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Return (Baked Black Forest) trout This is how fish tastes especially good. When you visit the Black Forest, you will notice that hospitality is very important here. This is especially evident in the many great restaurants that can be found in all towns in the region. The Black Forest cuisine is known for its many trout recipes. There are said to be a total of 29 different ones, all prepared with this type of fish. This is no wonder, since trout is quite common in the narrow rivers and streams of the Black Forest, so it is primarily fished. It is not uncommon for trout to be the subject of elaborate breeding. In this process, the young fish created by artificial insemination are first kept and fed in ponds and finally released into flowing waters. The ponds must have fresh, oxygen-rich water and are usually specially constructed for this purpose. Trout are often boiled blue. This involves boiling the gutted fish whole in salt water, with vinegar added. During the process, the fish skin takes on a bluish color. In blue boiling, the trout is not scaled. It is different with the preparation according to "Müllerinart" ("the miller's way"). Here the fish is first soaked in salted milk, then in flour, and then fried. It is served with lemon juice and parsley. The name "Müllerinart" has probably spread because of the use of flour. Anyway, you don't have to be a miller to prepare such a dish. But not only fish dishes are typically Black Forest. Other recipes also come from here, although they originally came from the farmers, who had to be thrifty with the food they earned. This is how the "Bibeleskäs", a curd cheese, "Schäufele", "Leberle" and "Nierle" were created. Nowadays, the Black Forest is characterized by outstanding gastronomy, especially in Baiersbronn. This is due to the fact that it is home to two three-star restaurants. In fact, there are only ten of these in the whole of Germany. Enjoy your meal. But what are these stars and what do they mean? Basically, you can think of them as school grades, ranging from one to three stars, with "three stars" being the highest award. The stars are awarded in what is known as the "Guide Michelin", a guide published annually by the tire manufacturer of the same name. The Guide has been published since 1900, initially only for France, and since 1910 also for Germany and Switzerland. Finally, from 1926 onwards, stars were awarded to restaurants, which brought the Guide to high fame. However, it does not always have to be a star restaurant if you want to eat well. It also tastes delicious in a Versperbeiz, a kind of pub, and there are many of them in the Black Forest.

Return Schäppel Does the bride have to wear it all day? The hat "Bollenhut" is without a doubt the most famous part of the women's costume from the Black Forest. However, there is a traditional headdress that is not only heavier, but also much more elaborate in its composition, namely the magnificent, round "Schäppelekrone". The largest version, weighing up to five kilograms and measuring almost 40 centimeters in height and diameter, is found in St. Georgen. It is documented there as early as 1517. In addition, Schäppels are found in St. Peter, St. Märgen, in the Elz and Wolftal valleys. Essentially, the Schäppelekrone consists of a wire frame. The individual decorations are attached to it, which are fabric roses, tinsel, tiny mirrors, coins, and glass balls or beads. A colorful decorative ribbon is also tied around the wire frame. Since the entire headdress is anything but light, it must be fastened several times to prevent it from slipping off the wearer's head. For this purpose, on the one hand, fabric ribbons are tied to the braids of the wearer. On the other hand, two ear bands are used, one meter in length and five centimeters in width, which are also decorated with beads and are wrapped around the ears before being connected to the braids in turn. But that's not all. The Schäppel costume also includes a so-called "Schurzbändel", which is usually a purple ribbon attached to a loop of the apron. In addition, purple hair strings are attached to the braids of the Schäppel wearer, which reach to the edge of the apron. Consequently, no woman could put on the Schäppelekrone alone, but always needed helping hands. The Schäppelekrone gets its name from the word "Schapel" from the Middle Ages. It meant "virgin's wreath" and thus it becomes clear that the Schäppelekrone is also primarily a bridal ornament. The headdress, also called "bridal crown" elsewhere, has developed from the simple maiden's wreath and varies greatly from region to region. In the Black Forest, with its early glassblowing workshops, a lot of glass in the form of small balls was incorporated into the Schäppelekrone. The Schäppelekrone was worn not only in St. Georgen but also in Simonswald. The girls received it for confirmation and put it on for the last time for their own wedding, a parallel to the Bollenhut. In St. Georgen, in addition to the Schäppelekrone, there is also the German Phonomuseum to marvel at. It is also interesting that the Brogen mountain in the northeast of the district forms a triple watershed, namely between the Rhine and the Danube on the one hand and between the Rhine and the Neckar on the other.

