Giant Mountains Association

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Giant Mountains Association (RGV)
RGV Logo 1918.svg
RGV logo from 1918
Founded 1880
Place of foundation Hirschberg
societies 11 local groups
Members 1,000
Homepage www.riesengebirgsverein.de

The Riesengebirgsverein (RGV) is a hiking and traditional association based in Düsseldorf , which emerged from the association of the same name based in the former German Hirschberg (today Jelenia Góra ). Since the Krkonoše Mountains are missing as a specific support area, the association pursues a supra-regional orientation. This is entered in the register of associations of the Düsseldorf District Court.

history

Foundation and first beginnings

It was founded on August 1, 1880 by Theodor Donat (1844–1890) and some notables in the Silesian Hirschberg. At the same time, the Austrian Riesengebirgsverein (ÖRGV) was founded in succession to the " Hohenelber Gebirgsverein".

The first chairman of the association was Carl Bassenge , the mayor of Hirschberg, who headed the association until 1889. Initially, the association consisted of 14 local groups with 875 members. Unlike the sections of the Alpine Club, the local groups are not independent associations under an umbrella club. Such groups were founded in many cities of the German Reich (e.g.  Glogau , Grünberg , Breslau , Stettin , Posen (until 1914), Berlin , Strasbourg ) and even outside of Germany in New York , USA.

A delegation of the RGV in 1938 at the German Hiking Day in Stuttgart

From 1899 to 1921 Hugo Seydel headed the association as chairman, followed by Karl Arthur Hartung until 1923 . In 1925 the organization reached 16,000 members in 92 local chapters. The annual fee was two to three marks and was the main source of income, because the state funding was only small. The activities of the RGV were nonetheless varied. The most urgent task was to develop the Giant Mountains for tourism. Over the years, many volunteers have laid out a 3000 km network of trails in the mountains and the vicinity of the Hirschberg Valley , added trail markings and contributed to preserving what had been created.

In these activities, nature conservation was given a very high priority and many members actively helped to protect the flora and fauna of the Giant Mountains. This led to the establishment of the "Silesian Mountain Rescue Service" in 1927, »which protects the homeland, especially the local mountains from damage of all kinds, protection and preservation of the flora, protection of the animal world, protection of the mountains themselves and their hiking trails and the" good hiking habits " «Had the task.

The construction of the weather station on the Schneekoppe goes back to the initiative of the RGV , as well as the creation of a total of 20 inexpensive youth hostels. Under his leadership, the Giant Mountains Museum in Hirschberg (today: "Muzeum Karkonoskie w Jeleniej Górze") was founded as the first German museum of local history. The association also had its own library, which was run in close scientific cooperation with the University of Wroclaw .

In 1932, following a resolution at the 52nd Annual General Meeting, the RGV became a member of the German Hiking Association .

time of the nationalsocialism

After the National Socialist seizure of power , the non-political guiding principles were not upheld for long. In April 1933, the Main Board known to the policies of Hitler and was brought into line . In 1937 Paul Blümel headed the association as chairman. He was followed by Fritz Schmige from 1938 to 1940 . In 1939 the RGV was commissioned to hold the 48th  German Hiking Day , the First Greater German Hiking Day , from July 13th to 16th in Hirschberg.

Only a little later, with the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, the Second World War began , after the end of which the German population of Silesia had lost their homeland and the Giant Mountains Association had lost their territory.

Post War and Reconstruction

After the war, the former chief treasurer Alfred Höhne sought contact with other RGV members and initiated the re-establishment. This took place on August 8, 1951 at the second German Hiking Day after the Second World War in Iserlohn. The association was supported by the Swabian Alb Association in the form of a sponsorship that still exists today. In addition to the former founding goals, sociability and environmental awareness were increased. At that time there was also the hope of being able to return to the old homeland.

On November 23, 1984 the Giant Mountains Association was awarded the Eichendorff plaque by Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker .

Today's club life

The club newspaper is still published today, which was called "The Wanderer in the Riesengebirge" from 1881 to 1943 and was then renamed "The Wanderer in the Riesengebirgsverein eV". The current edition can be accessed via the menu item “The Wanderer” on the association's website and is available for download there. Although the Giant Mountains are still of great importance for the club today, it is no longer the sole focus. In addition to preserving Silesian traditions, the main focus of the association today is hiking and community. The programs of the local hiking groups range from hikes in the Giant and Jizera Mountains , in the Alps and in the German low mountain ranges to missions to preserve and beautify nature. As part of the overall association, an annual membership meeting is organized by one of the local groups. It is also a matter of course for the entire association to take part in the German Hiking Days.

The association writes on its homepage:

"60 years after his expulsion from the care area of ​​the Giant Mountains and its adjacent mountains, he has around 1000 enthusiastic members, and new hiking friends are constantly being added."

- About us

In the meantime, the RGV has again a number of local groups, some of which are newly founded, others (almost) unbroken, continue the old tradition:

It must be noted here that it is also a big problem for the RGV to attract enough younger members.

The association can only partially set the traditional focus in the Giant Mountains “from a distance”. But he writes:

“If we have made you curious about the Giant Mountains (Karkonosze in Polish, Krkonoše in Czech), and share with us your enthusiasm for the Rübezahl realm , then why not spend your next vacation there . Get to know the Silesian Mountains on the Polish-Czech border in the triangle between Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. "

- The Giant Mountains

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.riesengebirgsverein.de/der-riesengebirgsverein/ueber-uns/ueber-uns.html
  2. ↑ VR 8186
  3. ^ Founding of the Austrian Riesengebirgsverein (ÖRGV). Retrieved March 16, 2016 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e The Giant Mountains Association. Retrieved March 15, 2016 . (PDF; 99 kB)
  5. ↑ http://www.gea.de/region+reutlingen/reutlingen/bewegung+bendet+der+mensch.4087678.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.wanderindex.de/wanderverbaende/hauptverband/eichendorffplakette.html
  7. ↑ With Weser water to the Alhambra ( Memento from March 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive )