11. Literarischer Wandertag im Schlosspark

11th Literary Hiking Day: “Building and Living” in the Castle Park

Date and Time: Sunday, August 16, 2026, starting at 3:00 p.m.
Location: Castle Park in Düsseldorf-Benrath
MEETING POINT: MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE CASTLE

We’ll meet on August 16, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. for this year’s Literary Walking Tour in the impressive Benrath Castle Park.

At various literary stations, authors from North Rhine-Westphalia will read from their works on the theme of “Building and Living.”

The Theme
We don’t build castles for ourselves… or maybe we do, but then they’re castles in the sky—products of our imagination that express our longings and desires.

We build houses—our lives.

The purpose of a house is to protect people from the elements and provide them with a home. It offers security and great utility. Of course, we are the ones who live in it, make it our home, and even tear it down again if there are reasons to do so. Every house has a structure and provides space.

To build a life also means to construct it like a house.

As we become aware of our “I” and our self, we embark on a journey of discovering our social and material environment, as well as of concrete, practical learning about people, animals, and objects—a journey that leads us into the developmental phase that enables us to build the cathedrals of our individual lives. Our “I” takes shape and gains definition; one form follows another.

Ultimately, we begin to build our lives independently as soon as we critically reflect on what was instilled in us early on through socialization.

This is a joint event organized by the FDA NRW in collaboration with the Freundeskreis Düsseldorfer Buch ‘75 e. V. and the Solingen Authors’ Circle and Friends.

The well-known musicianRaughi Ebertfrom Meerbusch will perform.

Professor Dr. Volkmar Hansen from Düsseldorf is also expected to attend as an author.