Poetry Trail Much

In early 2003, the MuchMarketing association came up with the idea of ​​equipping one of the many hiking trails with poetry plaques – a project that was realized in 2004 by the Westphalian lyric poet Arnold Leifert, who had lived in Much since 1973, in collaboration with the Siegburg graphic designer Niklas Schütte and MuchMarketing, financed by the marketing association and a private sponsor.

The decision was made to use the well-known and popular panoramic circular route, which is a "home path" for the residents of Much on Sunday walks and offers visitors an impressive opportunity to get to know the town and municipality of Much in its unique, natural, Bergisch character.

In the summer of 2004, the 12 poetry plaques were erected by the author himself, and in September 160 visitors from near and far met at the Hotel FIT, the only restaurant directly on the path, to open the "Lyrikweg Much" to the public for the first time with an opening celebration.

Mayor Alfred Haas and Karl Werner Schmitz, chairman of MuchMarketing, opened the festival, a reading by Arnold Leifert, supported by the Berlin accordionist Cathrin Pfeifer, who gave a concert with her band at the end.

Since 2005, four seasonal hikes have taken place, poetry hikes led by Arnold Leifert, a Nordic walking event organized by the VHS Rhein-Sieg, led by Felicitas Schulze, and several privately organized hikes, with and without the author.

Beyond the hikes, other literary events took place along the Much Poetry Trail, including a meeting with the Bosnian poet Stevan Tontic from Sarajevo in 2006, two excursions from Straße der Arbeit - Museumsstraße for the Bergisches Land region, and a seminar within the annual meeting of the Association of German Writers NRW in Nümbrecht.

Arnold Leifert died suddenly and unexpectedly at his home on September 6, 2012. His last project, initiated along the Poetry Trail, was completed in 2013. An alternative route from Rossbruch (following the orange symbol of the "Bergischer Weg" trail) through the town, featuring four additional poetry plaques, was created.