History of Schlaraffia

The Cradle: Prague, 1859

It began with a handful of artists and intellectuals in Prague in 1859. Actors, poets, painters – people who wanted to set aside the weight of the times for a few hours to laugh, play and cultivate friendship together. They simply called their circle: Schlaraffia.

The name was the programme: The legendary land of Cockaigne, that land of lightness and joy, was to become real for a few hours. No class thinking, no hierarchy of everyday life – only play, humour and art.

The Game Spreads

The idea spread quickly. Soon, further realms were founded in other cities of the German-speaking world: Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich. With the German emigration wave in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Schlaraffia travelled with them to the New World.

New York, Buenos Aires, São Paulo – wherever German-speaking immigrants sought a new home, they also founded a Schlaraffen realm. The bond of a shared language and a shared game held them together – across all distances.

Schlaraffia Survives the Storms of History

Two World Wars, political upheavals, bans – Schlaraffia has survived much. In Germany and Austria, club activities were restricted or prohibited during the war years. But as soon as peace came, the realms revived. This will to survive is no coincidence: where true friendship prevails, it always finds a way.

Particularly noteworthy: while some realms in Europe temporarily paused, Schlaraffia in overseas countries continued unbroken. The Allschlaraffia – the worldwide umbrella organisation – ensured cohesion and continuity.

The Allschlaraffia – Worldwide Federation

All Schlaraffen realms worldwide are united in the Allschlaraffia. This umbrella organisation governs the common rules, assigns realm numbers and ensures that a Schlaraffe from Tokyo feels at home at a Sippung in Frankfurt.

The Allschlaraffia thereby upholds something that has become rare in the modern world: a community founded on values – not on profit or networking. Humour, friendship and art are not empty words but lived practice at every meeting.