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Return Triberg waterfall Not the highest, but higher than Niagara Falls, although a thousand times less water. In Triberg you can visit the famous waterfalls. They are located near the center of the village and are very easy to reach via several footpaths at different heights. So you can experience a natural spectacle of the special class at close range. The Triberg waterfalls consist of several steps. The river Gutach, coming from Schönwald, passes at 872 meters above sea level first the so-called Upper Falls with a height of sixteen meters. Below follows a steep section in which the water loses another 51 meters in height. This is followed by the Main Falls, which are considered to be the actual well-known section. Here the water of the Gutach falls in seven steps from 805 to 713 meters above sea level. Thus, from the upper edge of the Upper Falls to the lower edge of the Main Falls, there is a total height difference of 159 meters. If you compare the height of the falls with other world-famous waterfalls, it becomes clear how worth seeing the Triberg Waterfall is after all. Niagara Falls on the border between Canada and the USA, for example, has a drop of only 57 meters, while Victoria Falls between Zimbabwe and Zambia has a drop of 110 meters. However, both Niagara and Victoria Falls carry significantly larger amounts of water. The Triberg waterfalls are also used to generate electricity. As this was already done at the end of the nineteenth century, Triberg had electric street lamps from the year 1884, the first town in Germany to do so. The town of Triberg is located at an altitude between 600 and 1,038 meters above sea level. It was first mentioned in a document in 1239. A characteristic feature of the town is the deep cut of the Gutach valley with its steep slopes, which means that the core town alone stretches over 250 meters in altitude. The town became famous primarily because of the waterfalls, but also because of its location on the Black Forest Railway and the formerly very active clock industry. Last but not least, the world's largest cuckoo clock is located here, with a total height of over fifteen meters, and its pendulum alone is eight meters long. You can even walk inside it. You may wonder what the name Triberg means. The first component comes from the number "three". "Triberg" therefore means "three mountain" and refers to the three mountains Kroneck, Kapellenberg and Sterenberg, between which the town lies. Also well worth seeing, although somewhat shorter with a total drop of 97 meters, is the Todtnau Waterfall in the Upper Black Forest. In addition, the Wutach Gorge also has a lot of wildly romantic waterfalls to offer.

Return (Black Forest) cake Probably the sweetest treat of the region You know it for sure, the delicious temptation made of cream, chocolate shavings and cherries with a dash of kirsch? Since the thirties of the twentieth century, the Black Forest Cake is well known, a real export hit and is also produced and served far outside the Black Forest, practically everywhere in the world. They are even said to exist in faraway countries like Tibet, perhaps not always prepared quite true to the original, but the name alone makes the taste. You'll notice that too when you try one. How the recipe originated is still unclear. Conjecture suggests that either the Black Forest woman's costume with the red Bollenhut and the black dress including white blouse could have led to the naming of the cake. However, it could also have been due to the ingredient Black Forest kirsch. In any case, in the 19th century there was a dessert in the Black Forest that was made from kirsch, boiled cherries and cream. Possibly the tart originated from it. The first written record of a cherry tart recipe can be found in 1934 in a book by Johannes Martin Erich Weber from Dresden. The base of the cake is a shortcrust pastry. Several layers are applied on top, to which chocolate sprinkles, cream, kirsch and cherries are added. Of course, the recipe can be varied somewhat. Individual intermediate layers are formed with a chocolate sponge. If you want to measure yourself as an amateur chef against like-minded people and professional pastry chefs, you can do so at the Black Forest Cherry Cake Festival in Todtnau. Since 2006, the festival has been held every two years. In addition to the kirsch cake, there are seasonal cake specialties in the Black Forest. The strawberry cake in the spring and the plum cake in the summer are particularly worthy of mention.

