📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
It is already a good tradition that each year in spring a group of international volunteers meet in Grimburg castle to support the local heritage association. Built by the Trier archbishops around 1190, the castle has been destroyed and reconstructed several times. Awakened from its centuries-long sleep in 1978, a local group of volunteers started to reconstruct the castle again, including work on the very impressive castle keep. However, most parts are still a ruin and in the past years, efforts have been made to increase the castles accessibility and attractiveness of this unique site. Still today the castle is maintained by an association run by local volunteers. It has become a popular destination for hikers, as well as a site used for weddings, youth activities, historic markets and knights festivals. During the workcamp the local association will organise a small festival on the castle on May21st where they also need your help.
💼 What the programme involves
Come to Grimburg Castle, enjoy living on the castle and support the maintenance of the castles grounds. There will be two parts of work: 1. Maintenance of the castles grounds: Usually local volunteers care for the maintenance of the castle but due to the enormous workload; they really wait for your help. You will do various works: cut bushes and grass, protect the masonry, maintain the historic mediaeval herb garden and do some cleaning work in the castles and witches museum. The work will depend on the weather conditions. 2. Support the castles festival on May 21st: You will be involved in the local team of volunteers, help with the setting up, sell food and drinks and wash up dishes. Of course you will also celebrate together with the local volunteers A second huge topic is your support in the preparation and organisation of the castles festival. You will become a part of the local festival team and of course celebrate together with them.
🏠 Accommodation on site
The group will stay in one of the small towers of the castle ( you will feel a bit like you are living as former inhabitants of the castle did. At night you will have the castle for your own; you can make a campfire and enjoy living in the nature. The conditions are basic; you will use the first floor for sleeping (bunk beds) and the ground floor for cooking and eating. There is electricity but no running water in the tower itself. Toilets and a shower are within 50m. Of course, there is also no internet available. Please bring a sleeping bag.
📍 About the location
The castle Grimburg is overlooking the forests and valleys of the region called Hochwald ( high forest). The castle is quite isolated; the next village (the name is also Grimburg) is in a 2km distance, the next shops are in Hermeskeil (10km). The castle is surrounded by nature and you will have the chance to enjoy it (just go for a walk, make a campfire...). Nevertheless you will also meet local people and share time with them or make an excursion to Trier, the oldest German city with 100,000 inhabitants. Here you can find many historical sights (from the Roman period), many clubs and events (as it is a university town) and all other facilities.Attention: This project is only for volunteers who like simple life and enjoy the nature
ℹ️ Additional information
If you want to stay longer in Germany, you can combine this workcamp with the workcamp IBG 04 Hiking Link Aach. Both workcamps take place in the same region and you can easily travel by local train from one workcamp to the next on the same day.