Return Black Forest Farm Everything under one roof The typical farmhouses of the Black Forest are found mainly in the southern part of the mountains. They are mostly large, their roofs pulled down low and usually inclined at 45 degrees. This circumstance testifies to the snow load that the buildings had to bear in the harsh winters, as well as to the strong winds, to which the shape of the roof was intended to offer as little surface for attack as possible. In summer, on the other hand, the overhanging roof, sloping on all four sides, protected the buildings from the sun's rays. The basic features of this construction method probably originated in the Alpine Rhine region, i.e. in northern Switzerland. The roof of a Black Forest house is also called a "crippled hip roof". This has the following reason. If a roof is pulled downwards to all four sides of the house, thus forming a kind of canopy, it is called a "hipped roof". If it does not end at the same height on two opposite of the four sides, but higher up than on the other two sides, it is called a "crippled hip roof". Hipped roofs ensure that the entrance to the house remains covered and thus free of snow in winter. Traditionally, straw or wooden shingles were used to cover the roof. It is supported by a ridge pillar. The foundation of the house was built of stone and formed the basement. All the floors above were built with wood, requiring up to four hundred beams per house. First, a framework of planks was created, which stood vertically and ran through all the floors. This was then connected to each other by horizontal elements. However, this construction method had one disadvantage: most of the materials used were combustible. Thus, even today in the Black Forest, a lightning strike can cause an entire farmhouse to burn down completely. To contain the damage from a fire as much as possible, many Black Forest farms have a fire pond. Farms in the Black Forest are so-called "single-roof farms", which means that they house the entire farm business within one building. In most cases, they were built not far from springs to secure the water supply. Since it was in turn too wet in the valley bottoms, this meant that the houses rarely stood on mountain tops or in depressions, but were built on the slopes. In the Black Forest, regional differences have developed in the way farms are built. This is due to the geological and climatic conditions of the respective locations. In a wide valley like that of the river Kinzig, one did not have to fear the same snow load as in a narrow, higher lying one. Therefore, thatch roofing was more common at lower elevations, while shingles were preferred at higher elevations. In addition, houses that stood on a slope could be equipped with a special feature, namely several entrances on different floors. In total, seven types of the Black Forest house occur. The oldest and most original form is the Höhen- or Heidenhäuser, of which there are two variants, differing only in the way the building is oriented to the slope. The Gutachtäler and Kinzigtäler houses are quite similar. They mostly differ from each other in the ground plan. Kinzigtäler houses are found not only at the river Kinzig but also at the Schutter and Rench rivers. The Zartener house is also found in flat valleys. In contrast, the Schauinslandhaus and the Hotzenhaus are buildings for steep slopes. The Hotzenhaus is recognizable by its roof, which is clearly lowered on all four sides. There is also a so-called "shield" behind the outer wall, which is a corridor. It serves to keep the outside cold from the living quarters. The Schauinsland houses, on the other hand, are relatively small. In the open-air museum Vogtsbauernhof in Gutach you can visit ancient farmhouses. The central building has been on this site since 1612 and is an example of the Gutachtäler farmhouse type, which is probably the best known. Around it, other historic Black Forest farms have been faithfully reconstructed to show the diversity of their architecture. Thus, there is also a Kinzigtäler house that once stood in Oberwolfach, the Lorenzhof from 1608. In this type of house, the stables are on the lower floor, since the building in the wide valley does not offer access from the outside to the upper floors. The Hippenseppenhof from Furtwangen-Katzensteig belongs to the so-called Höhenhaus or Heidenhaus types ("high or heath houses"). It was built there as early as 1599.

