Richard Schirrmann
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Richard Schirrmann (May 15 1874 - December 14 1961) was a German teacher and founder of the first youth hostel.
Born in Grunenfeld, district Heiligenbeil, East Prussia (now Mamonovo, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia) as a son of a teacher, he studied to become a teacher himself. In 1895 he received his exam, and was sent to Altena (Westphalia) in 1903. In 1910 he first published his idea of an inexpensive accommodation of young people, after he noticed the lack of such places on a school trip when he had to spend the night in barns or village school buildings. He received a lot of support and donations, and in 1912 he could open the first youth hostel in the recently reconstructed castle of the city Altena. In 1919 he founded a nation-wide youth hostel association. In 1922 he was relieved from his school duties to focus entirely on the youth hostel movement. 1933-36 he also led Hostelling International, but was forced to resign by the Nazi government. After World War II he worked on the rebuilding of the German association, for which he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz in 1952.
He died in Grävenwiesbach (Taunus).de:Richard Schirrmann