🦉 In a nutshell: Schlaraffia is a worldwide community of men who meet regularly to laugh together, experience art and cultivate genuine friendships. It is almost impossible to explain – but very easy to experience.
A world apart from everyday life
Imagine an evening when the stress of working life stays firmly outside. Where titles and professions play no role. Where a doctor, a craftsman, a teacher and an artist laugh, play and become friends. That is Schlaraffia.
The name is derived from the old German word "Schlaraffenland" – the legendary land of plenty and effortless joy. For a few hours, that land becomes real. No social hierarchy, no professional calculation – just play, humour and art.
Not a club – an experience
Schlaraffia is not an association in the conventional sense. There are no committee meetings, no minutes of dry resolutions. Instead, there are Sippungen – evenings with a fixed playful ritual that has been cherished and refined for over 160 years.
Each Sippung has its own Fungirender (presiding officer), its own programme and its own surprises. Members contribute poems, songs, stories and comic sketches. The audience judges, rewards and occasionally jeers – all in the spirit of play.
Humour as a craft
At Schlaraffia, humour is not merely tolerated – it is cultivated. The ability to make others laugh, to turn a phrase with elegance, to land a well-timed quip: these are skills that members develop and celebrate over years.
Schlaraffia humour is never mean-spirited. The rule is simple: laugh with one another, never at one another. The sharpest wit is the one that makes even its target smile.
Worldwide – and yet close-knit
Today, Schlaraffia spans more than 200 Realms on five continents. From Berlin to Buenos Aires, from Vienna to Vancouver, from Tokyo to New York – every Realm shares the same traditions, the same ceremonial language and the same spirit of camaraderie.
When a Schlaraffe travels to another city, they can visit any local Realm as a guest – and will be welcomed as though they had always belonged. This worldwide hospitality is one of Schlaraffia's most treasured gifts.
Art and culture at the centre
From the very beginning, Schlaraffia has been a community of the arts. Poetry is written and performed, music is played and sung, visual art is discussed and celebrated. Culture is not a side effect – it is the main event.
Every member is encouraged to contribute their own creative voice, regardless of professional training. What matters is not virtuosity but engagement – the joy of creating and sharing something with friends.
Come and see for yourself
The best way to understand Schlaraffia is to attend a Sippung as a Pilgrim (guest). The first visit is free of charge and commits you to nothing. Come curious – leave with new friends.
Here in our Realm
Here in New York it looks like this: we meet on Wednesdays, every other week, in the Steubenburg on the Upper East Side, at Glock 8, for about three hours. The evening follows a fixed form — the course of a Sippung — but that form fills itself differently every time: sometimes with music, sometimes with a lecture, sometimes with a story someone lived through and tells better than it was.
How seriously the Sassen of this Realm can take it is shown by a note from 1905: Rt Knall was called to Ahalla in the middle of a festival Sippung, shortly after the festival bull had been read out. The chronicle records that he remained a Schlaraffe "to his last breath". On an ordinary Wednesday things need not go quite that far.
Guests need prepare nothing and bring nothing. A short note in advance is enough so that a seat is kept free. There is no charge.