Nello e. V.: How a hiking club Landau got moving!

Nello e. V.: How a hiking club Landau got moving!

On April 8, 1924, a remarkable association was founded in Landau, the hiking club Nello e. V. The founding fathers, including Josef Brand, Georg Burg and the Schrott family, staged a club together, which soon also captivated the youth of these families. They brought friends and other supporters with them, including prominent names such as Otto Burg and Eugen Frank. Richard Hermann, one of the founding members, spoke 50 years later of a "unique example of idealism, enthusiasm and selflessness". The club had set itself a clear purpose: the care of conviviality, music and hiking.

The official entry in the club register took place on March 1, 1927. In order to be included in the register, however, the founding members needed a memorable association name. This brought an amusing and bizarre anecdote with it: At the naming in February 1927 in Landau, a curious leaflet was discovered that had advertised a strangely named "Nello" apparatus, which supposedly separated flatulence into the atmosphere. The Landau police, worried about the supposed immoralities of the leaflet, had to collect it, but the hikers only encouraged their particularly creative naming. So the name "Nello" was born.

an unforgettable anniversary

A small anecdote to the name Nello tells of an event that remains unforgettable for many. Hans Blinn, the volunteer mayor of Landau and co-founder of the Elweftche club, remembered a memorable night in January 1970 in his laudation. On this evening, the Italian Maestro Nello Santi was in the city, and after his concert Saß Sahn with well-known cultural personalities in the "Hotel Body". The next morning, the local newspaper surprised with the headline that the Nello hiking club had "even more vigor than before". Maestro Santi, who did not speak a word of German, was moved to tears when he read that a hiking club had its name. When he realized that it was not him, he took it with humor and enjoyed his wine.

The name and subsequent development of the association was a great success for the Nelloans. Even today, the Nello hiking hut is often visited and is a sign of the sense of community and the joy of hiking. In addition to membership, it is also possible to acquire the book that captures the history of the association. This is available in the Landau coffee roaster and in the citizens' office in Rhodt.

For more information, see the current reporting on www.wochenblatt-reporter.de .