European cultural long-distance hiking trail Huguenot and Waldensian trails
The European cultural long-distance hiking trail Huguenots and Waldensians is part of a cooperation of many partners in Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. They are committed to maintaining awareness of the historical cultural heritage of the Huguenots and Waldensians . They would also like to connect the cultural hiking trail with the topics of exile , migration and integration . In 2013, the Huguenot and Waldensian Trail was included in the Council of Europe's list of cultural trails .
overview
In Germany, a sponsoring association was founded in June 2009 in the Huguenot town of Neu-Isenburg , which is committed to the implementation of these goals and the realization of the cultural long-distance hiking trail in Germany. This includes public relations and information work, exhibitions and cultural events, advice to association members, support in setting up the cultural long-distance hiking trail and in marketing it. The project is also organized in the form of an association in the French partner regions by the sponsoring association Sur les pas des Huguenots . The project coordination for the partner cantons in Switzerland is carried out by the VIA Foundation with headquarters in Bern . In Italy the partner is the Waldensian Cultural Center Foundation in Torre Pellice in Piedmont.
Further information and historical background
Huguenots
Huguenots is the name in use for French Protestants since 1560. Their beliefs are strongly influenced by the teaching of John Calvin . The Huguenots were severely persecuted in France, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. The persecution under Louis XIV from 1685 onwards in particular triggered a wave of refugees of a quarter of a million Huguenots into the surrounding Protestant countries.
Waldenses
The Waldensians are today a Protestant Reformed Church with a large presence in Italy. Originally founded as an association of religious lay people in the 12th century by the Lyon merchant Petrus Valdes in southern France and persecuted by the Inquisition , the Waldensians formed one of the most important groups of dissident Christians in Western history during the Middle Ages.
Goals and principles
The work of the "Huguenot and Waldensian Path" association is based on the results of a long-term cooperation with partners in France, Italy and Switzerland. This partnership was established as part of a transnational cooperation within the framework of the EU structural funding " LEADER ", initiated in 2004 by LEADER regions in Hesse and in the French department of Rhône-Alpes . In recent years, a large number of municipalities, districts and associations in Germany and France have been added to the partner regions, and partners have also been found in Switzerland and Italy. The 1,800 km long cultural hiking trail leads through areas where the cultural heritage of the Huguenots and Waldensians can be experienced.
The most important results of this European cooperation partnership are:
- The joint development of a tourism market and marketing study (PDF), which shows the basics for the tourism marketing of the cultural long-distance hiking trail.
- The development of a corporate design , a joint, binding word and image mark for signposting and marking, for publications and presentations by the partners (see logo).
- The development of a joint international quality charter, which is to be specified in national quality manuals.
- The development and definition of a route for the cultural long-distance hiking trail in all four participating countries.
aims
The creation of the path aims to achieve the following goals:
- Preservation and awareness of the common cultural Huguenot and Waldensian heritage, among other things through recognition as a “ European cultural path ” by the Council of Europe, provided that this recognition process is financed.
- Increase in regional added value through quality tourism
- Promotion of European awareness and cooperation through meeting people
Core values
The following basic values form the basis of the project:
- Learning from history, the project partners undertake to treat each other in a tolerant manner and to uphold tolerance as a guideline that gives their partners an identity, be it donors, private individuals or institutions. The topic of Huguenots and Waldensians is presented on an equal footing.
- The project is non-partisan and non-denominational.
- In line with the AGENDA idea of Rio de Janeiro, the actors pay attention to social, ecological and economic sustainability.
- The route, presentation of historical references and marketing attach great importance to the authenticity of history, culture, cultural heritage and nature through access via all senses.
- The theme of the path integrates values of modernity, networking, interactivity and internationality.
A charter of values and quality should give all those involved in the project a binding framework for the forms and content of international and national campaigns. It allows service providers to be tied to the values and common actions. With the layout of the paths, the infrastructure, the tourist offers and in marketing, the quality is based on the values of well-being, comfort and hospitality.
