🦉 In short: Schlaraffia is a worldwide community of men who meet regularly to laugh together, to experience art and to cultivate real friendships. It can hardly be explained – but it can be experienced.
A world apart from everyday life
Picture an evening on which the stress of working life stays outside. Where titles and professions play no part. Where a doctor, a craftsman, a teacher and an artist laugh, play and become friends. That is Schlaraffia.
The name derives from the Low German word ‚Sluraffe', a medieval term for a quiet enjoyer of life. Schlaraffia is a place where friendship is cultivated and where the seriousness of life may be forgotten for one evening. Small wonder that the motto reads „In arte voluptas" – in art lies delight.
How does the Schlaraffen game work?
The members of a Schlaraffia – called Schlaraffen – meet regularly for a Sippung. The assembly room is called the Burg, the local chapter is called a Reych.
Every meeting follows a fixed, playful sequence: a welcome by the presiding member, talks, singing, humorous contributions, verbal duels and finally a convivial close to the evening. Everything is play – and everything is taken with a wink.
What is a „Pilger"? That is what we call visitors who join us for the first time. Anyone who comes more than three times may be accepted as a candidate and thereby express an interest in membership. Admission to the fellowship follows after further visits.
Who is Schlaraffia for?
Schlaraffia is for men who have remained curious. Who do not need to explain everything. Who understand humour – and can laugh at themselves. Who value real conversation over superficial networking. Who enjoy art and have something to contribute themselves – be it a poem, a song, a speech or simply hearty laughter.
Schlaraffen are individualists. Academics and craftsmen. Young and old. What unites them all: a sense of humour, the joy of the game and a longing for genuine human encounters – far from smartphones and the pressure of appointments.
🌍 At home worldwide
What began in 1859 as a small circle of artists in Prague is today a global community: more than 200 chapters on every continent, from Europe through the Americas to Australia. What connects them all: the German language as a common bond and the Schlaraffen game as a shared home.
In practice that means: travel to Philadelphia, Vienna, São Paulo or Sydney – and visit a meeting there. Within minutes you are no longer a stranger but a guest among friends. Schlaraffia makes the world smaller and warmer.
🗣 Why German? Schlaraffia was founded in Prague in 1859 by German-speaking artists and intellectuals. German has remained the connecting language of all Schlaraffen worldwide ever since, whatever the nationality of the members.
How do I become a member?
Quite simply: come and see us. A guest visit is free, non-binding and commits you to nothing. You sit with us, experience a meeting and then decide at your leisure whether Schlaraffia is for you. Visitors are warmly welcome – getting in touch beforehand is advisable.
We will gladly show you our game – because Schlaraffia is hard to explain; the game has to be experienced. And it is learned from the ground up, over time.
Curious?
Write to us – or simply come by.
The first visits are free and without obligation.
Bei uns im Reych
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