Develops sustainable living and community-oriented spaces.
Freudenau Genossenschaft is a recently established housing cooperative located near the Lichtensteig train station in Switzerland. The organisation was officially founded on 19 February 2024 in the Bahnhalle Lichtensteig. Its origins lie in the broader “zukunft.bahnhof” initiative, which aims to develop the area surrounding the old railway hall into a site for sustainable living, culture, and commerce. The cooperative’s founding marks a new phase in community-led, regenerative neighbourhood development for the region. Its model includes not only cooperative housing but also dedicates space for cultural activities, gastronomy, and various commercial uses. The site is a few meters from the Lichtensteig train station, enabling convenient access from hubs such as St. Gallen and Zurich. Currently, Freudenau Genossenschaft is engaging local and regional stakeholders through participatory workshops and public events. In 2025, it hosted its inaugural general assembly and organized communal gatherings and cultural events in the Bahnhalle. Activities on the site already blend living, working, and social participation, with planned expansions to add hospitality offerings and further workspaces. Freudenau Genossenschaft is closely integrated with the vision of creating a mixed-use, future-oriented neighbourhood that actively experiments with new forms of community and sustainability. Information about financing, membership numbers, and further construction timelines is not detailed publicly at this stage, as the cooperative is still in its early implementation phase.