in the middle
Local die in the country? Not in Freyung in the Bavarian Forest. Here citizens dare to invest in their city. They put their capital into a brewery and a sauna through cooperatives.
A group of women and men discusses in front of the empty tavern in the center of the 7,000-inhabitant city of Freyung. “First of all, the plaster has to go down. And then we should consider how we can integrate the citizens into the facade design,” says Roland Pongratz. He and the other citizens from the region want to revive the old inn and found a cooperative this year.
They have a vision for the house in need of renovation: The money of the comrades is to be created on the ground floor again on the ground floor for clubs and events, on the upper floor, studios and workshops for artists and food producers are to move in, and concerts could take place in the basement. It will be estimated to cost several hundred thousand euros to prepare the dilapidated building.
But the group is confident: with a first survey, 70 people agreed to be enjoyed. “It will be a challenge, we don't have to talk. But you can do it with the right people. And it is important to me that there are places for encounter in my area,” explains Pongratz.
Cooperative saved brewery
People in Freyung in Lower Bavaria know that a cooperative can work. Citizens saved the brewery eleven years ago. At the beginning there were only five comrades, today 280 people from the region put their money into the brewery in Freyung's town center. Anyone who draws a share invests 5,000 euros and shows “that home is a piece of quality of life and that everyone can participate in shaping this home. An individual does not do it, but the community is the ideal power for such things,” says Richard Gibis, comrade from the very beginning.
The brewery has been modernized with the capital of humans in recent years, and all facilities have been renewed. The beer heel is increasing. And the comrades also have something. You get the profit released proportionately – in beer or lemonade.
The local brewery has been a cooperative since 2014.
Cooperatives lying in the trend
What can be seen in Freyung also happens elsewhere. The number of cooperative foundations in Bavaria is increasing. As numbers from the Bavarian Cooperative Association show, there were only 14 new foundations in 2018. In 2023 there were already 51, in 2024 33 cooperatives founded themselves.
Energy cooperatives have been booming, especially since the beginning of the Ukraine War. But it is also becoming increasingly common in social life and in the leisure value of home.
Sweat in the cooperative
This is also shown by Freyung's most recent cooperative project: a sauna landscape. So far there has been no public sauna in the rural region near the Czech border within a radius of 50 kilometers. That is why the Freyungers built their own sauna oasis with their money.
Board of Directors Peter Sammer had enjoyed it for two years and ultimately convinced more than 120 people to invest over 320,000 euros. He didn't get any money for this preparatory work. He explains his voluntary commitment as follows: “I am happy to live here and want to give something back to the population. The sauna creates added value in the region.”
City supported
Many Freyungers are involved in several projects, and the cooperatives also support each other. And always there: the city. She draws shares and tries to support the projects where it works.
Example sauna: Outside, the municipality is building a natural pool this year and thus enhances the entire area. Mayor Olaf Heinrich (CSU) is proud of the commitment of the people in his city. “In times when municipalities have less and less money, this model really has the future. And I am convinced that there are many people who want to design.”
