Senator Legarda retraces Dr. Jose Rizal's footsteps in Historic Trail in Wilhelmsfeld, Germany

Senator Loren Legarda participated in the opening of the Rizal Historic Trail in Wilhelmsfeld, Germany, on June 20, 2026, describing the route as a living reminder of the enduring legacy of Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.

The trail, inaugurated a day after the Philippines marked Rizal’s 165th birth anniversary on June 19, retraces the route he regularly took between Wilhelmsfeld and Heidelberg while pursuing advanced studies in ophthalmology in Germany in 1886.

"Dr. Jose Rizal, 165 years from the day you were born, we are here to remember you not as a man we mourn. You are a man whose vision is still ours to build," the senator said.

Organized by the Gemeinde Wilhelmsfeld and the Knights of Rizal Wilhelmsfeld–Heidelberg Chapter, the program began at the Hinterbergweg hiking parking lot before participants followed the path Rizal once walked to the Heidelberg University Eye Clinic.

Legarda, who has visited Wilhelmsfeld several times, reflected on Rizal’s stay with Pastor Karl Ullmer and his family.

"I remember the quiet of it, the vicarage where Dr. Jose Rizal stayed with Pastor Ullmer and his family, the garden he and Eta tended at dawn, the home where a young man from Calamba was treated less like a boarder and more like a son," she said. "When you stand in that house, the distance between 1886 and today grows very thin."

The Philippine Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany said the Rizal Historic Trail traces the 10-kilometer path between Wilhelmsfeld, where Rizal lived. and Heidelberg, where he studied opthalmology.

No fees are being charged from people who want to pass through the trail which the embassy said is an easy hike.

Legarda said, “The trail you have marked is simply his commute, the same path he walked to work and back, day after day. That is where the heroism began. In an ordinary walk, repeated every morning, by a man before the world knew his greatness.” 

Legarda also noted that support for the project was coursed through the Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt, while assistance for the trail markers was provided this year through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

"A path without signs is forgotten. A path with them becomes memory you can stand on," she said.

A PART OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Legarda said Wilhelmsfeld holds a distinct place in Philippine history.

"It was here, in 1886, that Rizal lived as a guest of Pastor Karl Ullmer, studied in nearby Heidelberg, and completed 'Noli Me Tangere,' the novel that would awaken the Filipino national consciousness," Legarda said in a news release.

"Why mark his (Rizal's) birthday in Wilhelmsfeld? Because this is where he found shelter," Legarda said. 

"We did not come to Wilhelmsfeld just to speak about Dr. Jose Rizal from a distance. We came to stand on the ground that opened its doors to a young Filipino far from home and gave him a place to belong."

The senator thanked the people of Wilhelmsfeld and Heidelberg, the Ullmer family, and the Knights of Rizal for keeping Rizal’s memory alive in Germany through the Rizal Historic Trail, among other projects.

Legarda said Rizal's stay in Wilhelmsfeld demonstrates "how a simple act of kindness and welcome of a German family can leave a lasting mark on a nation’s history."

"A small German town that welcomed a young Filipino far from home became part of the story of a nation," Legarda said.

THE NOLI ME TANGERE

The "Noli Me Tangere" (Touch Me Not) was  Rizal's first novel. Written in Spanish, Rizal wrote about clerical abuse of Spanish priests in the Philippines.

The novel was first published Berlin, Germany in 1887, according to a Penguin Random House guide about the "Noli Me Tangere."

Penguin noted that that Rizal went home to the Philippines in the same year that the novel was published. The novel was banned in the Philippines where Rizal incurred the hatred of Spanish friars.

The following year, Rizal returned to Europe and began working on his second novel, the "El Filibusterismo" (The Subversive). This was published in 1891.

BRINGING RIZAL 'HOME'

Legarda noted that Rizal's aspirations were firmly rooted in his love for the Philippines and that his life also demonstrated the importance of dialogue, cultural exchange, and international friendship.

 

“For more than a decade, I have tried to bring Rizal home to his own people, by way of Germany," the senator said as she recounted efforts to retrace Rizal's footsteps there as a way of honoring his legacy.

In 2019, Legarda's visit to Wilhelmsfeld led to the making of the 2021 documentary “Finding Rizal in a Time of Barriers,” which traces Rizal’s journey across Europe. 

This initiative also resulted in the “Rizal in Wilhelmsfeld” exhibit at the Museo ni Jose Rizal in Fort Santiago, coinciding with the unveiling of the German translation of “Mi Ultimo Adios.”

PROMOTING RIZAL'S LEGACY

Following the hike, Legarda attended the induction of new members of the Knights of Rizal at the Evangelische Kirche Wilhelmsfeld alongside local officials and members of the Filipino community in Germany.

The senator said the trail forms part of broader efforts to preserve and promote Rizal’s legacy in Germany.

Among these initiatives was the acquisition earlier this year of the Ullmer vicarage—where Rizal completed the final chapters of Noli Me Tangere—by Representative Leandro Legarda Leviste. The property is planned to be converted into a museum and cultural center.

Legarda has also supported projects documenting Rizal-related collections in Germany, including the digital exhibit "Connecting and Collecting: Rizal's Ethnographic Objects in Germany" and research on Philippine cultural artifacts preserved in German museums and archives.

She likewise cited efforts to strengthen Philippine cultural and academic presence in Germany, including the reopening of the Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt in 2019, the establishment of Philippine Studies programs at several German universities, and the Philippines' participation as Guest of Honour at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair.

-Paraluman News