Religious communities in Germany own 381,455 hectares, which represents 2.3 percent of the country’s 16,585,000 hectares of arable land, Agrarheute reported on August 30 on data from research by the Thünen Institute.
Almost 80% of agricultural land is owned by individuals and organisations. The state owns 0.6% of agricultural land. Federal states own 2.9%, municipalities 3.8% and the state-owned Bodenvertungs- und-administrations GmbH (BVVG) owns 0.5% of agricultural land.
Title deeds to church lands are very old and incomplete, say researchers Andreas Tietz and Lena Hubertus. It is almost always possible to trace the rights back to either the Catholic or Protestant Church; however, it is impossible to clearly separate the rights of the two churches.
The Church in the GDR retained land rights even after joining the Federal Republic of Germany. in the GDR “Church land was farmed collectively, but property rights remained intact.”“The researchers note. After the acquisition, the old property rights came back into force.
In neighbouring Austria, the Church owns a much larger share of agricultural land. The Church is reforming its relations with tenants, prompting protests from farmers who have been cultivating the land for many years.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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