In what country was the first permanent Youth Hostel opened in 1912?

Richard Schirrmann (15 May 1874 – 14 December 1961) was a German teacher and founder of the first youth hostel.

Born in Grunenfeld (today Gronówko), Province of Prussia as the son of a teacher, Schirrmann studied to become a teacher himself. In 1895, he received his qualification, and was sent to Altena, Westphalia in 1903. In 1907, he first published his idea of an inexpensive accommodation for 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. Schirrmann received considerable support and donations, and in 1912 he opened the first youth hostel in the recently reconstructed Altena castle.

In 1919, he founded a nationwide youth hostel association, and in 1922, he retired from teaching to focus entirely on the youth-hostel movement. From 1933 to 1936, he also served as President of the International Youth Hostelling Association (now Hostelling International), before the Nazi government forced him to resign. After the Second World War, he worked on the rebuilding of the German association, for which he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz in 1952.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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Adena Trevor

I used to go Youth Hosteling in Scotland and England. It was a wonderful time travelling "by foot, bicycle or canoe" all over the country. The hostels were so varied: from converted mansions , to rustic buildings to newly-built hostels. They were often situated near lakes and mountains and sometimes on the main streets of a small town. The price was very low, and the hostelers had the job of keeping the hostels clean, including peeling potatoes for that evenings supper if supper was available. There would be a communal kitchen where hostelers prepared their own suppers. We slept on bunk beds and had a "Palliasse" (a straw-filled mattress) to sleep on. We brought our own sleeping bags. After breakfast the hostelers had to leave the hostel. We traveled all over the countryside going from hostel to hostel. In the evenings there would be a "common room" where the hostelers could talk, sing or tell stories of their adventures. I know I had many adventures and loved every moment of the trips. I was a member of the "Guides" so often a whole group of us went hosteling together. Sometimes we would "hitch hike" and get lefts from lorries at other times we would just hike from hostel to hostel. They were usually within walking distance of each other. It was fun and we were young and healthy.

Deirdre Ferreira Human

Adena Trevor, we did that in 1977- girls from South Africa, traipsing through Europe, then England, Scotland Wales- Had quite a variety of youth hostels!!