The French island that's a nudist resort and military zone

On Ile du Levant, a French island in the Mediterranean, two unlikely communities have been living side by side for decades — one without clothing and one in military uniform.

The resort's founders wanted 'a simple, rustic city, where lovers of fresh air and sun would come to the calm of nature'

It's approaching 10:40 a.m., and the ferry headed back to the mainland will soon depart. Passengers gather at the port, waiting to board. "Ah! You've gotten dressed. How strange," a man says to the person next to him. "Yes I know. I waited until the very last moment," the young woman laughs.

Welcome to the Ile du Levant, a small island about 15 kilometers (9 miles) off the French Mediterranean coast where two very different communities have co-existed for more than 70 years.

A tenth of the 10-square-kilometer surface area is home to Heliopolis, a small naturist resort founded in 1932, with around 250 property owners. The remaining 90% is a restricted military zone housing a missile testing center established in 1950.

While walking among relaxed, naked holidaymakers, it's easy to forget the other part of the island. But the path to the beach is flanked on one side by a barbed-wire topped fence; signs reading "Military zone. Do not enter" also provide a clear reminder.

The French sign reads: 'Military Zone. Access forbidden'

According to Guido, 71, when you live on the island — as he does half the year — it's not really something you think about. "We have almost nothing to do with the military," the Swiss retiree says at his holiday home overlooking the sea. Sometimes, Guido concedes, he does hear military exercises, munition being fired. "Always on Tuesdays," he says. "A bit of noise."

Life without clothes

He's more keen to talk about how he and his wife Sylvia "live in freedom without clothes." The couple have been coming to the island since 1990, often with their three children. They bought their house in 2003.

This time they have two grandchildren, aged 11 and 9, in tow. Being naked as a family unit "simply isn't a big deal," Guido says, though some relatives have declined invitations to visit. "Mainly the men," he adds.

Like many naturists, Guido, who was responsible for reactor safety at a nuclear plant in his professional life, stresses that there is nothing sexual about the practice.

Hedonists might be disappointed: Public sex is strictly prohibited on the island. Nudity is the rule on beaches and the hiking trail, and is allowed in certain restaurants and shops, of which there are just a handful. In the port, minimal coverage is required. The island is quiet, with no cars. Electricity only arrived in 1989.

Heading down to the beach in minimal clothing

Delphine and Francois, a French couple sitting at the port, say they came for the peace and natural beauty. For them, naturism is not about exhibitionism. "Actually, it's funny, but when you don't have clothes on, you don't look at each other. You don't look at whether a person is large or small or whatever. Everyone is the same. It's relaxed," Delphine, a 57-year-old dental assistant, says.

Retreat from civilization

Nudism or naturism (advocates generally use the latter) is a movement that first  emerged in Germany partly as a reaction to the industrialization and urbanization of the late 19th century, soon spreading to France and beyond. Early proponents emphasized the health benefits of outdoor exercise, a good (often vegetarian) diet and a return to nature.

BARE FACTS: GERMANY'S NUDISM MOVEMENT 

A 'free body': Germany's nudist culture 

It's a part of German culture, just like techno music and "Spargelzeit," the asparagus season. Even though the practice of Freikörperkultur (FKK), which translates as "free body culture," is dwindling among the younger generations of Germans, you'll still find lots of FKK areas on beaches as well as nude culture enthusiasts in spas — and even parks.   1234567891011

As the movement gained traction in the early 20th century, two brothers — doctors Andre and Gaston Durville — bought a section of the Ile du Levant from a property company and founded, in 1932, Heliopolis as an "international naturist center." 

The rest of the island, long used by the French navy, has been owned by the French state since 1892. All of this is meticulously documented on the island's history blog.

The brothers wanted — according to legal documents belonging to the Heliopolis association — to build "a simple, rustic city, where lovers of fresh air and sun come to the calm of splendid nature, rest from the fatigues of the artificial civilization of cities by spending their holidays simply and healthily." Early photos show the athletic Gaston Durville hard at work at construction.

These days, people come to relax. The island is very popular with the queer community and this year's traditional beauty pageant, Miss Ile, was won by a trans woman for the first time, local newspaper Var-Matin reported.

Civilian life, military life

Life on the other side of the barbed-wire fence is likely quite different. While civilians sun themselves on the beach or take a naked hike in the nature reserve, military officials test marine, submarine and airborne material, or carry out training. 