Return St. Blasien Cathedral Big and splendid The town of St. Blasien is located in the southwestern part of the Black Forest, in an area known as the Hotzenwald. Its western border is formed by the river Wehra, the eastern one by the river Schwarza, which also flows through the Schluchsee. In fact, St. Blasien is not far from this lake. St. Blasien is best known for its imposing cathedral, which dominates the townscape from afar. It has existed in its present form since 1783 and is modeled on the Roman Pantheon, reaching a total height of 62 meters. Its dome, which spans 36 meters and is the third largest in Europe, is outstanding. The master builder, the Frenchman Pierre Michel d'Ixnard, also had a well-known model for it, namely the Michelangelo dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The dome in St. Blasien consists of two interlocking shells supported by twenty Corinthian columns. At its outer top is a golden sphere complete with a cross. There is also a gallery that runs along the twenty columns. A peculiarity: if the dome were to be completed in its curvature downwards, that is, if a round sphere were to be formed from it, its lowest point would be exactly on the floor of the church. The dome provides pleasant acoustics, so that the St. Blasien Cathedral is nowadays often used for concerts. At the front of the circular building, which the dome spans, six columns rise, as well as on its outer side two thirty-meter towers, which house a total of ten bells. The last one was added only in 2005. Already early there was a church on the same place. It is said to have been consecrated for the first time between 1088 and 1104. However, it was severely damaged by a fire in 1322 and during the Peasant Wars, so that it had to be rebuilt and consecrated a second time in 1538. But again there was destruction and fire, the last time in 1768, but since its last rebuilding in 1783 the cathedral has remained undamaged. The noble family of the Habsburgs has a crypt in the cathedral, where several bones are buried. The name of the place St. Blasien goes back to St. Blasius of Sebaste, who died as a martyr in 316. Also worth seeing is the courthouse of the village. There you can admire a sundial from the Baroque period.

Return Tannery Today only street names remind of this craft Tanning is a very old craft that can be traced back to the Stone Age. This is not surprising, because even then there were simple stone tools for scraping and cutting, as well as skins that were pulled from hunted animals. The tannery processes the animal skins and makes leather from them. Especially in the Middle Ages, leather was very important for making clothes, which is why tanning was a common craft. Just as old as tanning is the use of wool from domesticated sheep. Cotton, which is widely used today, is also old, but did not spread globally until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Tanning was a matter of strengthening the animal skin so that it became leather. If it was peeled off, it quickly dried out, and if it came into contact with water, it even threatened to rot. To prevent these processes, tanning agents were used. In the beginning, these were fats or oils, and later on, they were also used in the form of oil of tran or tree bark extracts. However, tanners suffered from a bad reputation, because those who worked with animal hides ran the risk of catching diseases such as anthrax through the decomposition process or via the pathogens contained in the hides. In addition, the hides and the tanning agents sometimes spread very bad odors, which is why the tanners were shunned. In Schiltach, there is the Schüttesäge Museum, which is dedicated not only to rafting but also to the historical development of tanning in the Black Forest. Apart from that, this traditional craft has been preserved in several names. Villingen, for example, is not the only town to have a "Gerberstarße" ("tanner's street").

