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Kulturlandschaft
Trithemius

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?

vSpacer Wine tasting in the Nahe Valley (Nahe Valley, Hunsrück)

Nahe Wine Queen (1988-1989)
Margit Klein-Forster from Bretzenheim on the Nahe (right).

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