in 2000 after years of networking and research by one of the initiators of the modern German communities movement, Silke Hagmaier. Eurotopia mentions eighty-two existing intentional communities in Germany whose members number more than six. Their emphasis is quite various, with some focusing on ecology, some on spirituality, and some on politics.

The majority of intentional communities mentioned in the German section of Eurotopia have fewer than twelve members; twenty-five communities have between thirteen and twenty-five members, and twenty have more than twenty-five members. Interestingly, forty-nine of the communities mentioned were founded since 1990. (Sixteen were founded from 1981 to 1989, and another sixteen existed before 1980.) These statistics underestimate the actual situation in Germany, however, as many communities did not wish to be listed in Eurotopia. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that a full 59 percent of those communities listed were started after 1990. How many, one may ask, will still exist in 2010?

Most of Germany's intentional communities are located in the countryside or in suburban areas, a trait they share with intentional communities worldwide. One distinct form of intentional communities is the ecovillage, which is an intentional, sustainable village with a holistic environmental focus. Ecovillages have a village structure, a decision-making body, and some business activity. In ecovillages, the private and public spheres do not generally overlap, but spaces are deliberately created to facilitate communal activities. Another distinct form of intentional community is the commune, a communal living arrangement whose members have defined political views (mostly left-leaning), [Page 719]often with a shared economy, no private property, and a less clear division between public and private spheres of life.

Both communes and ecovillages are intentional communities and have a clear identity; the differences between the three are visible in their relation to the environment, in ideology, in size, and in their economies.