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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.