The "Sauerland Mountain Association", (Sauerländischer Gebirgsverein, briefly "SGV") is an association for

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and

Nordic Walking Nordic walking is a Finland, Finnish-origin total-body version of walking that can be done both by non-athletes as a health-promoting physical activity and by athletes as a sport. The activity is performed with specially designed walking poles sim ...

in the

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of the States of Germany, German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. ...

area in Germany. It was founded in 1891 by forest administrator Ernst Ehmsen and local historian Karl Féaux de Lacroix from

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; ) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Ho ...

(Sauerland) and has about 50,000 members. The Association organises events and is involved in the area of the

nature conservation Nature conservation is the ethic/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values ...

. The association takes care of numerous footpathes and trails, for instance the

Rothaarsteig The Rothaarsteig is a 154.80 km long hiking trail along the crest of the Rothaargebirge mountain range in Germany in the border region between the states of North Rhine-Westphalia (NW) and Hesse (HE). It was opened in 2001. Overview Th ...

, the Sauerland-Höhenflug (in German) and the Ruhrhöhenweg (in German), and marks them with signs on behalf of the nature preservation authorities of the state

Northrhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a state () in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the most populous state in Germany. Apart from the city-states (Berlin, Hamburg and Br ...

. The length of the trails is altogether about 34,000 km, 4,300 km of these are classified as long distance trails. The association also cares about areas outside the Sauerland, namely the Ruhr valley area, the Münsterland, the

Bergisches Land The Bergisches Land (, ) is a low mountain range in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, east of the Rhine and south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by forests, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over twenty artificial lakes ...

and the

Siegerland The Siegerland is a region of Germany covering the old district of Siegen (now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia) and the upper part of the district of Altenkirchen, belonging to the Rhineland-Palatinate adjoin ...

. For its members, the SGV publishes the magazine "Kreuz & Quer" (four times the year) with a circulation of 46,000 copies. Editor in chief is the

Iserlohn Iserlohn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Iserlaun'') is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and the Sauerland region. Geogr ...

-based journalist Thomas Reunert. In October, 2006 the delegates elected the head of the district authority of the

Märkischer Kreis The Märkischer Kreis (, ) is a district ('' Kreis'') in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Unna, Soest, Hochsauerland, Olpe, Oberbergischer Kreis, Ennepe-Ruhr, and the city of Hagen. History The district wa ...

, Aloys Steppuhn, as president of the SGV.

Literature

* Walter Hostert: "Geschichte des Sauerländischen Gebirgsvereins - Idee und Tat - Gestern - Heute - Morgen". - In German. (History of the Sauerland mountain association - idea and action - Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow") Arnsberg 1966. * Susanne Falk: "Der Sauerländische Gebirgsverein - Vielleicht sind wir die Modernen von übermorgen." - In German. (The Sauerland mountain association - Maybe we are the modernists from the day after tomorrow) Bouvier publishing, Bonn 1990, .

External links

Homepage of the SGV
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sauerlandischer Gebirgsverein Organisations based in North Rhine-Westphalia Sauerland 1891 establishments in Germany Sports organizations established in 1891 Hiking organisations in Germany