HEILSBERG PATH (4 KM)

History Path: Displacement – Flight – New Beginning

The modern-day Bad Vilbel district of Heilsberg has a relatively young history: in 2023, it celebrated its 75th anniversary. Many settlements in the region are far older—but this history is special.

The path is a memorial, monument, and meeting place – conceived by the residents of Heilsberg for their district and its visitors. You are invited to trace the extraordinary development of Bad Vilbel – Heilsberg – a story that has much to do with new beginnings, hope, and solidarity.

The Background

In 1945, cities lay in ruins, industry was destroyed or dismantled. Families were torn apart, millions of people uprooted, exhausted. Around eleven million refugees and displaced persons streamed into the three Western occupation zones, searching for shelter, a new home.

In this situation, Frankfurt pastor Otto Fricke, head of the newly founded “Hilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland” (Relief Organization of the Protestant Church in Germany), together with Frankfurt building surveyor Herbert Böhm, developed an idea: a settlement for refugees and displaced persons was to be built on the “Vilbeler Höhe,” a former military site – “a city on the mountain.”

This path traces what has happened since then

From the role of the U.S. Army, to the arrival of the first construction helpers in 1946, the incredible will and energy with which people built a new home, to the gradual normalization of social and cultural life.

Join us on the long journey that the residents of Heilsberg have taken, despite the historically short period. A story that still shapes the district and its inhabitants today. Eleven information panels with historical photos and documents show how a fallow area became a vibrant district – a captivating experience.