Ahaus, a town of 40,000 inhabitants in western Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state, has been recognized as the country’s smartest community, showcasing innovative digitalization and futuristic amenities that are redefining urban living.
Ahaus: Visiting Germany’s ‘Smartest’ Town
Ahaus, a town of 40,000 inhabitants in western Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state, has been recognized as the country’s smartest community. For over a decade, it has served as a real-world laboratory for urban digitalization, attracting around 1,000 tourists each year.
Modernizing the Past
Founded almost 1000 years ago, Ahaus holds many surprises, old and new. One of its bigger hotels, Smartel, was formerly named the Ratshotel Residenz, which used to be the largest hotel in town. In the early 2000s, after struggling to find a new owner, Ahaus-based digitization company Tobit decided to turn the hotel’s fortunes around by modernizing the building and equipping its 44 rooms with the latest smart-home technology.
QR-Codes Galore
What’s striking in this medium-sized German town is the huge number of blue-and-white circular stickers with QR codes attached to virtually everything. These stickers provide an easy way to digitally book, pay for, and unlock many amenities. They can be found on restaurant tables, hotel doors, riverboats, rental bicycles, supermarket shelves, and even on the games cabinet in the town park.
A Hub of Innovation
At the end of 2024, Ahaus was crowned the smartest rural municipality in Germany following the nationwide “Digital Places 2024” contest organized by the Deutschland — Land der Ideen initiative. The government-sponsored campaign aims to enhance Germany’s international visibility as a hub of ideas and innovation and is supported by business and civil society.
Halt to Urban Decline
For Margarete, a caregiver from nearby Velen, the Ahaus experience provides a glimpse of what the future in her hometown could look like. She has joined us on the guided tour and laments that in Velen, local supermarkets are no longer available, and dinner reservations must be made days in advance.
Digitalization to the Rescue
So-called urban decline is a problem for many smaller towns in Germany due to population loss, economic stagnation, and lack of investment. Small shops and cinemas are disappearing, while hospitality businesses struggle to find staff and customers. In Ahaus, however, finding enough people to work at tourist attractions is no longer an issue. Humans are no longer required at the boat rental service situated near the town’s baroque water castle.
Cashless and Conflict-Free
In the bars and pubs of Ahaus, staffing needs are minimal as bartenders and waiters only serve what guests have prepaid online, eliminating disputes over bills and age verification. Users’ data is stored in their Chayns account. According to Tobit, almost 80% of all hospitality businesses in Ahaus use the Chayns app.
Local Currency
Benedikt Hommöle, head of Ahaus Marketing & Tourism, thinks tech companies like Tobit find it easier to pilot their beta-phase projects in the town because the municipality and its residents are on board. “We embrace the living lab concept. We’re the guinea pigs, but in return, we have things here that others don’t,” he told DW.
One frequently replicated digital concept is the so-called city voucher, a local digital currency that has been emulated by more than 70 municipalities. In Ahaus, vouchers are used as welcome gifts to new residents and the winners of the weekly online quiz. Employers also use city vouchers to distribute monthly subsidies to workers.
A Beacon for Germans
As Ahaus is situated close to Germany’s border with the Netherlands, the town is popular with Dutch tourists. At the end of our tour, Peter Sommer recalls a recent visit by mayors of 10 Dutch towns and cities, which are known for being more open to all things digital than Germany.
For Germans, Ahaus feels like pure science fiction. The Dutch visitors merely stated, “Not bad for Germany.
