It's been a while since I've used Youth Hostels but while I was updating our Budget Travel section (and adding to the Budget Accommodation listings) I went onto the Hostelling International site; remembering the days when I carried a hostel membership card on my hitch-hiking travels.



Wow, an anniversary!

Hostelling International was founded on 20th October 1932, by member youth hostel associations from around the world.

Since 1909, when hostelling was born out of the excursions of German schoolteacher Richard Schirrmann and his pupils, it has become one of the world's biggest international membership organizations for youth, with over 3 million members.

To celebrate 75 years of Hostelling International, German radio station WDR 5 broadcast a special podcast: 20 Oktober 1932: Jugendherbergsverband gegründet (in German).

Today, Hostelling International provides some 35 million overnight stays a year through more than 4,000 hostels in over 80 countries.

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