Return Rafting On round logs to the Netherlands: rafters in the Black Forest The rafting trade in the Black Forest is very old. It is documented as early as the beginning of the 14th century, especially on the Kinzig, a 93-kilometer-long river that forms the border between the northern and southern Black Forest with its striking valley and abundance of water. It rises near Lossburg in the Freudenstadt district, then flows through towns such as Alpirsbach, Schiltach and Wolfach before its valley becomes wide and deep from Hausach. It finally flows into the Rhine at Kehl. By then it has overcome a difference in altitude of 548 meters. There was also rafting on the Enz, the Murg and even on the Dreisam and Wiese. Especially in Schiltach and Wolfach, rafting was one of the most important economic activities from the 14th century on. Trees were felled in the Black Forest, where wood was plentiful. The delimbed, barkless trunks were either thrown into the river or, if there was no body of water nearby, they were let slide down into the valley on so-called "Riesen". These were slides that were also made of logs. In the heyday of rafting, the Riesen were very numerous. Today there is only one reconstructed one, and that is at the Glaswaldsee near Bad Rippoldsau. In the water, which was specially dammed for this purpose, the logs were joined together with the help of so-called "Wieden", wooden ropes, to form huge rafts, which then glided downstream, usually with the drained water. Their dimensions were not to be underestimated, up to six hundred meters long and six meters wide, and therefore anything but easy to steer. Especially at weirs and the whirlpools that occurred behind them, the rafts were heavily stressed and it was not uncommon for the rafters to get caught in the water. At that time, there was no alternative means of transport that could have carried so many logs at once. The rafts carried the wood along the Kinzig river to the Rhine, and there to Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Mainz. The Rhine rafters even took it as far as the Netherlands. Especially in Amsterdam, the logs were used as foundation piles for house construction. A considerable part of the piles still existing today are former Black Forest trees. This is the origin of the name "Holländertanne" for fir trees, which were very strong. In the 15th century, rafting had its widest expansion on the river Kinzig to Alpirsbach, on the tributary Schiltach to Schramberg as well as on the Wolf to Bad Rippoldsau. It was not until the advent of railroad traffic at the end of the 19th century that rafting on the Kinzig lost its importance, mainly due to the construction of the line from Hausach to Freudenstadt, which was completed in 1886. But this is not the only reason for the disappearance of this craft. Rather, there was hardly any wood available at that time, as the Black Forest was mostly clear-cut. It was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that reforestation began. Nowadays, rafts still travel on the Kinzig, but they no longer transport wood. Rather, hobby rafters emulate the former activity. In addition, there are raft museums in Wolfach, Gengenbach, Calmbach near Bad Wildbad and Schiltach (Schüttesäge Museum), which recall this traditional craft, and a raft park in Wolfach.

Return Bannwald Just let nature be nature Usually, forests in Germany are managed. This means that there are foresters who monitor the growth and condition of the trees and intervene if necessary by cutting down diseased trees or trees infested by pests such as the bark beetle. In addition, healthy trees are felled in order to process their wood. In a ban forest, things are different. Here, the forest can grow as it used to, that is, before human intervention. Consequently, there neither are foresters nor any management. This has several effects. Different tree species can grow unhindered. Old trees fall and rot, thus forming new nutrients for the soil. This also creates small clearings that provide habitat for other plants and animals. In the undergrowth, animals find hiding places and can create shelters. Some bird species prefer the broken trunks as nesting sites. In the Black Forest, several areas are considered ban forests, covering a total space of 4,600 hectares. The best-known ban forest is located in the core zone of the Black Forest National Park near Baiersbronn, but it has existed since 1911. It dates back to a 1908 recommendation by Christian Wagner, then a professor of forestry, to preserve the forest, which was already quite pristine at the time. Initially, the area amounted to about 86 hectares. Later, in 1998, the ban forest was expanded to 150 hectares. It is the oldest natural forest reserve in Baden-Württemberg. With 102 hectares, the Feldsee forest on the Feldberg massif is also considerable. If forests are only used economically to a very limited extent, they are referred to as protected forests. There are a total of 11,500 hectares of these in the Black Forest. The term "Bannwald" ("ban forest") is quite old. In the Middle Ages, the word "Bann" described the fact that only the respective sovereign had a right to use a place. All others, for example farmers, were "banished" from it. Thus, "Bannwald" has the meaning that no one has a right of use to the piece of forest. Especially in Baden-Württemberg, the "ban" applies completely; any kind of use is prohibited in a ban forest.

