The 18th meeting of commercial vehicle veterans in Wörnitz
With around 400 vehicles, the largest event of its kind in Europe
Over the past decades, the name Wörnitz (Germany) has become synonymous with Europe's largest classic truck meeting. The event takes place every two years, in 2024 for the 18th time. On the rain-free weekend from September 6 to 8, around 400 vehicles gathered at the Wörnitz truck stop, including many rarities and new acquisitions. They came not only from all over Germany, but also from other countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.
Wörnitz is a tranquil community in Bavaria with just under 2000 inhabitants, an exit off the A7 highway bears its name, as does a truck stop. It not only offers long-distance truckers plenty of space to stay overnight, but also all other amenities. The first meeting of commercial vehicle veterans took place there in 1989. Around 35 vehicles were there, and there were a lot of them back then, as the German vintage truck scene really took off in the 1980s. Everyone involved in the subject still knew each other, there was a sort of tight-knit clique.
In the following years, Wörnitz established itself as a permanent fixture in the calendar of events, with a meeting taking place at the truck stop every two years and the number of participants increasing steadily. The historic trucks were joined by a number of buses and fire engines, almost all of them carefully restored, some of them “natural” with the appropriate patina. The event grew and grew, and in 2015 the dedicated classic car enthusiast Harald Brem and his son took over the reins after the previous organizers Werner Lachnit, Wolfgang Riek and Ronny Pflug had signaled that they had carried the responsibility long enough. Due to the pandemic, Wörnitz was canceled in 2021 and was held a year later. Since then, the rhythm has shifted to even-numbered years.
Special thanks are due to Marcel Bark and his team from Schaal Ltd, as the unbureaucratic support of the truck stop operators made the event possible in the first place. The 2024 meeting was the largest to date in Wörnitz. About 400 vehicles, mainly sorted by brand, offered a veritable splendor of truck veterans from the half-century after the Second World War. In Germany, the total number of restored and roadworthy vintage trucks is estimated at around 1,000, and well over a third of them were gathered in Wörnitz. There were also some pre-war models, including a Vomag from 1940 from the last generation of the legendary manufacturer from Plauen. The earliest year of construction was an Opel P4 delivery van from 1934, followed by an Opel Blitz bus from 1936.
Traditionally, a drive took place on Saturday, in which the majority of the vehicles took part. From truck stop Wörnitz, the route went to the Heinrich Hamprecht trucking company site near Künzelsau. Rolf Hamprecht and his team had come up with an ingenious route that led 65 kilometers through beautiful landscapes and sleepy Bavarian and Baden-Württemberg villages. Astonished residents stood in their doorways and waved their thumbs up as the quaint vintage trucks chugged past them and the queue never seemed to end.
At the end of the tour, the participants were treated to a delicious lunch in the trucking company hall, where they were able to chat about their vehicles, the event and their experiences on the tour while enjoying goulash soup. Everyone had arrived safely and had plenty to talk about.
The traditional vehicle presentation took place on Sunday. Presenter Holger Hahn knew how to tell an interesting anecdote about each classic truck via microphone and loudspeaker.
In addition to the participants, numerous spectators also came to Wörnitz to marvel at the many historic trucks and show them to their offspring. At the truck stop there are several catering services and a parking lot was set up for parking cars.
When the event came to an end, there was a great sense of satisfaction among the participants, as they had been there, met friends again and had been able to admire many a previously unknown vehicle. This included, in particular, Heinz-Bruno Hecker's impressive Krupp Titan truck-trailer combination, which was on display at a meeting for the first time with a three-axle trailer. Immediately beforehand, it had already taken part in Joachim Fehrenkötter's 20th tour of Germany, the “Tour of Legends”. The Titan also adorns this year's plaque for the meeting in Wörnitz. Special surprises were also provided by Wilhelm Holzwarth, who presented the only preserved, roadworthy and completely restored Krupp Drache four-wheel drive tipper in Wörnitz, as well as the Lipperts brothers with their Büssing-NAG 5000 S, which pulled two trailers, as was quite common in Germany until 1951.
Conclusion: The event in Wörnitz is more than worth the trip. We look forward to 2026, when the next meeting will take place at the truck stop.
The photos in this report, which are marked with a link symbol at the bottom right, can be clicked to obtain a larger view with some information about the photo.