People of the Nahe valley
In the Nahe valley Celtic, Roman and Franconian influences mingle together. Local
people here have had to experience life under many different rulers. These
experiences create resilient people, able to survive life's ups and downs, and even
able to find positive aspects to them. Someone who has to suffer different rulers
and who recognises their weaknesses obviously also learns how to benefit from these.
The famous German faith in authority is therefore rather weak in this region. The
inhabitants of the Nahe are quite realistic and stand with both feet on the ground,
particularly because there is so much to celebrate at the Nahe. So whatever they do,
whether working or celebrating they do not compromise. This is why it is not actually
a compliment if somebody is described as "der hot schon an alle Strick gezoh, awwer
noch käner verriss!" (German with local accent for: "He pulled on all strings, but
none has broken so far").
Adapted from O. Conrad: An der Nahe, Görres-Verlag Koblenz 1986
Hunsrück people
Living and working high up in the mountains is said to be a harsh way of life.
There one needs to be careful, sometimes even suspicious, but always diligent.
Diligence is an absolute must here, as many Hunsrück people had only their
farming harvest to live on. This was eventually complemented by day wages
from working in the slate mines or the few industrial companies in the area).
Familiar with the daily fight with nature, the typical inhabitant of this
region is realistic, and knows what is important. He/she is modest and thrifty,
but not stingy. Rather, he/she is hospitable and friendly, often capable of
great cheerfulness, and possessing a great sense of humour, which may occasionally
be slightly coarse in nature. Even though their homeland seems meagre, cold
and even poor, the inhabitants are proud of their region, since they were
born here, speak the local dialect and display the local character. The director
Edgar Reitz, born in a Hunsrück village named Morbach, produced a famous film
about family life in the Hunsrück ("Heimat"), thus creating a memorial to
not only "Schabbach" but the entire region. Since then a growing number of
people unfamiliar with the region appear to recognize the name "Hunsrück",
are able to find the region on a map, and maybe even understand the meaning
of "Eich sinn in Hunsricker!" (German in local accent: "I'm from Hunsrück!")
on a car sticker.
Adapted from O. Conrad und P. Conrad:
Hunsrück — Land und Leute, Rhenania Verlag Koblenz 1981
Curious about the traditional costumes of the Hunsrück and Nahe region?