Freikörperkultur (FKK) is a social and health culture that originated in the German Empire; its beginnings were historically part of the Lebensreform social movement in the late 19th century. Freikörperkultur, which translates as free body culture, includes both the health aspects of being naked in light, air and sun and an intention to reform life and society. It is partly identified with the culture of nudity, naturism and nudism in the sense of communal nudity of people and families in leisure time, sport and everyday life.
A typical FKK designated area signage. Despite the general anglicisation, the recognised German abbreviation "FKK" is still used in Croatia and many other European countries.
Freilicht (Open Air) by German painter and photographer Max Friedrich Koch, ca. 1894: Early German nudists outdoors engaging in the athletic sport tug of war. One of many themed Freilicht photos by Max Koch depicting nudists outdoors.
Illustration by Heinrich Zille (1858–1929), titled "As the outdoor public swimming pool appeared", postcard print 1919
Young East German women at a naturist beach in Rostock, 1988
Lebensreform ("life-reform") is the German generic term for various social reform movements, that started since the mid-19th century and originated especially in the German Empire and later in Switzerland. Common features were the criticism of industrialisation, materialism and urbanization combined with striving for the state of nature. The painter and social reformer Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach is considered to be an important pioneer of the Lebensreform ideas. The various movements did not have an overarching organization, but there were numerous associations. Whether the reform movements of the Lebensreform should be classified as modern or as anti-modern and reactionary is controversial. Both theses are represented.
One of the many aspects of the Lebensreform was healthy reform clothing. This picture from 1911 shows probably a Dutch woman who wears a dress in so-called reform style without a tight-laced corset.
The Reformhaus health food stores in Germany have their historical roots in the alternative nutrition of the Lebensreform movement.