About 70 testing or training sessions are expected this year alone, a spokesperson for the French Armament General Directorate told DW. However, testing is limited in the busy months of July and August, the source stressed. About 225 personnel reside on the island Monday to Thursday. Italian and German troops also come here to train.

As Guido stressed, interactions are rare, though the military staff does provide emergency medical care if needed.

From Golden Age to renewal

French naturism saw its heyday in the 1960s and 70s, according to the French Naturism Federation (FFN): "The relaxation of social mores, the emancipation of women, and the development of paid annual leave allowed naturism to establish itself as a new philosophy of life… and holidays." 

After the golden age came a period of decline but France remains a major international destination, with 350 naturist centers, according to the FFN. However, the movement struggles with an ageing fan base.

Only 14% of France's naturism enthusiasts (an estimated 2.6 million) are under 40, according to a 2016 survey carried about by campsite chain France 4 Naturisme and cited by the FFN on its website.

But the FFN says that promotional campaigns and increased societal interest in healthy living have helped win over a younger demographic in recent years.

On the day of DW's visit in August, the island was indeed bustling with visitors.

"In the last 10 years, there's been a renewal of clients, younger people," the president of Federation of Naturist Spaces (FEN), Jean-Guy Amat, told broadcaster RTL in July.

The pandemic years also stopped people from travelling abroad, bringing new visitors to naturist camp sites, Amat said.

Among the next generation of naturism fans are the passengers leaving on the 10:40 a.m. ferry, mainly a younger crowd. Those left on the bay cheer and wave the boat away. On the top deck, swimming trunks come off and are waved enthusiastically above heads in what looks like a good omen for the future of the movement.

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier

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LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for NUDISM 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for NATURISM 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for NAKED 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for NUDE 

UK
Controversial family nude swim event returns despite backlash

"We have been unjustly accused of encouraging paedophiles. Far Right protest group Britain First has been trying to whip up a frenzy by handing out inflammatory flyers.

24 Sep, 2020 

Waterworld in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Photo / Waterworld
NZ Herald

A controversial British event where adults and children swim naked inside an indoor aqua park is returning to Stoke despite a heavy backlash.

The skinny dipping session at Waterworld is open to both males and females of all ages.

Described as the "biggest waterpark event of the year", the session, which attracted 300 people last year, has been criticised with many raising concerns perverts could prey on young people.

Last year's event attracted a group of protesters outside the entrance of Waterworld with police on standby.

British Naturism and Waterworld have both strongly defended the session which has been described as the "biggest waterpark event of the year".

In a statement previously issued to StokeonTrentLive, a British Naturism spokesman said: "British Naturism is an organisation that has been in existence for over 50 years with many of our clubs being even older. We have a membership of 9,000 over 18s.

"We take our safeguarding and health and safety responsibility seriously and review our practices in advance of every event we run.

"We have a robust child and vulnerable adults safeguarding policy - it's actually rather ignorant of the complainers to assume that we don't. It was developed in conjunction with the NSPCC and is reviewed annually.

"We also have a strict 'no cameras' rule with any photographs to record the event only being taken by our official photographer, who follow certain guidelines about what can be taken."

They say children are not allowed to attend unaccompanied.

Mo Chaudry, owner of Waterworld, has previously said British Naturism is a "perfectly law-abiding organisation".

"We have been unjustly accused of encouraging paedophiles. Far Right protest group Britain First has been trying to whip up a frenzy by handing out inflammatory flyers.

"Some of our staff have even been subjected to unacceptable and unwarranted personal abuse.

"So it's time to set the record straight and get this situation into perspective.

"British Naturism is a perfectly law-abiding organisation which has been hiring our venue – and many similar sites across the UK – for private swimming events for more than 20 years."

‘A lack of respect’: Catalonian nudists campaign against clothed tourists


Ashifa Kassam in Madrid
Updated Fri, 11 August 202

Photograph: Prisma by Dukas Presseagentur GmbH/Alamy

It was on a sun-kissed stretch of beach in Catalonia that Segimon Rovira began to feel self-conscious. For as long as the 56-year-old could remember, the area’s turquoise waters had primarily been frequented by nudists. Now, he was painfully aware of being surrounded by sunbathers – in their swimsuits.

“Before, people would arrive at a nude beach and either leave or strip down,” said Rovira. “Now they stay and keep their swimsuit on. But what they don’t realise is that if there are a lot of them, they end up making us uncomfortable. It’s a lack of respect.”

