Sport clubs, Voluntary fire brigades, environmental protection organizations: Who lives in Germany, clubs. We introduce you to some of the more unusual examples.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Reapers with environmental awareness
The members of the “sense club Germany e. V.” believe in the Comeback of the Sense as an environmentally friendly Alternative to the lawn mower. You don’t see Mowing with the Scythe just as a sporting activity, but also as mowing Meditation. The Association offers courses to learn the proper technique, or to practice Mowing in the groups.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Association for the Large
The greatest living man in the world (Sultan Kösen with 2.51 m, in the picture with the until his death in 2015, the smallest people in the world, Chandra Bahadur Dangi) is the born to be a honorary member of the “club of long man”. Here women can be from 1.80 m and men over 1.90 m in size member. The Association is networked throughout Europe and internationally.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Sweet Passion
Anyone who enjoys his coffee, sugar-free, the Join will fall in love with this club easily. The sugar collectors have turned their passion for Collecting sugar sachets to the club’s motto. A German holds the record in the Guinness book of records: Ralf Schröder Westervesede defended the title in 2013 – with 14.502 different sugar packs.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Bobby Car forever
The classic children’s toy was invented in 1972 in Germany and is popular with young children today. However, in the 1990s, daring to test its robustness in the case of races on steep streets began a few Dare. The 2018 established speed record of a Bobby-Cars is 119 km/h, according to the club, “Bobby-Car-Sport-Verband e. V.” white.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
In the name of the noodle
Even if they are not recognized in most States, officially, there is the Church of the Flying spaghetti monster (FSM) almost everywhere. The deity is part of a by the US physicist Bobby Henderson founded the religion of parody. The nearby Berlin Templin made international headlines, as in the city of signs with References to the free daily noodle-fair have been established.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Jugger – leisure sport for connoisseurs
Jugger was invented with the Australian Film “The Jugger – battle of the Best” of 1989. The Film takes place in a post-apocalyptic time and the “game” is quite macabre. While in the movie with the dog skulls was played, is the aim of the present variant, to bring the foam existing “Jugg” to the Nest of the opposing team. Germany is a sports pioneer of this Leisure.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Club of the beautiful beards
Beards and mustaches is a world-wide Fascination, it’s no wonder that even Germany has produced some of the clubs in the name of the beard. In the picture to the right, around the multi-time Champion Jürgen Burkhardt at a competition in Baden-Württemberg, he is also the founder of the club “Belle Moustache”.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Laughter yoga club
Laughter is not healthy, the know only the vernacular, but also followers of the Lachyogas. In Germany, they meet to Giggle, snort and neigh in the group – better known as laughter yoga. A list of the clubs in Germany can be found under www.lachclub.info. By The Way: On The 5. May is Weltlachtag.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
“The fart will set you free”
Very seriously, the club do not seem to take members of “the fart will set you free”. Behind it is a carnival Association in North Rhine-Westphalia, who had called for the hell of it so. Less funny, in 2004, was for many years the club’s Chairman. As a counterpart of the activity of the local politician learned, they requested him to resign. Humor is when one laughs anyway.
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10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Rabbit, the lawn
The street Bunny crew is lined up in terms of commitment to social projects and facilities to create the largest Association in the German motorcycle scene. The bikers collect as a pink rabbit, dressed up donations and organize charity events. Meanwhile, the pink racer can be seen nationwide.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Reapers with environmental awareness
The members of the “sense club Germany e. V.” believe in the Comeback of the Sense as an environmentally friendly Alternative to the lawn mower. You don’t see Mowing with the Scythe just as a sporting activity, but also as mowing Meditation. The Association offers courses to learn the proper technique, or to practice Mowing in the groups.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Association for the Large
The greatest living man in the world (Sultan Kösen with 2.51 m, in the picture with the until his death in 2015, the smallest people in the world, Chandra Bahadur Dangi) is the born to be a honorary member of the “club of long man”. Here women can be from 1.80 m and men over 1.90 m in size member. The Association is networked throughout Europe and internationally.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Sweet Passion
Anyone who enjoys his coffee, sugar-free, the Join will fall in love with this club easily. The sugar collectors have turned their passion for Collecting sugar sachets to the club’s motto. A German holds the record in the Guinness book of records: Ralf Schröder Westervesede defended the title in 2013 – with 14.502 different sugar packs.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Bobby Car forever
