View of Hambach Castle

Nice view of the Hambach Castle.

The history of the emergence of the German nation state. This is where "Germany" came into being as we know it today - or at least the impetus was given here. Unfortunately, the ideals of the Hambacher have not been implemented. The nation state of Germany was an empire without freedom and equality. Strictly speaking, it took until 1990 (with 15 years of Weimar Republic in between) for a truly free German state to emerge. However, whether we are really that free - monitored by the social media octopuses Facebook, Google, etc...we'll see

"Come on, you German men and youths, [...], stream here" was the cry almost 200 years ago when citizens of Neustadt organized a festival at Hambach Castle in 1832 for a united German nation state and for freedom of the press and speech. This folk festival is still considered the cradle of democracy in Germany today. Hambach Castle, which can be seen far into the country, is the destination of our hike.We start from Maikammer. The area around the German Wine Route lives from winegrowing, from tourists, from its beautiful hilly landscape and the beautifully preserved and restored wine villages. Our path takes us along the Maikammer Art Trail, which was created in cooperation with the neighboring villages in 2021.Works of art such as an oversized hand and an oversized guardian line our path. We cross dark deciduous forests and vineyards, where we can already see the first grapes in spring.