Breisach am Rhein has a lot to offer. Interested visitors can immerse themselves in over 1,650 years of history. And as in any city, there are tour guides who show tourists around with enthusiasm and expertise. But the major problem in recent years has been that there weren’t enough tour guides in Breisach. There were only a handful of dedicated tour guides, who—even before the pandemic—could barely keep up with the demand for guided tours.
Scope of Training According to the BVGB Standard
As a result, Breisach Touristik and Freiburg Kultour decided to jointly organize a basic tour guide training program for Breisach in accordance with the guidelines of the Federal Association of Tour Guides in Germany (BVGD). The project had to be postponed twice due to the pandemic. But in March 2022, it was finally able to begin: a group of motivated candidates undertook a program of over 160 hours, consisting of lectures, exercises, seminars, and field trips. At the end of the three-month training program, the candidates still had to pass three exams—oral, written, and practical. And then the big day arrived: on June 24, 2022, seven new tour guides received their tour guide certificates in the Citizens’ Hall of City Hall from Mayor Oliver Rein, who had generously supported the project. For example, municipal facilities were made available free of charge, and outstanding speakers—such as City Archivist Uwe Fahrer, Beate Schätzle, and Annette Senn—came from among the city’s staff. All of Breisach’s cultural institutions were, of course, an integral part of the training, and so the curriculum spanned topics ranging from the cathedral—the city’s landmark—to the Museum of City History and on to the Blue House, Breisach’s memorial and educational center dedicated to the history of the Jews on the Upper Rhine. The new tour guides are now well-equipped to introduce the growing stream of visitors to all facets of the city and its history. As “the city’s calling cards,” as Mayor Rein put it in his speech, they will ensure that Breisach remains one of the most important tourist destinations on the Upper Rhine.
Freiburg Kultour congratulates all the new Breisach tour guides on successfully completing their training: Dr. Stephan Mutke, Ms. Heike Dewaldt, Ms. Irmtraud Grimm, Ms. Petra Eha, Ms. Annette Mangel, Ms. Christine Fichter, and Ms. Susanne Kritzer. We look forward to further projects in collaboration with the city of Breisach and the Kaiserstuhl region.
Photo: Freiburg Kultour, Eberhard Kopp