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Return Museums in the Black Forest Here everyone gets his money's worth. The Black Forest is rich in culture in many respects. No wonder, then, that quite a few museums have established themselves here with various focuses such as art, crafts, history and so on. Almost all communities have at least one, often these are private collections that are made accessible to the public. It is worth mentioning that most of the museums are geared towards families and try to impart knowledge and make it tangible. So take a look, it's definitely worth it. In the following you will get a small selection of what you can marvel at here. A big topic in the Black Forest is clock-making. There is the German Clock Museum in Furtwangen. It shows with its rich inventory not only the history of clock-making in the Black Forest as well as the industry that emerged from it, but also offers particularly worth seeing pieces from all over the world. One thousand clocks are exhibited, the total stock amounts to 8,000. In Triberg there is a museum of local history with a historical clock-maker's workshop. You can also admire traditional costumes and automatic musical instruments. The monastery museum of St. Märgen offers another interesting collection of clocks. The German Phono Museum in St. Georgen highlights the products of the phonographic industry from its beginnings to modern times. On display are phonographs and gramophones, record players (not only from two well-known manufacturers that once existed in St. Georgen) and other devices from the field of consumer electronics. The museum was founded in 2011. Also in the town is the Hermann Papst Museum in the historic Mühlegg building, dedicated to the inventor and manufacturer of the same name. The tour continues in the valley of the river Kinzig. There, Wolfach offers a glass museum dedicated to glassblowing in the Black Forest. The Schüttesäge Museum in the neighboring town of Schiltach deals with rafting, tanning and the timber industry. It was opened in 1989 and contains a model of a Kinzig raft as a special exhibit. Tanning techniques are also demonstrated. There are corresponding leathers for each of these. In the open-air museum Vogtsbauernhöfe near Gutach you can visit historical Black Forest houses in all their diversity. In addition to a building that has stood on the spot since 1612, others have been added. Farms from various villages in the region served as models and have been faithfully reconstructed on the grounds of the open-air museum. Some of them were disassembled at their place of origin and their components were numbered in order to reassemble them in Gutach. So you could say it was a giant look-through puzzle. Another open-air museum is the Klausenhof Herrischried or the Resenhof in Bernau. The latter is a farm built in 1789 that has been used as a museum since 1977. In Hinterzarten there is a ski museum founded by Georg Thoma. It is located in the Hugenhof, a farmhouse more than three hundred years old, where not only the history of winter sports in the Black Forest is presented, but also exhibits on ski equipment and winter sports fashion. In the mountain Schauinsland not far from Freiburg there is a museum mine. There is also a visitor mine in Freudenstadt called "Holy Three Kings". On the Feldberg, more precisely the Seebuck, there is a ham museum located in a former radio tower. Bathing facilities from Roman times can be visited in Baden-Baden and in Hüfingen. In Pforzheim, the second largest city in the Black Forest, jewelry making is a theme. Therefore, there is a jewelry museum there. Not to forget, of course, several art museums and collections. These include the Grässlin Collection in St. Georgen, which is closely associated with the artist Martin Kippenberger, and especially the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden. Located right next to the Kunsthalle, it opened in 2004 and features classical as well as contemporary artworks and special exhibitions. The museum is very popular, not least because of its bright, light-filled rooms. Moreover, it is connected to the adjacent Kunsthalle by a bridge made of glass. Both houses offer joint events. Also quite worth seeing is the Museum Art.Plus in Donaueschingen, formerly called "Bidermannmuseum". Here contemporary art is offered in various exhibitions, showing both international and regional artists. The museum opened its doors in 2009 in a house built as early as 1841 with a varied history. Here you can get to some museums German clock museum Furtwangen Triberg local history museum German Phonomuseum St. Georgen Wolfach Glass Museum Schiltach saw museum Open-air museum Vogtsbauernhöfe Gutach Klausenhof Herrischried open-air museum Open-air museum Resenhof Bernau Hinterzarten Ski Museum Freiburg museum mine Freudenstadt visitor mine Feldberg Ham Museum Jewelry Museum Pforzheim Museum Frieder Burda Baden-Baden Museum Art.Plus Donaueschingen Hermann Papst Museum St. Georgen

