Hambach

By Sean Garfield

            The Experiential Learning Group ventured to Hambach this week to visit the famous Hambach Castle.  This area holds special significance to Germany, since it was here where the first democratic movement in the county began.  Our group was to visit the castle in order to gain a better understanding of this particular part of German culture as well as to take in the fantastic sights around the castle.

            We journeyed to Hambach via bus.  When we arrived at the city after a rather uneventful drive, we all stopped for a second and noticed something.  The town was remarkably small.  Unlike many other areas we have visited that were in cities and the like, the small town of Hambach nestled in the German Palatinate is home to only about 750 residents.  We all wondered how such a small place could be of such historical significance to the country.

            The ascent up the hill to the castle was a bit unnerving due to the narrowness of the roads.  When we finally arrived at the castle, we all took a look at how high up we were.  It was as if we were at the peak of a mountain, looking at the town below and acres upon acres of meadowlands.  The castle sat a bit higher than I anticipated, but I was stunned by the beautiful scenery nonetheless.  Eventually, our tour guide arrived to describe the castle.  Evidently, the castle constructed as a series of repairs and updates.  Most of them came from a medieval update to the then Roman fortress-style, and then a large-scale repair effort was made to repair half of the structure after a war damaged it.  We also noticed a much more recent style on the outer wall of the castle.  A restaurant was made here overlooking the Palatinate, with all new building and interior design.   When we entered the castle, we were surprised to see that a lot of the interior was similarly new and modernized.  The main hall looked more like a fancy town meeting hall than a castle interior, as did many of the other rooms.  The guide explained that many different events are carried out in the castle, like political meetings and even weddings, so that a new style was adopted to accommodate for them.  I thought that it looked really cool and high-tech for a centuries old castle of all things.

            Next, we headed upstairs into the museum.  It featured a lot of different period pieces from the 1830’s like clothing, pamphlets, and mechanical devices.  This is where I learned the true significance of Hamburg and the castle.  In 1832 an event known as the Hambach Festival took place in the castle.  Here, many German, French, and even Polish people met to hold political discussions and demonstrate against the ruling German governments who were increasing their taxes and censorship in Palatinate areas.  The people revolted against this tyranny and demanded that the government give them more rights.  Events like these were not rare in Europe at the time.  After the defeat of Napoleon, many monarchial families returned to power in their homelands formerly ruled by the French.  As such, they taxed the people more heavily, liquidated many provincial governments, and increased the amount of censorship within their lands.  Their people, who grew accustomed the rights they enjoyed as French citizens, would not have it.  This was especially true in countries like Poland whose borders were being taken by many different countries bit by bit.  We also saw relics like the important printing presses of the day, political pamphlets, and even the original black, red and yellow flag adopted by the Federal Democracy of Germany. 

            In the end, I was surprised by how much I was able to learn from our trip to Hambach.  I would’ve never imagined that such a small town could hold such historical importance to a country as large as Germany.  I suppose it goes to show that the place at which the seeds of democracy are planted does not matter so much as much as the growth of the ideal itself.

           

           

              Documents - Government and Administration: Confederation or Nation-State? In German History in Documents and Images.  Retrieved from http://www.germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=238