Cultural experiences along the way
In Germany
Flyer from the city of Hanau
City of Pforzheim (1)
City of Pforzheim (2)
Flyer Friedrichsdorf
Flyer of the Huguenot city of Neu-Isenburg
Route in the four countries
Germany
Starting from the Swiss border town of Schaffhausen , which is important for the history of the exile of the refugees , the cultural long-distance hiking trail runs through the Hegau and the southern Black Forest , further along the Neckar and then leads directly to Neuhengstett , the southernmost Waldensian town. Continuing north through the Kraichgau , the path runs through the Waldensian villages there, binds Pforzheim with a loop and then continues north. After crossing the Neckar, he moves on through the Odenwald to come to the Waldensian villages Rohrbach , Wembach and Hahn in the southern Rhine-Main area. Here the path makes a bend towards Walldorf , then runs through Neu-Isenburg to move north through Frankfurt into the Taunus . Offenbach , Hanau and Waldensberg are connected to this main route by a spacious loop. In the Taunus, the path crosses several places, meets the Lahn and then moves through the Hessian hinterland to Marburg . From here the route continues north through the Burgwald , the Kellerwald and the north Hessian mountainous region to the northern end point Bad Karlshafen .
The principle of the route is to use existing hiking trails with the highest possible quality. Part of the route is certified quality hiking trails. The aim is to achieve this quality level on the largest possible route sections, but at least to meet the project's own quality criteria set out in the quality charter. The route in Germany is around 1,000 kilometers without the loops and is marked and signposted throughout.
France
The Huguenot and Waldensian Trail begins in the south in Le Poët Laval, at the Protestant Museum. In France, the route under the name “Sur les pas des huguenots” leads first through the mountainous landscapes of the Diois , at the town it crosses the Drôme and leads through the Vercors mountains and over the Col de Menée down to the Isère valley . The path follows the river via Grenoble to Chambéry . Passing the Lac du Bourget and the town of Aix les Bains, it then moves north to the Geneva plain , where it joins the route of the Waldensian path “La strade dei Valdesi” coming from Italy. Large parts of the route in France are marked as part of the signposting.
Switzerland
The religious refugees had various options to pass through Switzerland, as several cantons had granted them limited right of residence and passage and also provided them with material support. The individual routes were correspondingly different. As a rule, the roads led north, with those refugees who could afford it embarking on the Aare or the Rhine . Others aimed at Schaffhausen , from where they traveled by stagecoach or on foot across the eastern Black Forest or the Swabian Alb into the German territories. Therefore, the map of historical route relationships in Switzerland shows a pattern of different routes and places that were preferred and visited. Signposting according to the cantonal systems can be expected from 2014.
Italy
The choice of the route in Italy is shaped on the one hand by the escape routes of the Waldensians from Piedmont towards Switzerland and Germany, on the other hand by the “Path of the Glorious Return”, whose route Waldensian returnees used to return to their homeland and to defend it . Both routes combine to form a large circular route in France; in Italy, the routes from the Pellice Valley and from Turin via the Susa Valley also combine to form a circular route through the valleys of Piedmont. The path of the Glorious Return is already marked.
Project structure and organization
The European cooperation project “In the footsteps of the Huguenots and Waldensians” is carried out by four national partners at the European level (Switzerland, Italy, France and Germany), who are supported by members at the national level. These consist of cities, municipalities and municipalities, districts, tourism organizations, nature parks, clubs and associations as well as other public and private members. In a project-specific marketing and design study, a logo and corporate design were developed, which are patented as a trademark on a European scale. The brand owner is the Pays de Diois region in the Rhône-Alpes department, one of the partner regions in the project. This region has passed on the rights of use to the contractually integrated partners in Europe; there are written transfer agreements for this.
Visual impressions
Waldensertal in Piedmont
Marking and logo
Fountain in Mühlacker who at Henri Arnaud recalls
Schwabendorf Village Museum
Monument to Count Philipp Ludwig II in Hanau
View of the Huguenot colony in Daubhausen
The Maison Rambaud in Greifenthal
Landscape near Bourdeaux
Bakery in Pinache
Street view in Kleinvillars
Individual evidence
- ^ Council of Europe: The Huguenot and Waldensian trail
- ↑ Homepage. Sur les pas des Huguenots , accessed on June 21, 2019 (French).
- ↑ VIA Foundation ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Foundation Waldensian Cultural Center
- ↑ Common international homepage (CH, DE, FR, IT)
- ↑ Values and Quality Charter
- ^ French project website Sur les pas des Huguenots
- ↑ Il glorioso rimpatrio dei Valdesi ( Memento of the original of October 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , archive.org, May 17, 2014.
