Photo: L. Eichinger

The idyllically situated Quellhof in Kirchberg an der Jagst (Schwäbisch Hall district) welcomes approximately 5,200 overnight guests each year. This anthroposophically oriented retreat center offers school classes and vacation groups exciting opportunities to connect with nature through experiential learning activities. Educators and parents find new ideas and inspiration in seminars covering a wide range of topics. The nature school teaches traditional crafts and fosters a comprehensive understanding of ecological relationships through courses in blacksmithing, woodcarving, scything, and shoeing, as well as through training in nature education.

Building as a Community Experience

The seminar building is a stately, historic half-timbered structure dating from 1897. To ensure the facility’s continued operation for future generations, an extensive renovation of the windows, facade, and roof began in 2025. The converted attic, used as sleeping quarters for groups, also needed insulation. Sternia Thimm ensured that part of the work itself became an educational project. The trained carpenter grew up at the Quellhof and developed the concept of a Youth Culture Construction Site (JKB).

Thus, starting in the spring of 2025, several groups of young people gathered at the Quellhof to live together there for a few weeks at a time and help with the roof conversion. They learned how to work with sustainable building materials and acquired the necessary craftsmanship skills. Free room and board, along with an accompanying cultural program, rounded out the experience. In December 2025, a true milestone was finally announced on the construction blog: “The roof is in place, the interior work is finished, and the floor has been leached and soaped. Starting next year, the diverse school classes, seminars, and groups will be able to use the attic. It was an incredible year with so many helpers who made our dream a reality.” A success made possible only thanks to a strong regional network: To achieve this, the JKB collaborated with the Weckelweiler Communities—which also operate in Kirchberg and focus on social therapy—the orientation year program of the Schloss Tempelhof community in nearby Kreßberg, and various groups of traveling journeymen.

Further impressions of the community project can be found on the Instagram page of the Jugend-Kultur-Baustelle.