Now Rovira and other naturists in Catalonia are fighting back, with a campaign aimed at protecting the decades-long tradition associated with 50 or so of the region’s beaches.

“Nudism is not banned in Spain, you can do it on any beach,” said Rovira, who leads the Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia. “But so as not to bother people, we prefer to go to beaches that have traditionally been nudist and where most people are naked. We want people to respect this.”

Recently the association sent a letter to the Catalan government asking for a meeting to address what it described as “the discrimination that nudists face on the beaches of Catalonia”. The collective has already starting mulling potential requests, from beefed-up signage for nude beaches to a public awareness campaign that could help foster respect for naturism. They have yet to receive a response.

At the heart of what the local media call the “textile invasion” is the boom in tourism and explosion of social media. As an ever-growing trove of blogs and travel guides vie to lead sun-seekers off the beaten path, they’ve highlighted the region’s most pristine and hidden beaches, often leaving out their longstanding ties to nudism.

Other times beachgoers themselves have chosen to overlook these ties, traipsing past the signs that read “nudist beach” in order to secure a spot on the golden sands. “We’ve lost a bit of civility,” said Rovira.

The result threatens to steadily erode naturism. “There are nudists who have stopped going to some beaches because they are too crowded and there are too many people wearing swimsuits and they feel uncomfortable,” he said.

Others have chosen to remain clothed, dissuaded by the throngs of smartphone-wielding visitors eager to share the beautiful backdrop with their online followers, said Rovira. “People that are naked don’t want to end up with their photos on social media.”

Some nudists have persevered, only to find themselves the focus of giggles, prolonged stares and, at times, disparaging remarks. “Unfortunately the women are usually more stared at or harassed,” said Rovira. “So they are discriminated against twice over; for being nudists and for being women.”

The hope is that the campaign will help ensure that certain beaches remain safe spaces for naturists and help to keep the tradition going. “Starting to practise naturism when you’re surrounded by people in clothing is very complicated,” said Rovira. “That’s why we think it’s important to have nudist spaces where the majority of people are nude so that people are encouraged to try it.”

The message is at the crux of a video, recently published by his association, that depicts two tourists who stumble across a nudist beach and soon go from gawking to stripping down.

The video seeks to capture the pair’s journey as they come to embrace all that enthusiasts say nudism offers. “We do it for the feeling of freedom,” said Rovira. “There’s no comparison between swimming in the nude and in swimwear. You’re more free, more calm and relaxed.”

French museum invites naturism exhibit visitors to disrobe

The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations, or Mucem, in Marseille, France, is inviting members of the public to visit its Naturist Paradises exhibit in the nude on pre-scheduled dates held once a month. 

Photo by djedj/Pixabay.com


Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A French museum announced members of the public are being invited to view its exhibit on naturism while wearing nothing but a pair of shoes.

Marseille's Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations, or Mucem, said nude patrons are being welcomed to peruse the Naturist Paradises exhibit in the nude on designated dates once a month, during a time the facility would normally be closed.
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The nude museum visits are being organized in partnership with the French Naturist Federation, or FFN.

Naturist Paradises features hundreds of pieces of art from naturist communities, including paintings, sculptures, photographs and films.

"It was only natural for the Mucem, a social museum based in Marseilles, a Mediterranean city around which several major naturist centers have sprung up, to explore this singular and unifying social phenomenon that is naturism, (or rather naturisms, because there are different types)," the museum's website states.

FFN official Eric Stefanut said the museum's nude visitors will still be required to wear shoes inside the exhibit.

"It's to avoid getting splinters," he told The Guardian.

The Naturist Paradises exhibit at the museum runs through Dec. 9. The next nude tour is scheduled for Sept. 3.

Breaking Out Of The Cultural Burka

Gee when an American superstar said this the right wing attacked her for being a bimbo. Now let's see what happens when a Muslim woman says the same thing.

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Muslim Madonna' - Brace for another muslims' riot, bloodshed ' Feb 24, 2006

Muslim pop singer Deeyah has irked the Muslim world with her provocative new music video that shows her stripping off a burka to reveal her bikini-clad body. Deeyah claims, the video, What will be? deals with Muslim women's rights and female empowerment, as it also features Muslim women who have fought for freedom of expression.

