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The whole world knows this hat, but not everyone knows what it means.

 

It looks like a collection of wool balls, but it is not only part of the Black Forest costume, it is something like a landmark, the costume hat called "Bollenhut". It comes in three colors. Red for unmarried, black for married and purple for widowed women. By the way, it is only genuine if it has fourteen balls.

It has been worn since 1750 and was first seen in the villages of Gutach, Kirnbach and Reichenbach (Hornberg). There it was part of the costume of the Protestant population from the time when a girl had her confirmation. However, the Bollenhut did not become really famous until the middle of the twentieth century, and then mainly through Heimatfilme, a particular genre of movies. But also the painter Wilhelm Hasemann and composer Leon Jessel with his operetta "Das Schwarzwaldmädel" ("Black Forest girl") made the Bollenhut popular. Since then it can be found all over the Black Forest.

Only eleven of the fourteen balls are visible, the other three are tucked underneath and are usually somewhat smaller. The base of the hat is made of straw. In total, such a hat can weigh up to two kilograms. It usually has a black ribbon, with which it is attached to the head of the wearer.

Originally, the hat of the Black Forest women's costume was probably made exclusively of straw. Such headgear still exists in some villages, such as Schonach. There the women wear such a hat with an unusually high top hat. The Bollenhut is said to have been created by a decree of Duke Friedrich Eugen von Württemberg, who ordered the inhabitants to show red or black decoration on their straw hats. It is said that at first the women only painted colorful circles on the straw. The balls made of cloth followed only later.

A variation of the Bollenhut is the so-called Rose hat, a straw hat with rose decoration. The colors having the same meaning as with the Bollenhut. In St. Märgen and St. Peter there is a straw hat covered with velvet. There is also a ribbon cap that reaches over the ears. This was very practical in winter.

By the way, the eleven visible balls are said to have symbolic value. Through them, the triune God, the four cardinal points and the earthly are pictorially represented.

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