Chiemgauer

The Chiemgauer is a regional currency in Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria, Germany. It was created by Christian Gelleri in 2003 and named after the Chiemgau, a region around the Chiemsee lake. Gelleri was inspired by the economist Silvio Gesell. The Chiemgauer is intended to increase local employment, support local culture, promote sustainability, and stimulate the local economy. It is one of the longest sustained and most successful implementations of demurrage currency since 1900.

Bills of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 Chiemgauer are issued. In 2006, an electronic form of the Chiemgauer, the "eChiemgauer", was established through cooperation with cooperative and local banks. Between 2003 and 2015, the demurrage rate was 2% per quarter, or 8% per year. As of 2021, the demurrage rate is 3% every six months, or 6% per year for the paper money form. In the digital form of the Chiemgauer, the demurrage rate is calculated daily (6% divided by 365 days = 0.016% per day). The demurrage rate does not start until after holding the currency for the first 90 days.