Return Black Forest map This is how big this forest is The Black Forest is the largest and highest low mountain range in Germany. It is located in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg and extends over a length of 150 kilometers from the Kraichgau in the north to the High Rhine in the south. Its western border is formed by the Upper Rhine Graben, and to the east it is joined by various landscapes such as the Baar. Its total area is about 6,009 square kilometers. On the territory of the Black Forest there are several rural and urban districts. In the northwest lies the district of Rastatt, embedded in it is the city district of Baden-Baden. East of Rastatt follows the district of Karlsruhe, then the Enz district, which surrounds the city district of Pforzheim. This contains the second largest city in the Black Forest, namely Pforzheim. Further south are the districts of Calw and Freudenstadt, and a bit further south the Ortenaukreis district in the west and the Rottweil district in the east. Again more to the south, from west to east, lie the Emmendingen district and the Schwarzwald-Baar district, which extends far to the south and borders on the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. To the south of the district of Emmendingen follow the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, embedded in it the large city of Freiburg im Breisgau, then the district of Lörrach in the extreme southwest of Baden-Württemberg and the district of Waldshut. The largest city in the Black Forest is Freiburg im Breisgau. The Black Forest is divided into a northern and a southern section, with the valley of the river Kinzig forming the border between these two regions. The northern section is up to 30 kilometers wide, while the southern section is up to 50. In the north, the highest mountain is the Hornisgrinde with 1,164 meters, while in the south it is the 1,493 meters high Feldberg, which is also the highest peak of a low mountain range in Germany and likewise the highest mountain that is not in the Alps. In total, there are over a hundred mountains in the Black Forest whose peaks rise higher than 1,000 meters above sea level. A small selection: Three mountains exceed the 1,400 meters mark: Feldberg (1,493), Herzogenhorn (1,416) and Belchen (1,414). Eleven reach more than 1,300 meters: Stübenwasen (1,389), Grafenmatte (1,376), Immisberg (1,373), Silberberg (1,359), Spießhorn (1,351), Toter Mann (1,322), Köpfle (1,321), Bärhalde (1,319), Blößling (1,309), Hochkopf (1,309) and Schweizerwald (1,305). Twenty-seven mountains are higher than 1,200, thirty higher than 1,100, and another thirty-five higher than 1,000 meters. The Black Forest is the westernmost section of the main European watershed. It divides the drainage basins of the Rhine and the Danube, with the Danube, the second longest river in Europe, originating in the Black Forest. In addition, the Neckar, the river that is considered particularly native to Baden-Württemberg, rises on the edge of the Black Forest. Similar to the Vosges Mountains in the west, the Black Forest on the eastern side of the Upper Rhine Graben has been gradually pushed upward over time. As a result, the mountains on the west side of the Black Forest rise quite steeply from the lowlands, while they slope more like hills to the east. The bedrock of the Black Forest, which rises to the surface on the western side, consists of gneiss, with some granite intercalations. Further to the east and north there is an overburden layer of red sandstone. Climatically, the Black Forest is maritime, which means that it has a lot of precipitation and rather mild winters. However, because the temperatures are lower on average than in the lowlands due to the altitude, the winters are usually cold and snowy. On the west side of the Black Forest there is more precipitation than on the east side. In winter, inversion weather often occurs at high altitudes. In the valleys it is then foggy and cold, but on the mountains sunny and mild. Therefore, especially in winter, you can enjoy a breathtaking distant view on the peaks of the Black Forest. Characteristic for the region are still the good air and a very special smell, which you will immediately notice when you visit the Black Forest. By the way, the area with the highest probability of hailstorms in Germany is also located in the Black Forest, more precisely in the Schwarzwald-Baar