From cities to mountain resorts, Swiss youth hostels have offered affordable lodging for almost 100 years and recently increasingly luxurious amenities. The Zürcher Genossenschaft our Errichtung von Jugendherbergen was founded in 1924 and at first listed 12 Youth Hostels. One year later, there were already 53 and they constructed their first purpose-built hostel in the 1930s. Since 1993, the "Stiftung für Sozialtourismus" defines guidelines for the construction and maintenance of youth hostels, specifying, for example, that each room has an entrance zone with a cloakroom or that every bed is equipped with a small reading light and a mobile phone holder. Among the Youth Hostels strengths is the concentration on architecturally valuable buildings in prominent locations. These are often historic buildings, such as former castles, industrial structures or even a former sanatorium, thus contributing to the preservation of Swiss building culture. Here's a photographic exploration of the Swiss Youth Hostels in Basel, Bern, Crans-Montana, Sans-Fee and Scuol.