Book town
Books or book villages are places with a particularly high number of antique shops, for which they are most widely known. Often there are localities with low economic prospects, who have discovered a special initiative to promote economic development in the book. With the wide range of several antique shops to entice people into the village, which would not arrive because of a few shops. This creates additional jobs for the population. The aim is that as well as other local providers, particularly the hospitality industry to benefit from the antiquarian visitors.
History
The first Book Village of the world in a remote and Wales. Richard Booth opened in 1961 in the village of Hay-on -Wye, a bookseller from the contents of a container brought from New York full of books. Today, the place where not even 2000 inhabitants has over 38 antique shops. Many of them have focused on single issues. The place attracts many tourists. The tourism is further promoted through book events.
According to the concept of Hay are in the sequence other books villages in Europe and developed sporadically on other continents.
The first book town of Germany and the German-speaking world was founded in September 1997. Mühlbeck and the neighboring village of Friedersdorf in the district of Anhalt -Bitterfeld now have about 15 books in shops not even 3000 inhabitants. The foundations were 70,000 books that were collected throughout Germany. Today more than a million books are on offer.