district. Already in the sixth century BC. Celts settled in the peripheral regions of the Black Forest. This is known from various archaeological finds, for example from near Villingen-Schwenningen. The interior of the Black Forest was considered impenetrable at that time. The Romans also saw it that way and gave this area various names. For example, it was called "Abnoba mons", i.e. "mountain (or mountains) of Abnoba", whereby Abnoba was a Celtic water goddess and was regarded in Badenweiler as the protective goddess of the healing springs. Another Latin name for the Black Forest was "Marciana silva", which probably means "border forest". But also "Silva nigra" was in use, "black forest", referring to the impenetrability of the primeval forest. In any case, there is evidence that the Black Forest was called as it is today in Old High German as early as the ninth century. The Romans did not settle the interior of the Black Forest, but they did build a road in the Kinzig valley to connect their settlements in Strasbourg and Rottweil. Most likely, it also served mining, which was already practiced in the Kinzig valley in Roman times, as well as troop movements. Otherwise, the Romans built some settlements on the edges of the low mountain range, mainly with baths. It is assumed that the Alemanni settled the Black Forest for the first time from the eighth century. At that time an improvement of the climate occurred. Already in the tenth century, higher valleys were developed. However, the Upper Black Forest, i.e. the area surrounding the Feldberg massif, remained deserted until the Middle Ages. Today, the Black Forest is known and extremely popular with tourists primarily because of its many forests, good, healing air and several cultural features. Black Forest cake is eaten almost everywhere in the world, the cuckoo clock with its characteristic bird call is a prized souvenir, and successful winter athletes from this region have won medals. You can easily get through the Black Forest by car or train. Thus, there are some very famous vacation routes that lead to popular destinations. The Black Forest High Road, about sixty kilometers long, begins in Baden-Baden, then runs southeast on the B500 to Freudenstadt. It passes the Hornisgrinde, the highest mountain in the northern Black Forest, and crosses the Black Forest National Park. It is the oldest vacation road in the Black Forest. There is also the German Clock Road. It links the places where the watchmaking craft was alive, passes Furtwangen with the German Watch Museum, as well as Lenzkirch, Rottweil, St. Georgen, St. Peter, Titisee-Neustadt and Triberg. Railroad lines are mostly of high tourist value in the Black Forest because of the reduced travel speeds due to the climbs. Famous are the Black Forest Railway from Offenburg to Constance and the Höllental Railway from Freiburg to Donaueschingen. Trips with museum trains are offered on the Sauschwänzlebahn (or Wutachtalbahn) from Immendingen to Waldshut-Tiengen. In addition, there are a lot of smaller branch lines, in the main they branch off from the Upper Rhine Railway.

Return bear Now you must be rubbing your eyes. Are there really bears here? No, the animals are no longer found in the Black Forest, but they have left many traces in the culture of the region with their thick paws. Thus, you will find many inns called "bears" here, as well as fountains and squares. Also worth mentioning is the Bärental Valley not far from the Feldberg. It is known not least for its abundance of snow in winter, which can sometimes become a problem for traffic. How the valley got its name, however, cannot be clarified. There is also a "Bärhalde" with some bogs near the Feldberg. Since 1120, Freiburg has had the "red bear", an inn that boasts of being the oldest in all of Germany. The bear is the largest land predator on earth. The quadruped with the muscular back and stubby tail can grow up to 1.5 meters high and weigh a maximum of 250 kilos, although there are also much smaller specimens. Bears eat not only meat, but also berries, grasses as well as honey, which they steal from beehives. In the Black Forest, as well as in Europe in general, the brown bear was native. He, like all bears, can climb and swim well. In summer and autumn he has to eat a layer of fat, which he needs for the winter. In the cold season it hibernates and therefore cannot look for food. Unlike lynx and beaver, the brown bear is unlikely to return to the Black Forest, as its presence would cause too many problems. After all, an adult animal is potentially dangerous to humans. Only a few years ago there was "Bruno, the problem bear", which caused a big fuss in Bavaria and had to be shot in the end.