Return Wildlife The animals of the region and a not always popular homecomer With its many forests, the Black Forest provides a habitat for a wide variety of animal species. Probably the most common are roes, wild boars and foxes. Roes are very numerous in the Black Forest. They grow to a maximum length of 1.30 meters and a height of 75 centimeters and, as can be easily determined to be related to deer, but smaller than them. Thus, the roebuck also has a kind of antlers, which is shed in the fall and grows back over the winter. It gets new forked ends every year, so that a roebuck has up to six tips on its horns, three on each side. Roes have reddish-brown fur in summer and more grayish-brown in winter. Young fawns are born in early June. They are hidden in the grass and left there in case of danger. So it can happen that you find such a fawn in the forest, because its mother has fled from you. In this case you must not touch the fawn, otherwise the mother will not accept it. Roes live mostly in small groups and are mainly nocturnal, as they are too often disturbed in the forest during the day. Foxes are distantly related to dogs and have reddish-brown fur, which is much lighter on the belly, and a bushy tail. They eat mice and birds' eggs, occasionally hares and fawns, besides rarely fruits or mushrooms. They inhabit underground burrows, which have several entrances, so that the fox can escape unnoticed in case of danger. As almost everywhere in Germany, there are wild boars in the Black Forest. There is a reason for this. These animals rarely shy away from a natural boundary in their search for new territories. If necessary, they will even swim through wide bodies of water. Even a highway is hardly an obstacle. Wild boars live in groups, called rods, of related females, who are joined by their young, called freshets. Male wild boars may approach the rods only during mating season. Wild boars can see poorly, but hear and smell well. With their noses they detect worms, insects and small animals, even under the surface of the ground. They often then rummage up the ground to get at their food. This causes displeasure among farmers when the wild boars dig up the fields, but it is very beneficial for the forest, because not only is the soil loosened, but root pests such as the white grub are also eaten. Wild boars love to bathe and then wallow in the mud. This helps them get rid of pesky insects. The lynx, which has spread from Switzerland to the Black Forest, and the beaver have immigrated again. The large, very busy rodent was first settled on the upper Danube, from where it has moved upstream into the Black Forest valleys. Apart from its considerable overall length of up to one meter and a weight of up to thirty kilograms, the beaver impresses above all with its building activities. In a body of water it builds a beaver's lodge out of brushwood and mud, i.e. a burrow in which it gives birth to its young and hides them. In order to protect the beaver's lodge, its entrance is always under water. However, since a body of water changes its water level depending on the season and the weather, the beaver itself intervenes in the course. To do this, it builds dams to dam up the water and regulate the water level. If the water level rises too high, the beaver opens the dam and releases water. This keeps its lodge inaccessible to other predators. The beaver is also a very good swimmer. Unfortunately, in some places it also causes trouble with its building activities, for example when it puts meadows under water because it has built a dam. It also needs trees, which it cuts down with its nail teeth. Most people in the Black Forest, however, are happy about the busy homecomer. Nowadays, the Black Forest is about 75% forested. That sounds like quite a lot, but is it true? In fact, there is a lot of forest area, but if you take a closer look at it, you will notice that it is very closely interrupted, mostly by roads. Thus, it can be said that there is only a limited amount of contiguous, large-scale forest in the Black Forest, a circumstance that limits and endangers native wildlife.

Return Mill There is a mill in the Black Forest valley. The river courses of the Black Forest with their sometimes considerable gradients have been suitable for the use of water power since early times. This is a very old method of energy generation and is documented as early as the fifth century BC. The first grain mills were built in the third century BC. In the Black Forest, the use of water power initially took place through conventional mills, which were mainly used for grain processing in agriculture. In addition, hammer mills and saws for woodworking were also powered by water. They were all built on the slopes where the gradient of the water is greatest and thus develops the most kinetic energy. In the milling process, the dedusted grain is poured into a hopper from which the grains gradually fall between two millstones. One of the millstones stands on the ground and weighs up to ten kilograms. Above this is a second stone, which weighs about half as much. This is moved by means of water power. The grains, which are ground by friction, pass into a drum, which is also turned by the mill wheel and acts like a sieve. Since the upper rock layer in the Black Forest is sandstone, the millstones were also made of this material. Sawmills were needed to process wood as a building material. Until the nineteenth century, wood was the material used to make the majority of utensils such as dishes and containers. It was also, and above all, of central importance for the construction of houses. In the region you can often find trade names with the component "saw", for example often a "Sägedobel" ("small saw valley"). You can admire a very old Black Forest mill in the Simonswald valley, namely the Hexenlochmühle. The same is true for the Rankmühle in St. Märgen. The Mönchhof sawmill in Waldachtal can be visited. It was built as early as the fifteenth century and is still in its original condition, i.e. it is also functional. Also worth seeing is the Großjockenmühle, which was built in 1883 at the entrance to the Ravenna Gorge. It has a structural peculiarity: the water for the mill wheel is not supplied from the outside, but flows through the roof. The Kobisenmühle near St. Georgen is also worth a look. It has been restored and can be visited. It is interesting that it has two grinding gears. In the course of time, the sawmills in particular were converted to steam operation; today, of course, they run on electricity.

