25th blog – date: January, 25th 2026
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Full of anticipation for the 2026 season, I’m currently busy catching up on blog posts from previous years. And because the excitement for HO26 is already building considerably, it was finally time to publish a post about HO22:
From June 24th to 26th, 2022, the 8th International Volkswagen Veteran Meeting took place in Hessisch Oldendorf. This event, which generally only occurs every four years, is considered by many fans worldwide to be the ultimate VW gathering!
Due to the pandemic, the meeting didn’t take place as planned in 2021 but was postponed to 2022. As far as I can remember, it was fully booked out within half a day – despite the approximately 775 available spaces. Participants from all over the world secured the popular tickets – the demand was huge, as it was one of the first gatherings in a long time to finally take place again.
And not just any gathering, but such a highlight, which only happens every few years! Only cars built up to 1967 are permitted in the town center. This means a T2 (bay) bus is too new for this veteran meeting and therefore doesn’t qualify for a ticket. „Ticket“ here refers to a parking space directly in the town. Therefore, you’ll only find truly ancient Volkswagen classics in Hessisch Oldendorf. A pure dream land for every VW enthusiast! It’s no wonder it attracted tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world.
Here is a glimpse at the cars according to the participants list of 2022:
– 248 Split-Screen Buses
– 171 Split-Window Beetles
– 157 Oval Beetles
– 87 Karmann Ghias
– 43 Others
– 19 Hebmüller Cabrios
– 17 Schwimmwagen
– 13 Kübelwagen
– 6 Special bodies
– 13 other cars (Rometsch, Beutler, …)
Ever since HO17, the anticipation among fans and enthusiasts of air-cooled Volkswagens has been immense for the next event. Imagine – every few years, a huge effort is made to prepare the historic town center of Hessisch Oldendorf for this gathering. The town center is closed off specifically for the event, and every alleyway is filled with a specific type of vehicle. Here, only Split Beetles; there only Barndoor buses; and over there only Schwimmwagens – and so on. And although the demand for tickets for participating vehicles in the town center would likely be even higher, the available space truly only allows for these approximately 775 parking spaces.
But, don’t worry: the campsite itself is a highlight – there are many other vehicles there that didn’t get a ticket. The local sports field is cleared specifically for this purpose and offered as a camping area. There you’ll find all sorts of „newer“ VW vehicles alongside the „old“ ones. Like T2s, T3 buses, more modern Beetles, and so on…
Or even us! Because we arrived in a T6.1 California. Our own classic VW wasn’t ready, unfortunately. With around 6,000 kilometers on the odometer at the time, the rented bus was probably the youngest VW on the way to HO22. And as irony would have it, the new California didn’t even make it that far! A technical breakdown on the way left the vehicle stranded in the middle of a rest stop, while oval-window Beetles, T1s, and the like cheerfully drove past us. Much time, frustration, and a replacement vehicle (even newer, with only 3,000 km on the odometer) later, we finally arrived in Hessisch Oldendorf for the first time.
Arrival at HO22
My friend Bernhard and I had barely arrived when we met our friend Martin from Slovakia, who had also just arrived with his 1952 bus. We met a little outside of town and then drove together to the center – but we were already quite taken aback when, just moments before, Florian Kalff’s 1951 Samba bus drove by completely unexpectedly while we were standing in the supermarket parking lot.
Generally, I won’t write too much about the vehicles in this post and will simply let the pictures speak for themselves. So many early, interesting vehicles, nice and like-minded people from all over the world – it was simply fantastic.
Just to give a few examples: You set up camp in the evening, and suddenly Mehmet drives up and asks if there’s a spot available for him – he’s exhausted because he’s driven 2,500 kilometers from Istanbul in just a few days, while also working remotely! Then you chat with Americans who flew in especially for the event, or you hear about a group from Malaysia who drove their cars over 28,000 km to HO in three months at a previous event!
We made many new friends and had an amazing time.
There was plenty to admire. Whether it was the VW W30 experimental vehicle (a 1936 prototype) in the church, the many early buses and Beetles, or conversations with people who had traveled all the way from Sweden, England, or France. We also met our friend Claude Schaub from bugbus.net in Switzerland, who let us drive his 1952 Standard Beetle with the split rear window at the campsite – my first time double-clutching! Or the approximately 20 Schwimmwagen (Type 166) that were there, which then took to the Weser River – a spectacle for all the onlookers!
VW T1 Samba: 1951 & 1952
We were then invited to a farm a little outside of town where Florian Kalff and his VEWIB team were staying, and there we were able to admire the rebuilt, second-oldest Samba – a 1951 model. This is the bus on the right, with the lighter-colored roof. On the left is a 1952 Canadian Deluxe bus by to Florian George from France. Feel free to click on the linked videos to see what both buses looked like before.
Kastenhofer VW Bus Gathering
As if the previous impressions hadn’t been overwhelming enough, the next day brought another treat. Martin told us that he and Mark were being interviewed because their two buses were to be featured in a dedicated article in Käfer Revue magazine. And so, a professional photo shoot took place, which I was fortunate enough to witness.
What’s special about these two early VW T1 buses:
Both were originally panel vans, and the windows from the B-pillar back were added later – the most striking feature being the crank window at the very rear. This conversion was carried out by the Viennese coachbuilder Kastenhofer.
Unfortunately, the article was never published, so here are my exclusive photos for you 🙂
Guided Tour through the private collection of the Grundmanns
On the last day, we treated ourselves to a guided tour of the Grundmann family’s private collection. As if the event itself—the streets and the campsite—weren’t already packed with interesting cars, the organizers then offered this glimpse into their inner sanctum. It featured all sorts of custom builds, extremely early Volkswagens, and a host of fascinating vehicles. From a 1950s station wagon and a Rometsch four-door Beetle to a Denzel and Pappler convertible…
And because there were so many interesting things to see at HO22 that I simply couldn’t capture in just a few photos, I recommend you go to YouTube and search for videos about Hessisch Oldendorf 2022. There are tons of exciting cars to see, some of them for hours – like this playlist here.
We can hardly wait for HO26 – and who knows, maybe we’ll see each other there! 🙂
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