Return Wedding couple Always a special celebration A traditional wedding in the Black Forest is different from the celebrations that are common nowadays. It contains several program points. The dances of honor shortly after the actual wedding ceremony are followed by the tipple around noon, with only the bride and groom's closest relatives kept free. This is followed by a wedding dinner that can be described as opulent. After more dancing, a supper is served, usually potato salad with sausages. At midnight the celebration is over. It is followed, however, by a post-wedding ceremony, where the bride and groom are treated to a meal, usually the next day or the next Sunday. Also, the newlyweds move in together only after the wedding. The wedding was a turning point in the costume for women. For unmarried women, the "Bollenhut" hat was red, then black after the wedding. Also the "Schäppelekrone" known from St. Georgen was only allowed to be worn until the marriage. Since both the Bollenhut and the Schäppelekrone belonged to a certain traditional costume, this meant that the bride at a Black Forest wedding was not dressed in white, as is widespread today. There is also a special feature on the subject of weddings in Triberg. With an area of 1.5 square meters, Germany's smallest registry office is located here. Only one registrar and the bride and groom fit into it. Would you prefer to get married in the highest wedding room in Baden-Württemberg? Then that is also possible in the Black Forest, namely in the Feldberg Tower. You don't have a fiancé(e) yet? Then you should travel to Freiburg and visit the old town. A legend says that someone who comes from out of town and accidentally steps into one of the Freiburger "Bächle" (the small channels in the city) will marry a Freiburg citizen in the future.

Return Black Forest Railway Across the Black Forest: With the Black Forest Railway from Offenburg to Constance Do you know the Black Forest Railway? It is one of the most famous mountain lines in Germany and was put into operation in 1873, about 150 years ago. It runs from Offenburg via the Black Forest towns of Hornberg, Triberg, St. Georgen and Villingen to Constance on Lake Constance and is a total of 150 kilometers long. When you travel on the Black Forest Railway, it's quite a steep climb at first. Especially from Hornberg, the line winds its way over 447 meters in altitude until it reaches its highest point in the Sommerautunnel at just over 830 meters above sea level. Of course, a train cannot simply climb such a steep incline. Therefore, when the railroad line was built, care was taken to ensure that the gradient did not exceed 1:50 and that there were no curves with a radius tighter than 300 meters. This was planned so that even long and heavy trains could run on the Black Forest Railway without any problems. In addition, one has tried to lay the tracks always on the southern slope of the mountains, so that in winter the load of the snow is not too strong. Because the train line winds around the mountains several times, there is a place a little below Triberg station where you can see the Black Forest Railway three times on top of each other. The towns of Hornberg and St. Georgen are only twelve kilometers apart as the crow flies, but the railroad line between them is 29 kilometers long. This is due to the fact that it contains two large reversing loops. But probably the most famous thing about the Black Forest Railway is its 39 tunnels. The longest of them is the Sommerautunnel with 1,697 meters. It is located near the town of St. Georgen, which is the highest town on the railroad line. If you take all the tunnels together, they make up a length of 9.5 kilometers. St. Georgen is not only the highest place on the Black Forest Railway, but it also has something that is rare elsewhere: a fire engine that can also travel on rails. At first, of course, the good old steam locomotives ran on the Black Forest Railway. Later, they were replaced by diesel locomotives. In the seventies, the entire line was electrified. For this, the tracks in the tunnels had to be lowered so that they were not too high together with the overhead line. Today, steam locomotives can once again be admired on the line. They are harnessed in front of museum trains that can puff through the tunnels mostly on Sundays in summer. The Black Forest Railway is not the only railroad line that runs through the Black Forest. Besides it, the Höllental Railway from Freiburg to Donaueschingen, which was completed in 1901, is particularly worth seeing. Like the Black Forest Railway, it was planned by Robert Gerwig. At least on the edge of the Black Forest runs the very elaborately routed Sauschwänzlebahn ("sow's tail line"), whose trademark is a "Sauschwänzle" in the figurative sense, namely a tunnel that contains a complete switchback loop, so that the railroad line runs under itself. This really doesn't happen very often, only once in Germany. In addition, part of this line is operated as a museum railroad with steam locomotives.

