diff --git a/src/components/Content.js b/src/components/Content.js
index fb082f0..ae255d9 100644
--- a/src/components/Content.js
+++ b/src/components/Content.js
@@ -305,7 +305,8 @@ class Content extends Component {
     // Get child categories from the cached category tree
     let childCategories = [];
     try {
-      const categoryTreeCache = window.categoryService.getSync(209);
+      const currentLanguage = this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage || this.props.i18n?.language || 'de';
+      const categoryTreeCache = window.categoryService.getSync(209, currentLanguage);
       if (categoryTreeCache) {
         // If categoryId is a string (SEO name), find by seoName, otherwise by ID
         const targetCategory = typeof categoryId === 'string' 
@@ -391,7 +392,8 @@ class Content extends Component {
     const seoName = this.props.params.categoryId;
     
     // Get the category tree from cache
-    const categoryTreeCache = window.categoryService.getSync(209);
+    const currentLanguage = this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage || this.props.i18n?.language || 'de';
+    const categoryTreeCache = window.categoryService.getSync(209, currentLanguage);
 
     // Find the category by seoName
     const category = this.findCategoryBySeoName(categoryTreeCache, seoName);
@@ -403,7 +405,8 @@ class Content extends Component {
     if (!currentCategoryId) return null;
     
     // Get the category tree from cache
-    const categoryTreeCache = window.categoryService.getSync(209);
+    const currentLanguage = this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage || this.props.i18n?.language || 'de';
+    const categoryTreeCache = window.categoryService.getSync(209, currentLanguage);
 
     // Find the current category in the tree
     const currentCategory = this.findCategoryById(categoryTreeCache, currentCategoryId);
diff --git a/src/components/SharedCarousel.js b/src/components/SharedCarousel.js
index dea9b85..8e95112 100644
--- a/src/components/SharedCarousel.js
+++ b/src/components/SharedCarousel.js
@@ -26,36 +26,35 @@ class SharedCarousel extends React.Component {
   constructor(props) {
     super(props);
     const { i18n } = props;
-    const categories = window.categoryService.getSync(209);
-
+    
+    // Don't load categories in constructor - will be loaded in componentDidMount with correct language
     this.state = {
-      categories: categories && categories.children && categories.children.length > 0 ? [...categories.children, ...categories.children] : [],
+      categories: [],
       currentLanguage: (i18n && i18n.language) || 'de',
       showScrollbar: false,
     };
-    
-    if(categories && categories.children && categories.children.length > 0) {
-      this.originalCategories = categories.children;
-      this.categories = [...categories.children, ...categories.children];
-      this.startAutoScroll();
-    }
 
     this.carouselTrackRef = React.createRef();
   }
 
   componentDidMount() {
     this._isMounted = true;
-    if (!this.state.categories || this.state.categories.length === 0) {
-      window.categoryService.get(209,this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage || this.props.i18n.language).then((response) => {
-        if (this._isMounted && response.children && response.children.length > 0) {
-          this.originalCategories = response.children;
-          // Duplicate for seamless looping
-          this.categories = [...response.children, ...response.children];
-          this.setState({ categories: this.categories });
-          this.startAutoScroll();
-        }
-      });
-    }
+    const currentLanguage = this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage || this.props.i18n.language;
+    
+    // ALWAYS reload categories to ensure correct language
+    console.log("SharedCarousel componentDidMount: ALWAYS RELOADING categories for language", currentLanguage);
+    window.categoryService.get(209, currentLanguage).then((response) => {
+      console.log("SharedCarousel categoryService.get response for language '" + currentLanguage + "':", response);
+      if (this._isMounted && response.children && response.children.length > 0) {
+        console.log("SharedCarousel: Setting categories with", response.children.length, "items");
+        console.log("SharedCarousel: First category name:", response.children[0]?.name);
+        this.originalCategories = response.children;
+        // Duplicate for seamless looping
+        this.categories = [...response.children, ...response.children];
+        this.setState({ categories: this.categories });
+        this.startAutoScroll();
+      }
+    });
   }
 
   componentDidUpdate(prevProps) {
diff --git a/src/components/header/CategoryList.js b/src/components/header/CategoryList.js
index b65a63e..6c27ac1 100644
--- a/src/components/header/CategoryList.js
+++ b/src/components/header/CategoryList.js
@@ -24,22 +24,28 @@ class CategoryList extends Component {
   }
 
   componentDidMount() {
-    if (!this.state.categories || this.state.categories.length === 0) {
-      window.categoryService.get(209,this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage || this.props.i18n.language).then((response) => {
-        console.log("response", response);
-        if (response.children && response.children.length > 0) {
-          this.setState({ 
-            categories: response.children,
-            activeCategoryId: this.setLevel1CategoryId(this.props.activeCategoryId)
-          });
-        }
-      });
-    } else {
-      // Categories are already loaded, set the initial activeCategoryId
-      this.setState({
-        activeCategoryId: this.setLevel1CategoryId(this.props.activeCategoryId)
-      });
-    }
+    console.log("CategoryList componentDidMount - Debug info:");
+    console.log("  languageContext:", this.props.languageContext);
+    console.log("  i18n.language:", this.props.i18n?.language);
+    console.log("  sessionStorage i18nextLng:", typeof sessionStorage !== 'undefined' ? sessionStorage.getItem('i18nextLng') : 'N/A');
+    console.log("  localStorage i18nextLng:", typeof localStorage !== 'undefined' ? localStorage.getItem('i18nextLng') : 'N/A');
+    
+    const currentLanguage = this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage || this.props.i18n.language;
+    
+    // ALWAYS reload categories to ensure correct language
+    console.log("CategoryList componentDidMount: ALWAYS RELOADING categories for language", currentLanguage);
+    this.setState({ categories: [] }); // Clear any cached categories
+    window.categoryService.get(209, currentLanguage).then((response) => {
+      console.log("categoryService.get response for language '" + currentLanguage + "':", response);
+      if (response.children && response.children.length > 0) {
+        console.log("Setting categories with", response.children.length, "items");
+        console.log("First category name:", response.children[0]?.name);
+        this.setState({ 
+          categories: response.children,
+          activeCategoryId: this.setLevel1CategoryId(this.props.activeCategoryId)
+        });
+      }
+    });
   }
 
