Hiking? This is how it’s done

That seems to be the motto of many people who spend their free time in hiking boots. Hiking is on trend. This is apparent from the vast range of tourist activities on offer in hiking regions. Various trade fairs and festivals devoted to the outdoors, hiking magazines and the social media channels of young influencers are all part of an image shift that is transforming the idea of hiking as a folksy hobby for older people to a fashionable lifestyle choice.

Over the centuries, hiking changed from a necessary means of transportation to a popular leisure activity. Up until the beginning of industrialisation, transporting goods and people was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking. As a result, travel was considered a luxury.
Hiking, or in this case walking long distances, was undertaken either as a pilgrimage for religious or moral reasons or because it was a necessary part of day-to-day life and work. This was the fate of domestic farm workers, who received their annual wage on February 2nd each year (Candlemas Day). Because many of them would also be entering new employment on that date, the day became the known as the ‘Wandertag der Dienstboten’, a day when servants would walk to their new employers.

The expansion of the transport infrastructure in the course of the 19th century played a key role in developing hiking regions as destinations. When the main railway lines were constructed in 1880, they opened up new possibilities for getting to hiking regions faster. As the railway network became more and more dense, hiking clubs sprung up all over – and were mostly the preserve of the bourgeoisie. 

The slogan of the Schwäbische Albverein, or Swabian Alb hiking club, is “Wer schlug den Weg in Fels und Stein? Es war der Schwäbische Albverein!”. While the origin of this slogan is unfortunately unknown, it describes one of the most important activities carried out by hiking clubs past and present, namely making natural landscapes accessible and ‘furnishing’ these with hiking trails, huts and viewing towers. Although it’s often inferred that hiking tourists enter into an untouched wilderness, in truth this is no longer the case today.

It is commonly thought that humans nowadays are disconnected from nature but still feel a strong urge to spend time in nature. For most people, natural spaces are aesthetically charged spaces that offer relaxation and a place to which to retreat from the demands of urban life. The concept of ‘untouched nature’ as opposed to ‘landscapes made by humans’ and the values these concepts embody are deeply embedded in our cultural heritage. They were shaped during the Romanticist movement, when painters, poets and scholars created the ideal of an untouched, wild and beautiful nature.

Pins and badges are small metal souvenirs that can be attached to hiking hats or poles. They are reminders of events, showing locations where the hiker has been or hiking routes taken. They are proof of a tourist journey undertaken, turning any hiking hat or pole into a trophy and a personal memento. 

Hiking is for everyone! There is lots of information and advice available online to find out how to get started. A successful hiker is someone who has the stamina to reach the hiking destination and can prove it. Nowadays, selfies and social media posts provide the proof. Another possibility is to use the stickers from Baden-Württemberg’s image campaign. Tourists and hikers are discovering more and more of these stickers in some of the world’s most remote places. The slogan on the sticker reads “Nett hier. Aber waren Sie schon mal in Baden-Württemberg?” (Nice here. But have you been to Baden-Württemberg?) And now you can say: I’ve been there!