Nude Germans want right to roam

I thought they left caves a while ago…

Germany is traditionally tolerant of nudity, but a plan to give naked ramblers their own wilderness path is still some way from the sunny uplands.

A campsite manager, Heinz Ludwig, aims to establish Germany’s first official naked ramblers’ footpath – an 18km (11-mile) route in the Harz Mountains.

“But some people are against – it is not directly supported by the community,” he told BBC News.

“I want people to calm down, then we’ll try again next year.”

But he says fans of Freikoerperkultur – Free Body Culture, or FKK for short – have expressed support for the scheme. It would attract naturists to the Wippra and Dankerode areas, in the central German mountain range.

Fully-clothed walkers would be free to use the path, too.

“It’s a secluded area, away from traffic,” Mr Ludwig said. “In the GDR [former communist East Germany] people used to bathe there, too.”

He says some keen naturists have already tested the trail. The plan is to open it officially next May.

A sign has been put up warning those averse to naturism that they might prefer to go elsewhere.

“If you don’t want to see people with nothing on then you should refrain from moving on,” it reads.

The path is overgrown in places, so some funding would be needed to tidy it up and maintain it, Mr Ludwig said.