   componentDidUpdate(prevProps) {
@@ -71,9 +77,14 @@ class CategoryList extends Component {
 
 
   setLevel1CategoryId = (seoName) => {
+    console.log("setLevel1CategoryId called with seoName:", seoName);
     if(seoName) {
-      const categoryTreeCache = window.categoryService.getSync(209);
-      console.log("categoryTreeCache", categoryTreeCache, seoName);
+      const language = this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage || this.props.i18n.language;
+      console.log("setLevel1CategoryId - using language:", language);
+      console.log("setLevel1CategoryId - languageContext:", this.props.languageContext);
+      console.log("setLevel1CategoryId - i18n.language:", this.props.i18n?.language);
+      const categoryTreeCache = window.categoryService.getSync(209, language);
+      console.log("setLevel1CategoryId - categoryTreeCache (language: " + language + "):", categoryTreeCache, seoName);
       
       // Helper function to recursively search for seoName in category tree
       const findLevel1CategoryId = (categories, targetSeoName, level1Id = null) => {
@@ -130,6 +141,15 @@ class CategoryList extends Component {
   render() {
     const { categories, mobileMenuOpen, activeCategoryId } = this.state;
 
+    console.log("RENDER DEBUG - About to render categories:");
+    console.log("  categories.length:", categories.length);
+    if (categories.length > 0) {
+      console.log("  First category name:", categories[0].name);
+      console.log("  First category id:", categories[0].id);
+    }
+    console.log("  Current language context:", this.props.languageContext?.currentLanguage);
+    console.log("  Current i18n language:", this.props.i18n?.language);
+
     const renderCategoryRow = (categories, isMobile = false) => (
       <Box
         sx={{
diff --git a/src/i18n/index.js b/src/i18n/index.js
index f300b82..82f8765 100644
--- a/src/i18n/index.js
+++ b/src/i18n/index.js
@@ -145,7 +145,6 @@ i18n
   .use(initReactI18next)
   .init({
     resources,
-    lng: 'de', // Force German as default
     fallbackLng: 'de',
     debug: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development',
 
diff --git a/src/i18n/withTranslation.js b/src/i18n/withTranslation.js
index 80bc964..4a202c5 100644
--- a/src/i18n/withTranslation.js
+++ b/src/i18n/withTranslation.js
@@ -19,8 +19,30 @@ export class LanguageProvider extends Component {
   constructor(props) {
     super(props);
     
-    // Always start with German
-    const currentLanguage = 'de';
+    // Try to get the current language from i18n or storage, fallback to German
+    let currentLanguage = 'de';
+    console.log("LanguageProvider constructor - Debug info:");
+    console.log("  props.i18n:", props.i18n);
+    console.log("  props.i18n.language:", props.i18n?.language);
+    
+    if (props.i18n && props.i18n.language) {
+      currentLanguage = props.i18n.language;
+      console.log("  Using language from i18n:", currentLanguage);
+    } else if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
+      // Try to get from sessionStorage first, then localStorage
+      try {
+        const sessionLang = sessionStorage.getItem('i18nextLng');
+        const localLang = localStorage.getItem('i18nextLng');
+        console.log("  sessionStorage i18nextLng:", sessionLang);
+        console.log("  localStorage i18nextLng:", localLang);
+        currentLanguage = sessionLang || localLang || 'de';
+        console.log("  Using language from storage:", currentLanguage);
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.warn('Could not read language from storage:', error);
+      }
+    }
+    
+    console.log("  Final currentLanguage:", currentLanguage);
     
     this.state = {
       currentLanguage,
@@ -37,9 +59,22 @@ export class LanguageProvider extends Component {
   componentDidMount() {
     if (this.props.i18n) {
       this.props.i18n.on('languageChanged', this.handleLanguageChanged);
-      // Set initial language state and HTML attribute
-      this.setState({ currentLanguage: this.props.i18n.language });
-      document.documentElement.lang = this.props.i18n.language;
+      
+      console.log("LanguageProvider componentDidMount:");
+      console.log("  current state.currentLanguage:", this.state.currentLanguage);
+      console.log("  props.i18n.language:", this.props.i18n.language);
+      
+      // Only update state if i18n language is different and not the default 'de'
+      // This prevents overriding the language we restored from storage
+      if (this.props.i18n.language !== this.state.currentLanguage && 
+          this.props.i18n.language !== 'de') {
+        console.log("  Updating language from i18n:", this.props.i18n.language);
+        this.setState({ currentLanguage: this.props.i18n.language });
+        document.documentElement.lang = this.props.i18n.language;
+      } else {
+        console.log("  Keeping language from constructor:", this.state.currentLanguage);
+        document.documentElement.lang = this.state.currentLanguage;
+      }
       
       // Start demo mode
       if (this.state.demoMode) {