Return Black Forest Valley Where there are mountains, there are valleys. In the Black Forest there are many mountains with a height of over 1,000 meters. In total, there are over a hundred. But where such high mountains rise, there are of course also valleys. On the west side of the Black Forest, i.e. from the direction of the Upper Rhine Graben, these are cut deeply into the flanks of the mountains. On the eastern side, on the other hand, they slope down rather flat and hill-like, and the differences in elevation between mountain and valley are smaller. On the slopes especially of the Upper Black Forest as well as the elevations of the Northern Black Forest, there were glaciers during the last ice age, which had formed some cirque lakes due to their gradual runoff and the gravel carried in them. In the depressions, due to the gradual erosion by the watercourses, mostly the gneiss comes to light, which in combination with several granite bodies, such as the one in Triberg, forms the basement of the Black Forest, while the mountains consist of an overburden layer, which is variegated stone. On the western side, i.e. towards the Upper Rhine Graben, the bedrock is much more prominent than on the eastern side. On the western side, the streams and rivers carry more water than towards the east. In general, the red sandstone layer is stronger in the Northern Black Forest than in the Southern Black Forest. The water of the Black Forest valleys flows into the Rhine or the Danube. Thus, the main European watershed is also partly located in the Black Forest, has its westernmost bulge here. Some of the river sources are enclosed like wells, especially the Danube source near Donaueschingen, as well as the Neckar, Enz, Pregnitz and Berkel sources. The longest river within the Black Forest is the Enz, at 105 kilometers. A few rivers have changed their course in the past, for example the Wutach. In times about 70,000 years ago it was still a tributary of the Danube, which can be seen from its eastern course in its upper reaches. Only at Achdorf it bends with the so-called "Wutach knee" by 100 degrees to the south and then approaches the Rhine. The valley of the Elz also makes a tight bend as it winds around the mountain Gschasikopf. Another valley is famous not so much for geological reasons, but for television: The Glottertal provided the backdrop for the soap opera "Die Schwarzwaldklinik", which was very popular in the eighties. Even though the series is no longer running, the Glottertal is worth a visit. The Höllental is worth seeing because of its narrow incisions. In it, the Höllental Railway, named after it, winds its way from Freiburg up to Titisee-Neustadt. At its upper end is the four-kilometer-long Ravenna Gorge, which is very primal with its waterfalls. The 25-kilometer-long Simonswald Valley with its slopes up to 700 meters high is also rather wild. It contains a ban forest area and the forty meter high Zweribacher waterfalls. One of the most striking valleys and at the same time the border between the northern and southern Black Forest is the Kinzig Valley. Near Hausach, it lies 550 meters lower than the surrounding mountains and is relatively wide. Together with its tributaries, the river Kinzig forms the most water-rich and widely branched body of water in the Black Forest. Here, as well as in the side valleys, mining took place early on; cobalt and silver were mined near Schenkenzell. This valley was already developed by the Romans through the Kinzigtal road. There are also several caves that you can visit, such as the Erdmannshöhle in Hasel.

