APPENZELL INNERRHODEN, SWITZERLAND — Officials in the Swiss region of Appenzell Innerrhoden are tired of naked Germans traipsing through their scenic countryside, so they’ve vowed to take action.Henceforth, any naked hikers found decorating the picturesque mountain region will be fined.
Officials in the canton (analogous to an American county) were spurred to action by what they said is an annual pilgrimage of entirely too-free-spirited German tourists to the hiking trails in the area. They passed a law forbidding the practice of “naked rambling” before the 2009 hiking season began.
Among Germans, “free body culture” is a growing lifestyle — but that doesn’t mean Switzerland’s neighbors should expect it to remain neutral about the practice.
“We were forced to introduce the legislation against this indecent practice before the warm weather starts,” Justice Minister Melchior Looser told England’s Guardian newspaper. “The point is many children visit our mountains in the summer.”
