Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2011·Germany

From the ‘Niche Society’ to a Retreat from Society: East German Allotments as the Continuation of a Tradition?

Anne-Marie Pailhès

Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks

Urban Farm DB summary

Today, allotment gardens are counted among Germany's "lieux de mémoire," finally recognising the importance of the "allotment holders' movement" (Kleingärtnerbewegung) in the German cultural landscape. From the 1890s to the 1920s, in a continuous process centred mainly on the Berlin area, allotment enthusiasts gradually changed the character of urban peripheries, occupying parcels of land grouped into "sections" (Sparten) of "colonies." Since 1996 there has been a museum dedicated to this social movement.