AfD's Shocking 'Pride Pass' for Patriots: Far-Right Tourism Concept in Quedlinburg

Ahead of the Saxony-Anhalt state election, the far-right AfD party has proposed a controversial 'tourism concept' in Quedlinburg, a town known for its half-timbered architecture and jazz festival. The concept, dubbed 'Stolz-Pass' (Pride Pass) for patriots, aims to attract voters by appealing to nationalist sentiments. The region boasts several superlatives: Gardelegen, with 22,000 inhabitants and 48 districts, is Germany's third-largest city by area after Berlin and Hamburg. The Colbitzer Lindenwald is the largest closed lime tree forest in Central Europe, with 200-year-old trees. Schnöggersburg, Europe's largest military training city, is used by the Bundeswehr and NATO partners for urban combat training. The Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben holds one of the world's most species-rich gene banks with 150,000 seed samples. The article, published in Der Freitag, highlights how even in idyllic Quedlinburg, far-right thinking is gaining ground.