Once again the body is the centre of politics and theology, the body not as self ownership of ourselves but as a commodity. And it is as much objectification of womens bodies, by declaring them sexual and evil, to say must be covered up or to say they should be exploited in bathing suit beauty contests. 'Beauty' contests remain a commodifcation of women and their bodies as much as covering them up. Again the message is that women are objects, not subjects, of desire. And in order to be desirable an entire industry exists to recreate women in some male ideal image.

And even bikini wearing singers in music videos as brave and liberating as that is remains with the limits of objectification. But it is step towards womens liberation even within these limits.

To resist the reactionary attitudes against our bodies and against the myth of the fall of Eve, which is the source of patriarchical monotheisms fear and hatred of the body, is to accept the body as natural. The only radical ideology that does is naturism which of course is still taboo even in the west. Which is why nudes sell magazines.

Naturam expelles furca tamen usque recurret.

"You expel nature with a pitchfork, but it just comes back."

Horace

Which is why the body is still the central debate within the feminist movement. The Playboy debate, is it or isn't it pornography ,remains with us both in the U.S. and UK . As a result what Deeyah is doing will be appauled by some and denounced by others, not just mullahs but by sex negative feminism. What Deeyah is doing is what new wave feminism is doing in the west, challenging the ownership of womens bodies. Or as the second wave Feminists called it Our Bodies Our Selves.

In Her Own Image

Artist/musician Gwynn Hermann tears down artistic barriers

Hermann attended Herron School of Art at IUPUI and began work on a photography degree in 1994. In those days, she said, the photography department was known for its feminist teaching staff. “Some hated it — especially the male students — and some loved it; I was in the latter category. Feminism really did change the course of the art world; it challenged the status quo, forced people to reconsider, or just plain consider for the first time, the assumptions put forth about roles of gender and identity, class and status. Feminism demanded that the voices and viewpoints of people other than old/dead white men be heard.”

Her work, even in a tolerant environment such as Herron, was controversial. “I began to make a long series of self-portraits, often nude, to the point that some of my classmates begged me to shoot something else. I did self-portrait work for two reasons. I wanted to change the poor self-image I had. I’d struggled with depression and anxiety attacks much of my life, and I got to a point where I hated myself and couldn’t trust myself, and I knew that had to change. I embraced self-portraiture as a way to kind of catch me when I wasn’t looking.”
She paused to catch her breath. “It’s hard to explain.”

Except this new wave feminism is saying sexuality is ok showing our bodies off is empowerment much to the chagrin of second wave feminists,conservative moralists and now the mullahs.

Women have moved beyond the self awareness stage of feminism to what Wendy McElroy calls Self- Ownership. And within the limits of culture that is the challenge in Iran as much as it is in the good old USA, that other theological nation ruled by mullahs. Ironic since the United States sees itself as the very ideal of capitalism, which demands the constant destruction of social values.

Modern capitalism has allowed the birth of the independent woman who is no longer economically dependent on her husband.

Camille Paglia

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
Deeyah, Muslim, Madonna, Singers, Video, Burka, Bikini, Paglia, McElroy, feminism, Islam, women, liberation, empowerment

NOT JUST PAGANS

Naked and unashamed: Christians strip down at a South Texas nudist community

Public nudity may seem antithetical to the modesty often promoted by churches, but to Christian naturists, the two go hand in hand.

Bill and Misty Katz pose in front of their home at Nature's Resort on March 16, 2022, in Elsa, Texas. Photo by Jeremy Lindenfeld

June 28, 2022

By 

Jeremy Lindenfeld

(RNS) — Outside the small Texas town of Elsa, a sheet metal fence too tall to see over surrounds a few acres of prime Rio Grande Valley land. In front of the compound’s drab, gray gate, bright orange letters spell out “Nature’s Resort.” The gate opens to reveal a seemingly ordinary community. RVs and small homes line the roads, péntaque and pickleball courts offer residents recreational spaces, and the front office acts as the community’s nucleus.

Nothing looks amiss, except that is, for what’s missing — namely, clothing.

Misty Katz, part owner of Nature’s Resort, finds comfort in shunning clothes. Growing up in South Africa, she was scolded by her parents for undressing in public when her clothes got dirty. She didn’t take those lessons too seriously. More than half a century later, she lives at a nudist (or naturist) resort in South Texas and doesn’t worry about dirty clothes anymore.

For as long as Katz has been a nudist, she has also been a Christian.

