In March, we bought a former inn on the eastern slope of the „Hoher Meißner“ mountain in northern part of Hessen through a GbR founded for this purpose. It is not barrier-free at the moment and there is a lot of work to be done – but it is a start, it was feasible and it is beautiful!
The Schwalbi is located at an altitude of about 600 m and the view from here is really as fantastic as the one on the background picture of this page!
Yet it is constantly changing: Rarely can the changes due to seasons and weather be observed as well as here. And neither can the birds of prey.
And when the sun and the songs of the many different birds wake us up in the morning, the couch on the large balcony invites us to linger and let our eyes and thoughts wander.
But of course that is not the only thing.
The house has a small and a large seminar room, as well as a hall – also with a panoramic view. In addition, there are 10 guest bedrooms, three of which have access to a balcony. We are building a kitchen and additional sanitary facilities so that the seminar and group house can soon become a financial base for us. With time, it will become a more and more comfortable place. We are looking forward to hosting groups here whose goals we find worthy of support. We especially want to provide space for meetings and recreation for people who are disadvantaged by discrimination and/or ecologically/socially politically engaged.
The bus stop directly in front of the door, through which we can be reached or travel down from east and west of the mountain at least every hour from early morning to late at night, offers a very good precondition.
In addition, our property is surrounded by nature conservation forest. Footpaths lead in all directions past outstanding beauties such as old, gnarled trees, small rushing streams, a lake, ponds and pools, carpets of flowers and rare animals. In between, we discovered familiar as well as hidden places that are good for sitting and communicating, even for groups.
Opposite the house, there is a larger terrace with a small food distribution hut. The idea is to create a cosy, organic and vegan café with regional products without any pressure to consume, if possible free of the logic of exchange. It is to become an inclusive place for encounters, exchange & discussion, education & cultural events, joy of life and social change, where there is also an appealing offer for children and young people.
Next to it there is a former hang-glider jump ramp that is getting very old. How cool would it be to convert this slope for a small open air cinema with selected films that we would like to discuss in public?!
For the time being, we can use the small owner’s flat on the floor of the guest dormitories. In the long term, we want and need to expand the previously unused attic as well as the barn in a consensus between our needs and the requirements of historic preservation.
This not only offers a lot of potential for the creative design of the living spaces, but also for the creation of further activity spaces: in the basement there is a large workshop as well as some storage and unused rooms that are just waiting to be filled with life… for example by you! What about your ideas and motivation to engage with this place?
Due to the still very large forest plot behind the barn, it would also be very suitable to set up a forest children’s shop, a forest garden and/or to create a special retreat space with yurts or wagons. There are already many contemplative places for hammocks, swings and sunbathing…
The cooler temperatures on the mountain suggest a sauna.
In addition, we want to strive for a more sustainable energy supply in the future, for example by equipping the otherwise unused spring on our property with a heat pump and/or a turbine. A photovoltaic system on the roof still has to be negotiated with the heritage office.
In the annex to be renovated, a catering kitchen is to be set up again to supply the groups and café guests. This could also be used to supply the community.
So many possibilities, which have not yet been realised! 🙂
In addition to all that, there are numerous and diverse initiatives, organisations and projects within cycling or public transport range with which we can form cooperations and strengthen each other, making this location extraordinarily attractive! (More on this under “Social”)