City history: The meeting of the hiking clubs 1928 in Bocholt

In its series "The historical photo of the month", the Bocholt municipal archive this time recalls a meeting of hiking clubs in 1928.

"Wer recht in Freuden wandern will, der geh' der Sonn' entgegen entgegen " - these lines from an old folk song could have been the motivation for six young people from Bocholt who founded the Bocholter Wanderverein in September 1913. A love of nature, exercise in the fresh air, and exploring the sights of the respective region were further motives of the hiking enthusiasts more than 100 years ago. Although the First World War hardly permitted such leisure activities, the hiking movement revived in the 1920s. In 1928, the oldest local Bocholt club celebrated its 15th anniversary.

Many guests from the surrounding area

For this anniversary, the association's executive committee organized a so-called "Überbündisches Wandertreffen" in Bocholt on September 8 and 9, 1928, in which numerous associations from the Münster and Rhineland regions participated. The event also served to promote hiking and as an advertisement for the German youth hostels. Thus, the chairman Heinrich Klein was able to welcome, among others, the hiking and tourist club "Falk" (Stadtlohn), the "Fahrenden Gesellen" from Rees, the "Naturfreunde" from Vreden, the hiking associations "Wettertrotz" (Dortmund) and "Frisch voran" (Marl) as well as the two other Bocholt groups Evangelischer Arbeiterinnenverein and Sozialistische Arbeiterjugend.

The hiking clubs arrived in Bocholt on Saturday and moved into their assigned quarters, including the youth hostel set up in November 1926 in a rear building on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse 35/37. As a prelude, a large publicity rally with the performance of folk dances and musical contributions took place in the evening on the market square with the participation of a considerable crowd of spectators.

On Sunday morning, the people of Bocholt were awakened by the cheerful playing of violins, mandolins, and drumsticks by the hiking clubs. These went singing to the meadow at the Kaiser-Friedrich-Straße (today Berliner Platz), where old German play and popular dances were on the program. The picture taken on September 9, 1928 shows the camp life of the Wanderverein Bocholt there. The young people, among them the later board member Josef Hemsing (in front), wear the usual costumes of their association, and the young women take care of the so-called "Abkochen" to feed all participants. Incidentally, the hiking meeting was favored by beautiful late summer weather, so that one could speak of an all-around successful event.