Everything you need to know about German garden colonies

People visiting Germany for the first time might wonder why so many well-kept "slums" appear to be scattered all over the country. Such sites are actually allotment gardens, a phenomenon known under various names in German, such as a "Schrebergarten," "Kleingartenanlage" or "Gartenkolonie." Each small plot ("Parzelle") has its own hut, and people can rent these spaces to do their gardening.

In reaction to rapid urbanization in the 19th century, a Leipzig doctor and teacher called Daniel Gottlob Moritz Schreber started promoting the benefits of outdoor activities for urban youth. In 1864, four years after his death, his name was given to an association, the "Schreberverein," which organized fields where families could play. The gardens came later.

Even before the Schreber movement was established, lords, factory owners, city administrations and charity organizations started allocating plots to allow impoverished families to garden, known in German as "Armengärten," or gardens for the poor. By 1826, such gardens existed in 19 cities. This illustration by Berlin artist Heinrich Zille goes back to 1909.

Beyond working in the allotment to put fresh food on the table, Germans also went out to relax in their gardens, as this picture from 1906 shows. The men are seen playing skat, a popular German card game.

The allotment gardens allowed many people to survive during the wars, when agricultural products could not always reach the city markets. A year after the end of World War I, Germany passed a law protecting the small gardens, allowing the leasing fees to remain reasonable. This post-WWII picture from 1949 is of a garden on Hermannplatz, now a busy square in Berlin's district of Neukölln.

The allotment gardens were usually set up in areas where no one wanted to live, for example near railways. Many colonies were located on both sides of the Berlin Wall. This 1982 photo shows a West Berlin allotment. The East German authorities initially tried to collectivize them in the 1950s, but they soon encouraged the traditional gardens as a much needed source of fresh produce.

With the growing popularity of urban gardening, more and more young people are renting their own lot. They should know that these sites are regulated by the "Bundeskleingartengesetz," or national law on allotment gardens, which states that garden huts may not be used as a residence nor exceed a certain size. At least one-third of the plot must be used to grow fruits and vegetables.

If you're considering renting such a garden, friends might discourage you by saying they're "spiessig" – a very German term for square and bourgeois. In addition to national regulations, each colony has its own set of rules. How strict these conventions are varies from one colony to the other, and also depends on the people already there.

If unkempt gardens are frowned upon, mowing the lawn on a Sunday or during the sacred "Ruhezeiten" (resting times) is a no-go, and the same goes for loud music. These quiet periods are determined by the colony, but are typically set from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m on weekdays and after 7:00 p.m. on weeknights, as well as starting at 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. The entire Sunday is a quiet day.

Author and DJ Wladimir Kaminer became an international best-selling author with his Berlin tales, entitled "Russian Disco." As a prototypical hip and younger Russian gardener in a Berlin gardeners' colony, he has also humorously analyzed the peculiarities of the German allotment garden culture in his book "Mein Leben im Schrebergarten" (My Life in the Schrebergarten), available in German only.

Germany's small gardens are also renowned for hosting all forms of kitsch. The garden gnome - "Gartenzwerg" in German - immediately comes to mind, but elaborate water fountains and plastic windmills are other popular accessories.

Although there's always gardening work to do on the lot during the summer, it's also a great place to enjoy a meal outside. A barbecue is definitely a must - but here, too, neighbors might complain about the smoke and smells. One good way to get them on your side is to invite them over for a perfectly grilled wurst.

Although this picture is from the 1970s, it still represents well the spirit of a "Kleingarten." The 150-year tradition has since been adopted by all German-speaking coutries, and there are now thousands of garden colonies in and around big cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.