Public nudity may seem antithetical to the modesty often promoted by churches, but to Katz, the two go hand in hand. “Believe it or not, we are modest,” Katz says. “Modesty doesn’t mean you have to cover everything up. We don’t display our wares, we’re not adorning various parts of our bodies in a way that’s going to attract attention.

Her idea of modesty echoes Pope John Paul II’s 1981 book “Love and Responsibility,” in which he writes “nakedness itself is not immodest.” He goes on to explain that immodesty presents itself only when nakedness serves to sexually arouse.

Bill and Misty Katz woodwork in the nude at their home in Elsa, Texas, on March 16, 2022. Photo by Jeremy Lindenfeld

At Nature’s Resort, public nudity is not sexual. “The initial conception is that this is a sexual thing,” Katz says. “People think we’re all out on the front lawn having sex with each other, swapping partners. In fact, if there is any overt sexuality, you see that gate open real fast and somebody is ushered out.”

Some Christian critics of nudism, including Mary Lowman of The Christian Working Woman, see the lifestyle as an affront to God. On her website’s page The Christian Dress Code, Lowman claims “God’s dress code from the beginning has been to cover our nakedness.”

Even still, nudism attracts unlikely allies. Some nondenominational, hard-line conservative clergy accept nudism. Pastor Ron Smith, of McAllen’s Church of the King, vehemently opposes homosexuality, abortion and the transgender community, but when it comes to nudism, his strident views loosen up.

“I think it’s odd, I think it’s strange, but I have no proof it’s sinning,” Smith said. “We have a retired couple that sit in the front row every Sunday that live at a nudist camp. I believe they’re dedicated Christians.”

Because the Bible doesn’t explicitly forbid nudism, Smith says he cannot condemn those who practice it. In fact, the Bible condones nudism on several occasions: “Adam and Eve were in the garden talking to God every day. They were nude,” Katz says. “When David had his big victory in battle, he went dancing in the streets naked to praise God. So, that must be OK in God’s eyes.”

Pastor Ron Smith at Church of the King in McAllen, Texas, on March 17, 2022. Photo by Jeremy Lindenfeld

Katz isn’t the only Christian at Nature’s Resort. Chip and Daisy are a married couple who requested to exclude their last names so friends and family don’t learn of their nudism. They, like most everyone at Nature’s Resort, are winter Texans, retirees spending their summers up north and coming down to the Rio Grande Valley when temperatures start to drop.

Chip, a Black man, is also one of the only residents of color out of the up to 250 people in the community. Like Katz, Chip and Daisy find nudism fits neatly into their Christianity and see it enhancing their religious lives. “In a nudist environment, the true Christian belief of valuing others and not judging others is accentuated,” Daisy says. “Here, you don’t judge someone for what they look like or what they wear.”

“It’s one thing to be with Christians in a building,” Chip says. “It’s another thing to be with Christians who are nudists. There’s a deeper connectivity.”

Though Nature’s Resort is not explicitly religious, it is affiliated with the American Association for Nude Recreation, an organization with deep Christian roots. AANR, once named the American Sunbathing Association, and the American League for Physical Culture before that, was led by Ilsley Boone in the 1930s.

Misty Katz stands at the front desk of Nature’s Resort in Elsa, Texas. Photo by Jeremy Lindenfeld

Boone was a Dutch Reformed minister and a driving force behind popularizing Christian naturism in the U.S., where he preached a religiously enriching nudism. Christian naturism, popular in the early 20th century, continues to find success in the digital age on online forums.

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RELATED: Dissent from Traditional Plan dominates United Methodists’ top court meeting

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And though Nature’s Resort’s particular brand of nudism is not the Christian variety, some of its members have found the lifestyle deeply spiritual.

“I think it’s far easier being a Christian nudist than being a Christian nonnudist,” Katz says. “That’s because as a Christian, you’ve got to love everybody. And as a nudist, you do love everybody.”

Is Germany drawing the curtain on nudism?

Brenda Haas

DW

The German Association for Free Body Culture turns 75 this year but has seen dwindling membership and changing attitudes towards a textile-free lifestyle.

'Free body culture' has long been part of the German cultural fabric

Image: Bernd_Wüstneck/ZB/picture-alliance


Here's the naked truth: Generally, Germans are unfazed by bare bodies.

Some of the country's lakes, parks and beaches are sectioned off for naturists; those who prefer keeping their threads on are usually unruffled when sharing spaces with those who don't.

This nonchalance could be attributed to one of the country's most iconic (and sometimes misunderstood) movements: Freikörperkultur (FKK), or free body culture.