The classic children’s toy was invented in 1972 in Germany and is popular with young children today. However, in the 1990s, daring to test its robustness in the case of races on steep streets began a few Dare. The 2018 established speed record of a Bobby-Cars is 119 km/h, according to the club, “Bobby-Car-Sport-Verband e. V.” white.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
In the name of the noodle
Even if they are not recognized in most States, officially, there is the Church of the Flying spaghetti monster (FSM) almost everywhere. The deity is part of a by the US physicist Bobby Henderson founded the religion of parody. The nearby Berlin Templin made international headlines, as in the city of signs with References to the free daily noodle-fair have been established.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Jugger – leisure sport for connoisseurs
Jugger was invented with the Australian Film “The Jugger – battle of the Best” of 1989. The Film takes place in a post-apocalyptic time and the “game” is quite macabre. While in the movie with the dog skulls was played, is the aim of the present variant, to bring the foam existing “Jugg” to the Nest of the opposing team. Germany is a sports pioneer of this Leisure.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Club of the beautiful beards
Beards and mustaches is a world-wide Fascination, it’s no wonder that even Germany has produced some of the clubs in the name of the beard. In the picture to the right, around the multi-time Champion Jürgen Burkhardt at a competition in Baden-Württemberg, he is also the founder of the club “Belle Moustache”.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Laughter yoga club
Laughter is not healthy, the know only the vernacular, but also followers of the Lachyogas. In Germany, they meet to Giggle, snort and neigh in the group – better known as laughter yoga. A list of the clubs in Germany can be found under www.lachclub.info. By The Way: On The 5. May is Weltlachtag.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
“The fart will set you free”
Very seriously, the club do not seem to take members of “the fart will set you free”. Behind it is a carnival Association in North Rhine-Westphalia, who had called for the hell of it so. Less funny, in 2004, was for many years the club’s Chairman. As a counterpart of the activity of the local politician learned, they requested him to resign. Humor is when one laughs anyway.
-
10 strange associations that you can join in Germany
Rabbit, the lawn
The street Bunny crew is lined up in terms of commitment to social projects and facilities to create the largest Association in the German motorcycle scene. The bikers collect as a pink rabbit, dressed up donations and organize charity events. Meanwhile, the pink racer can be seen nationwide.
“Meet three Germans, a club.” This is an old joke with a grain of truth. Well, actually, it takes seven people to officially create an Association. But there is for almost everything in Germany, the right Club: Charities, environmental or human rights organizations, sports clubs, hobby groups of all kinds, art clubs, garden arbors, citizens ‘initiatives, self-help groups, Voluntary fire brigades, carnival clubs, kindergartens and schools, which are run by parents’ initiatives – could the list go on and on.
However, although the country has around 600,000 organisations, the density of such organizations in Germany are not necessarily higher than in other European countries. Top riders in this discipline are the Scandinavians and the low countries.
The “Berlin seals” meet regularly for winter swimming
However, this may contribute to the visibility of an Association, are the two letters added to its name: e. V. stands for “eingetragener Verein”. Almost every second German is a member of at least one Association, according to the latest survey of ZiviZ (“civil society in Figures”) of the Robert Bosch Stiftung to this topic.
Who has always dreamed to be President of something, you can easily join the Executive Board of an Association. The details and the “unity of purpose” are listed in the articles of incorporation, the “articles of Association”,. The members will vote on Changes to the management Board or of the articles of Association in a General meeting, which has its own set of rules.
Many clubs are very traditional, such as, for example, the shooting clubs (top image), whose roots go back to at least the 12th century. A century back. Many of them are exclusively men’s domains, as well as the oldest carnival club, the Red sparks, founded in 1823.
The Association “Robin Wood”, founded in 1982, in a spectacular way for climate protection
Also rabbit breeders ‘ clubs in Germany have a strong Tradition. The oldest umbrella Association, the “Association of German rabbit breeders e. V.”, dates back to the year 1892. These non-political associations can be seen as a counterpoint to the many civil society organisations that have emerged in Germany since the protest movements of the late 1960s.
The sports form with a 22 percent of all German clubs, the largest organization of the area. There are approximately 90,000 sports clubs in the country. The oldest still existing football club in the 1888, founded in BFC Germania home is in the Berlin district of Tempelhof.
Germany’s biggest club is the ADAC (“Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club e. V.”) with more than 20 million members. Europe’s largest hacker Association is also resident in Germany: The “Chaos Computer Club e. V.” was founded in 1981 in West-Berlin. If Hacking is not for you, Germany has a variety of other unusual Clubs to choose from, such as our photo gallery shows.
Even more content about German and their traditions, their everyday culture and language you find on YouTube and our website www.dw.com/MeettheGermans_de.