Bourgeois Family Hiking in the Harz Mountains (c. 1900) During the 19th century, Romantic writers made hiking a beloved activity, particularly for members of Germany’s educated class. The photograph below shows a bourgeois family hiking through the Harz Mountains in Thuringia. Almost everyone is using a walking-stick, a common hiking accessory at the time. The first hiking and mountaineering clubs had been founded by the middle of the nineteenth century; they produced hiking maps, marked pathways, and built shelters and scenic overlooks.