As the Deutscher Verband für Freikörperkultur (DFK) — the umbrella body representing the interests of organized supporters of FKK — celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, we peel back the layers of this movement's evolution in Germany and its role in the country's cultural fabric.

Bare facts: Germany's nudism movement

Germans find it easier to strip naked on a beach or in a sauna than people from many other countries. A brief history of the country's nudism movement, known as FKK.

Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen

A 'free body': Germany's nudist culture

It's a part of German culture, just like techno music and "Spargelzeit," the asparagus season. Even though the practice of Freikörperkultur (FKK), which translates as "free body culture," is dwindling among the younger generations of Germans, you'll still find lots of FKK areas on beaches as well as nude culture enthusiasts in spas — and even parks.

Imago/D. Matthes

The healthy hobby

By the late 19th century, many Germans believed it was healthy to strip off and bathe "textile free" at one of the country's many lakes. At the time there was a move away from polluted industrialized cities to nature in pursuit of good health. Some people also enjoyed hiking or doing exercise in the nude. This picture dates back to 1933 and shows two women at Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria.

A culture promoted in film

Increasing health through free movement in nature was an ethos featured in the 1925 film Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit (Ways to Strength and Beauty). Starring controversial German actor and filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, it was one of the country's most popular educational films of the silent era. It contained scenes of physical exercise such as dance and bathing.


FKK and the Nazis

Leni Riefenstahl later became Hitler's favorite filmmaker, and glorified the Aryan athletic physique in her two-part film Olympia, based on the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin. While the Nazis initially banned FKK, nude swimming was once again allowed in 1942, if done discreetly in remote areas. Many promoters of the FKK movement were however leftists


A strong tradition in the former GDR

While FKK in the GDR was initially promoted by avant-gardists in the 1950s, it became widespread and tolerated by the 70s. As life in the GDR was so tightly controlled in other ways, bathing nude could be seen as a rare liberty — and people made full use of it. In this picture from 1986, dozens of nudists bask in the sun at Müggelsee, a lake in the suburbs of East Berlin


FKK on the Baltic coast



FKK was also particularly strong on Baltic Sea beaches. However, the practice didn't spread to the Polish side of the coast. After Poland joined the EU, it became easier to walk from one country to the other's beach, but nudism was a cause of tensions between the localities on both sides of the German-Polish border.Image: Imago/argum/C. Lehsten


Getting into the FKK spirit

At this beach in Leipzig in 1980, nudists hang out together on a hot day. The FKK spirit is about celebrating the body and being free from clothes. According to FKK enthusiasts, the practice is not connected to sex; it's about freeing yourself from social constraints. And it's certainly one way to make sure that you don't get any pesky tan lines from wearing a swimsuit.


Not only in the east: Munich's designated spots

While public nudity is generally forbidden in Munich, there are various specific areas where FKK is allowed, for example in the English Garden and along the Isar River, including the Flaucher beach area, a popular destination for nudists, as this picture on a hot day from 2002 shows. FKK areas usually have a clear sign, and people chilling there do not want to be seen as a tourist attraction.


Berlin's park life

The practice is not as strong as it used to be, but some parks still have a certain FKK tradition — so you might come across more flesh than you were expecting on an afternoon walk. While public nudity is illegal, sunbathing naked is tolerated in different Berlin parks, such as the Mauerpark, Volkspark Friedrichshain (picture, from 1999) and Tiergarten — as long as it's not disturbing anyone.


A passion for millions of Germans

Angela Merkel was famously taking a sauna the night the Berlin Wall came down; it was her Thursday ritual. Figures show that around 30 million people in Germany visit the country's 2,300 saunas regularly. The majority of spas are open to all genders and require users to be textile-free.Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul


Bare all in the wild

It may not be for everyone, but if you really want to get in touch with nature you could try going for a hike — au naturel. Deep in Germany's Harz mountain region is where you'll find an 18-kilometer naked hiking route. Stretching from the town of Dankerode to the Wippertal reservoir and back, the route welcomes FKK aficionados. Just watch out for nettles

To be clear, no law in Germany expressly prohibits (non-sexual) nudity.

Nakedness on private grounds is considered legal, even if visible from outside. The same applies to naked sunbathing, unless otherwise stated by local laws.

FKK's roots date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Germany was abuzz with social reform movements aiming to redress industrialization's impact on people's health.

