An Unusual Breed of Backpacker: The Journeymen

Most of us have run across a backpacker or two. But there’s one small group of German backpackers who might make even the most jaded adventurer raise an eyebrow: The journeymen.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on May 05 2008

If you’ve done much traveling, you’ve probably encountered a German backpacker or two. Our European pals are quite the adventurers, and, armed with cameras, passports, iPods, and a pair of Tevas, tend to pop up in nearly any imaginable spot, from Serengeti to the Simpsons’ home in Springfield. But there’s one small group of German backpackers who might make even the most jaded adventurer raise an eyebrow: The journeymen.

Decked out in top hats, vests, and overcoats, these travelers look more like Mennonites than jet-setters. But these oddly-dressed individuals, who you might see hitching a ride or asking for money, aren’t religious folks who’ve fallen on hard times: They are the last of a dying breed of German craftsmen, known as Gesellen, or journeymen.

Ever since the Middle Ages, after completing an apprenticeship with a master craftsman, these journeymen (and yes, women too) have completed a ritual odyssey, traveling around the world for 3 years and one day, with only a small backpack to store their few possessions. They are forbidden from going home even for a day, and are not allowed to carry cell phones or any other trappings of modern technology.

Today, as few as 250 journeymen are making their way around the world in the traditional rite of passage. To make money during their travels, journeymen take on craftsman and construction projects wherever they come up: Last year, two journeymen passing through Pescadaro, California, were given room and board in exchange for building a chicken tractor for a local resident.

Such odd jobs serve a practical purpose for the young craftsmen, a journeyman named Benjamin Karsunke told Half Moon Bay Review: “We learn how to build things in the world first by traveling through it.”

Karsunke and his traveling partner, Andre Reidel, completed their three-year journey last year with a beach-side stop in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. At the conclusion of the trip, they presented the town mayor with their traveling book, which reads: “The possessor of this travel book is a companion being on his traditional quest. We kindly request everybody - particularly honorable masters, authorities and other institutions - who meet this companion to assist him and thus help him to realize the idea of his intentions.”

Sounds like the sort of house guest you wouldn’t mind hosting.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Features, General Interest, History, Weird,

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