Return Feldberg You can't get any higher here: The Feldberg. With an altitude of 1,493 meters, the Feldberg is the highest elevation in the Black Forest. At the same time, it is the highest mountain of all low mountain ranges in Germany and outside the Alps. It is located southeast of Freiburg in an area known as the Upper Black Forest. The Feldberg massif has a total of four peaks. Not far from the main peak, which is also called the "Höchste" ("highest"), is the Mittelbuck, with an altitude of 1,472 meters. To the north of it, 900 meters away from the Höchsten, is the Baldenweger Buck with 1,460 meters. About two kilometers southeast of the main peak rises the Seebuck, which at 1,449 meters forms a kind of foothill. Below it, at 1,109 meters, lies Feldsee, a glacial cirque lake. A total of five valleys are cut into the Feldberg, some of them very deep, especially those to the west. The Zastlertal and the St. Wilhelmer Tal open to the northwest, the Wiesental to the southwest. To the east extends the valley of the Seebach, the later river Wutach, which crosses the Feldsee. The St. Wilhelmer Tal offers a wonderful view of the Feldberg, which can be seen from there above the peaks of the surrounding mountains. Because of its height, the Feldberg is predestined for weather observation. Regular measurements have taken place since 1915, and a station with radar has existed since 1937. Visitors are also amazed by the fantastic and unrestricted distant view of the Vosges, Swabian Alb, Hegau and Alps. In favorable weather, you can even make out the Zugspitze, Germany' highest mountain. Especially in summer, a hike in the surroundings of the Feldberg is worthwhile. Then the diversity becomes clear, which results from the interaction of high forests and moors, the ice-age cirque lakes and the pastures and is unique in this form. It is worth mentioning that the Upper Black Forest is formed and influenced by ice-age glaciers. The Feldsee is thus a cirque lake, the largest of its kind in the Black Forest. It reaches a depth of up to 32 meters and is almost round. The Feldsee forest around it has been declared a ban forest on an area of 102 hectares. The Feldberg is also known for its skiing area. The offer there includes sixteen slopes of various degrees of difficulty as well as five chairlifts and nine lifts. In addition, there are six trails for cross-country skiing. It is amazing that the oldest still existing ski club in Germany was founded here on the Feldberg, the SC Todtnau of 1891. In 1897 the first women's ski race was also held here. The Feldberg can come up with even more special features. Around it lies a nature reserve of the same name, which was even the first in Baden-Württemberg and with 4,227 hectares is also the largest. And in an adjacent valley is Feldberg-Bärental, at 967 meters, Germany's highest standard-gauge railroad station, which is part of the Dreiseenbahn from Titisee to Seebrugg. On the Seebuck there is a tower that can be climbed as a lookout point. It was used as a radio tower, but since 2013 it has contained a museum dedicated to Black Forest ham and a wedding room, the highest in Baden-Württemberg. Not far from the tower is a monument in honor of the Chancellor of the Reich, Bismarck. In the Upper Black Forest there are other prominent mountains, for example the Herzogenhorn with 1,415 meters or the Belchen with 1,414 meters. The highest elevation in the Northern Black Forest is the Hornisgrinde at 1,164 meters. In the entire Black Forest, there are over a hundred mountains that exceed the one-thousand-meter mark. Particularly to the Black Forest Belchen there is a special feature. From its peak you can see in the distance two other mountains with the same name, one is in the Vosges, the other in Switzerland. If you stand on the Belchen in the Black Forest in the evening on March 21 as well as on September 23, i.e. at the equinox, you can see that the sun sets over the Belchen in the Vosges. If you are at the same place in the morning on December 21, at the winter solstice, the sun rises directly over the Belchen in Switzerland.