At the time, living in cramped, polluted cities was wreaking havoc on their physical and mental well-being.

The movement's proponents believed that enjoying the feeling of sun, air and water on bare skin amidst a community of like-minded individuals was beneficial, fostering not only a healthy body image but helping heal an assortment of maladies that included TB, rickets, and seasonal affective disorder — now known as SAD.

It was also a form of rebellion against the rigid moral attitudes of the 19th century.

The first FKK groups emerged in the 1890s, advocating for nude sunbathing as a healthy — albeit non-sexualized — natural activity.

In 1920, Germany established its first official nude beach on the island of Sylt. A few years later, Adolf Koch founded the Berlin School of Nudism that, amongst others, encouraged mixed-gender open-air exercises. The school hosted the first international nudity congress in 1929.

Clearly demarcated spaces for 'textiles-on or off' spaces on a beachImage: Axel Heimken/dpa/picture alliance

Thumbing noses at authority

During the Nazi era, nudism faced mixed fortunes due to moral restrictions.

In 1933, laws limited mixed-sex nudism, citing concerns over Weimar-era immorality.

Furthermore, nudity was linked to Marxism and homosexuality — despite naturism reportedly being popular among some SS members. In 1942, some rules were relaxed but still bore Nazi biases, especially against Jews and other marginalized groups.

After World War II, Germany's division into East and West created two environments for FKK.

For many East Germans, going nude in public was a statement of individual liberty in an otherwise tightly controlled society. Even though East Germany's GDR leadership initially tried to suppress FKK for fear it would undermine socialist ideals, they eventually conceded.

Meanwhile, the DFK or the Association for Free Body Culture was founded in the West German city of Kassel in 1949. Today, it is part of the German Olympic Sport Federation, and is the largest member of the International Naturist Federation.

There's generally a live-and-let-live attitude in Germany towards a clothing-optional lifestyleImage: Hartmut Schwarzbach/DUMONT Bildarchiv/picture-alliance

Loving your lumps and bumps

So, what does one actually do at an FKK club besides being in the buff? Basically, the same things you'd do at any other social gathering — minus clothes and minus anything sexual.

Activities range from swimming and sunbathing to team sports like volleyball. There are also designated nude hiking trails in Germany that allow naturists to commune with, well, nature.

Besides affording the body better air circulation and optimum Vitamin D absorption, FKK proponents say that the lifestyle encourages people to appreciate their bodies as they are — complete with all the lumps, bumps, and quirks that come with being human.

Furthermore, stripped of designer wear or flashy accessories, nudity is a great equalizer.

A 2017 study published in The Journal of Happiness Studies states that spending time naked with others can lead to improved body image, greater self-esteem, and higher levels of life satisfaction.

The lead researcher, Dr Keon West from Goldsmiths, University City of London, noted that "naturist environments help people see real, unfiltered bodies, which reduces anxiety around appearance"​

Social media has also put off younger people from naturism for fear of falling short of the perfect 'curated' bodyImage: Matej Kastelic/Zoonar/picture alliance

Pressure to be perfect

Paradoxically, while platforms like Instagram and TikTok celebrate the human body in highly curated, filtered ways, they are believed to have contributed to a decline in FKK membership.

"The rise of the cult of the perfect body on TikTok or Instagram is increasing the pressure to not want to undress," DFK's President Alfred Sigloch told the press in June.

In fact, the DFK had to call off some plans to celebrate its 75th anniversary owing to a lack of interest. Sigloch added that DFK membership has slumped from 65,000 people 25 years ago to fewer than 34,000 now, with many remaining members said to be losing interest.

Furthermore, some current FKK practioners are also disuaded by digital technology that could secretly photograph them and post them online without consent.

Sigloch also partly blamed the rising popularity of glamping for the closing down of FKK-dedicated holiday sites. Campsite owners earn better from campers willing to pay for a more luxurious outdoor experience than simpler naturists.

The DFK president noted however that many nudist clubs had seen an uptake of interest during the COVID crisis. He attributed this, among other factors, "to the fact that the pandemic has encouraged many people to seek alternative and healthy outdoor leisure activities.”

But the fact remains that clubs are struggling to retain or attract new members.

Sigloch intends to revive the movement. "We will fight to keep onboard every single naked person who wants to be with us," he said.

"FKK is an ancient culture that cannot and will not die."


Edited by: Stuart Braun

Brenda Haas Writer and editor for DW Culture