Return (Black Forest) cuckoo clock "Cuckoo, cuckoo" calls from the clock. The cuckoo clock is the symbol of the Black Forest par excellence. The wall clock in the shape of a little house, from which a cuckoo peeps out through a flap and proclaims the hour, is known all over the world and a popular souvenir for tourists to Germany from other countries. It is believed that a first form of the Black Forest cuckoo clock was created around 1738 in the workshop of Franz Anton Ketterer, a clock-maker from Schönwald. Possibly, however, the idea goes back to Ketterer's father. Michael Dilger from Neukirch and Matthäus Hummel are also said to have built cuckoo clocks in the Black Forest as early as 1742. Of Friedrich Dilger, at least, it is known that he deepened his knowledge of clockmaking in France in 1712. Whether the concept of a clock with a bird call originally came from the Black Forest can no longer be determined with certainty. It is said that the Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony already had a clock with a cuckoo call in his collection anno 1619. There is also an artistically decorated clock with a crowing rooster in the Strasbourg Cathedral. This might have been an inspiration for the cuckoo clock. At the time of the clock-makers Ketterer, Dilger and Hummel, the cuckoo clock did not look like it does today. It was initially a wooden clock with a cuckoo call in the form of two small organ pipes. The external design of the cuckoo clock, which is known all over the world and is common today, is the result of an initiative of Robert Gerwig. From 1850 to 1857, the ingenious designer of the Black Forest and Höllental Railways was the first director of the Duke of Baden's Clock-making School in Furtwangen, which had been founded in 1850 specifically for the needs of small clock-makers in order to provide a counterweight to the increasingly industrial mass production of clocks. In a kind of competition, Gerwig searched for designs for new, contemporary clock models and the result was the so-called "Bahnhäusleuhr" ("railroad cottage clock"), whose main characteristic is the sloping roof. Designed by Friedrich Eisenlohr, it is essentially modeled on a railroad guard's cottage, which was something very modern at the time. Over the years, various workshops added all sorts of ornaments and sometimes elaborate carvings to this basic concept, so that the cuckoo clock is always individually designed, despite its railroad cottage shape. There are even versions that, in addition to the cuckoo, have more figures that move or indicate the quarter hours by call. Most cuckoo clocks are quite small, only one is very huge. It is located in Triberg and is over fifteen meters high. Its movement weighs close to six tons, but the greatest thing is that you can enter its interior. Isn't that great? It's like a look-through puzzle, only big.

Return Baden-Baden Trinkhalle Princes and crowned heads have already rested here. The city of Baden-Baden is located on the northwestern edge of the Black Forest. Its history dates back to Roman times, which is connected with the hot thermal springs located not far from it. Near the city rises Mercury, not the planet, but a mountain with a height of 668 meters. A little further to the southeast is the highest point of the district, the Badener Höhe, with an altitude of 1,002 meters above sea level. However, the built-up areas of the city lie in the valley of the small river Oos. The Black Forest High Road, a very popular vacation route, starts from Baden-Baden. But why does Baden-Baden have such a double name? To explain it, you first have to know that the Romans called the place "Aquae", which means "spring" or "bath", because of the hot springs. This initially gave rise to the simple name Baden. In the course of history, today's Baden-Baden was the residence city of the Margraviate of Baden until 1689, and its state name "Baden" has its origin in the name of the city. Now, however, there are several towns called "Baden", one is in Switzerland, another near Vienna, and a "Badenweiler" used to be called merely "Baden". So "Baden-Baden" was used as a clarification, meaning "Baden in Baden". A special building of the city is the Trinkhalle, which is located in the Kurgarten. It is ninety meters long and contains sixteen Corinthian columns as supports. It was built according to the plans of the architect Heinrich Hübsch. Inside there are a total of fourteen large pictures painted by Jakob Götzenberger, each depicting a mythical legend from the surroundings of Baden-Baden. The city is best known for its thermal springs, which are up to 68 degrees hot. It is to them that Baden-Baden owes its status of a spa and health resort town, to which it owes many vacationers every year, including celebrities. Nowadays, the Kurhaus hosts a number of concerts and cultural events. In addition, a festival theater has been built in the old city train station, which is the second largest of its kind in Europe. Baden-Baden is an important location for the Südwestrundfunk radio station, which organizes the annual New Pop Festival here in September. Speaking of music, it is a central theme in Baden-Baden. Of international renown is the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, whose history can be traced back to the fifteenth century. The orchestra not only performs in the city, but also gives concerts in many other countries. In addition, there is the SWR Sinfonieorchster Baden-Baden and Freiburg. Since 1997, Baden-Baden has also hosted the Herbert von Karajan Whitsun Festival, which since 2003 has included the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize. And Baden-Baden also has something to offer when it comes to forests: Its municipal forest is namely the largest of Germany and covers an area of over 8,500 hectares. In addition, there are several vineyards around Baden-Baden. Last but not least, there is a 73-hectare ban forest, the Battert, in the district.

