200th birthday of Pastor Sebastian Kneipp
In the anniversary year “Kneipp 2021”, the Kneipp movement celebrated the 200th birthday of Sebastian Kneipp. To mark the occasion, the Kneippiade returned to Bad Wörishofen, where it was celebrated in grand style from July 23-25, 2021 as part of the 200th birthday celebrations.
The Kneipp idea unites. This idea gave rise to the Kneippiade, which celebrated its premiere 20 years ago in Bad Wörishofen under the motto “Crossing borders together”. In this (double) anniversary year to mark the 200th birthday of Sebastian Kneipp, the international Kneipp family will be back in Bad Wörishofen to go “With Kneipp into the future”. Kneipp Worldwide President Ingeborg Pongratz welcomed the guests and the people of Bad Wörishofen at the opening event and was delighted that this presence event could take place in the Kneipp town of Bad Wörishofen in the anniversary year despite the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, she also remembered those affected by the pandemic and the current flooding disaster, as well as all those who were unable to attend for health reasons.
Prof. Dr. med. Jost Langhorst, Chief Physician at the Clinic for Integrative Medicine and Naturopathy in Bamberg, gave an overview of the potential of naturopathy in the 21st century, thus picking up on the core theme. “I am particularly pleased that we can now celebrate this special occasion together – especially as we want to promote the Kneipp cause together and strengthen it even more internationally. This is also an important step towards world cultural heritage,” emphasizes Kneipp Association President Joachim K. Rudolph.
As the organizer of the Kneippiade, the town of Bad Wörishofen has put together a varied and informative supporting programme. Mayor Stefan Welzel is delighted that the international Kneipp family has accepted his invitation to host the event in the Kneipp town and that the Kneippiade can now be celebrated in the anniversary year after being postponed from May. “Here in Bad Wörishofen is the root of the Kneipp teachings and this is where Kneipp fans come together to celebrate our Sebastian.”
The official program will be complemented by a reading by Harry Klofat from his book “Fascination Kneipp”, garnished with a few anecdotes and the subsequent keynote speech by Austrian Kneipp Association President Georg Jillich, who will show how the Kneipp idea can be developed in a contemporary way. As an outlook, Ingeborg Pongratz also announced the host country for the next Kneippiade: it will take place in Austria in 2023.
