History
In a sense, E11 is the oldest European footpath among the ERA network. There is archeological evidence that messengers and traders followed the range of low hills in what is now Northern Germany, thousands of years ago. Especially after the Middle Ages, the route became a backbone of East-West trade. Pedlars and other travelers preferred the dry and sandy ridge to the swamps to the North and South of it. At present, ramblers feel the same for a different reason: the forested hilltops are more pleasant to walk in than the congested lower areas.
From 1970, a regional hiking trail in Germany was gradually extended into The Netherlands until in 1980 the twin cities Haarlem and Osnabruck could present an ongoing international long distance path from West of Amsterdam to the then internal German border in the Harz Mountains. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the unification of Germany in 1990, the need was felt to extend the trail to the East on a partially new course, partially making use of existing trails in the former East Germany.
Parallel to the extension of the European Union to the East, the E11 was extended over the existing network of Polish local and regional hiking trails. The extension of the E11 to Moscow through Lithuania and Latvia has not so far been possible, due to the absence of rambling organizations in the three countries involved.
Read more about this topic: E11 European Long Distance Path
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