Return The lexicon explains everything worth knowing about the Black Forest region in terms of landscape, culture and tourism in numerous illustrated articles. The work is based on careful and critical research. The author (Dr. Andreas Fischer) was born in the Black Forest, studied linguistics in Konstanz, did his doctorate at the Humboldt University in Berlin and works as a proofreader and editor at a publishing house. sources literature HB Bildatlas Südschwarzwald, HB Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg Schäfer, Jens: Totally everything about the Black Forest. Folio, Vienna, ISBN 783852568201 Scharf, Hans-Wolfgang: The Black Forest Railway and the Villingen depot. Eisenbahn-Kurier Verlag, Freiburg. ISBN 3882557737 internet www.wikipedia.org

Return (Black Forest) kirschwasser Don't even smell it. Black Forest Kirsch has been known for a long time. It is mostly made from sweet cherry varieties such as the black cherry, which grow on the western edge of the Black Forest. It is a high-proof drink and is considered in the Black Forest as the crowning conclusion of every meal with ham and bread, at least that is the tradition. However, it is not recommended for you, because there is so much alcohol in it that the water burns. Black Forest Kirsch is a fruit brandy. It is produced by soaking the cherries in water without the pits. With the addition of special yeast, the so-called mash is created, which ferments for a period of up to three weeks and is then distilled in a still. Depending on the alcohol content of the finished brandy, water must be added to reduce the sharpness. Such fruit brandies can be obtained not only from cherries, but from many different types of fruit, such as apples, pears or plums. One must always register a distillery with the relevant authorities if one wants to produce fruit brandies. In the past, fruit was already grown on Black Forest farms, but not in fields or plantations, but in the form of individual trees. Often there was even an overproduction, so there was more fruit than the farmers could consume. In order not to have to throw it away, it was further utilized. It was either dried in the bakehouse, after bread had been prepared there and the oven was still warm, or it was distilled into alcoholic beverages. A fruit distillery was also part of the Black Forest farms, as was the farm garden. Farm gardens are also cultivated in the present day. On the farm garden route you (a particular hiking path) can see the most beautiful of them.

Return The farm from the inside A very clear structure The special thing about the Black Forest farms is the fact that almost the entire farm economy was housed in one large building. Hence, there were not only living and sleeping quarters in the house, but also the working areas and even the stables for the animals. The latter were present on the upper floors. Above, that is, in the attic, hay was stored and threshed. It could then be thrown into the stables through a hatch when needed. Consequently, the interior of a Black Forest farm is arranged in a very specific way. The concept of having everything under one roof ensured short walking distances and encouraged cooperation between the generations, several of whom always lived on the farm. This is called a "single-roof farm". Only the oldest generation, when they were no longer able to actively help, moved to an outbuilding, the so-called "Libding". This means "something stipulated for the lifetime", thus in short "life annuity". The internal structure of the Black Forest farms was also conditioned by the fact that in most cases the peasants practiced subsistence farming. They produced all their own food and utensils (brooms, rakes, dishes, etc.), a circumstance that meant that the people earned next to nothing. So it is not surprising that the peasants tried to gain money by making clocks on the side. These activities were carried out in the living room, mainly in winter. Bathrooms, as we know them today, did not exist in the farms. People washed in a trough in front of the house, which was supplied with fresh spring water. In addition, the interior of the historic Black Forest farms differs from modern houses in that the ceilings of the rooms are relatively low. So if you are tall, you have to be careful not to bump your head when you visit an old farm.