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Return cow A few cows and a lot of effort: agriculture in the Black Forest When the Black Forest was settled from the eighth century onwards, it was mainly for the reason of opening up new areas for agriculture. In addition, various mineral resources were mined. However, agriculture was the element that visibly spread throughout the region. Since the invention of the plow at that time led to the practice of agriculture even on more difficult soils, from then on agriculture was able to expand into areas that had previously been denied to it, especially high altitudes, typical of the Black Forest. The farms in the Black Forest were not built on the mountain tops, but on the slopes, which had several reasons. On the one hand, on slopes the burden of storms and snowdrifts in winter was less, and on the other hand, the farm was thus closer to water, because there are often springs on the slopes. In the valley, on the other hand, it was too wet because a brook flows there, which often swells considerably when the snow melts. However, the stream does have one advantage. It irrigates the meadows in the valley, so that the farmers could obtain suitable hay from the lush grass. Characteristic for the agriculture in the Black Forest is above all the brown-white cattle of the variety "Hinterwälder", which is also called "Hirschvieh" ("stag cattle"). It can be recognized by its white head. This breed is well adapted to the conditions in the low mountain ranges and therefore copes well with the poor soils of the Black Forest. The animals have firm claws, which allows them to graze on steep slopes. Their intestines are relatively long, which enables the Hinterwald cattle to utilize their feed optimally. Their bodies are quite small compared to other breeds, a cow weighing up to 420 kilograms, a bull up to 800 kilograms. Surprisingly, this cattle breed had almost disappeared. It is only since the seventies that farmers in the Black Forest have been trying to increase the population again. Besides cattle, there were many other animals on the farms, namely pigs, chickens, goats and sheep. Horses were also kept, which were needed for the heavy field work. The pastures for the cows were mostly located at the top of the mountain. In fact, halfway up the mountain are the fields for arable farming. In the Black Forest, these were usually used in the so-called "crop rotation", which means that the same crops were not cultivated every year. So sometimes rye and other cereals were sown, sometimes potatoes. In some years the fields were used as pastures to let the cattle fertilize them. Among the cereals, rye dominated, as it was more resistant to cold than wheat or barley. The Black Forest farmers mostly worked for their own needs, so almost everything that was needed was made on one farm. There was a saw for wood processing, which was driven by water power, as was the grain mill. The grain was baked into bread, which was often done outside the main building in a separate baking kitchen. Since here, too, work had to be done sparingly, there was only one day a month when baking took place, and then also several loaves at a time, in order to make the best use of the firewood. Since agriculture did not yield any profit in earlier times, the peasants have always tried other work to earn a little money. Especially clock-making is one of these activities. In modern times, many farms rely on tourism. So you can make wonderful farm vacations in the Black Forest, mostly in outbuildings that have been specially developed for vacation guests.

Return lathe Precision engineering at its best The Black Forest was already known for its clocks in the eighteenth century. At that time, these were made on the farms and sold by the clock carriers at markets in different parts of the world. In the nineteenth century, the production of clocks shifted more and more to factories established for this purpose, such as those in Triberg, St. Georgen or Schramberg. They also changed the method of production. Until then, the farmers had primarily used wood as a material, but industrial production now used metal. In addition, from now on, highly specialized timekeepers such as alarm clocks or control clocks were also developed. However, there were some companies in the Black Forest, especially in St. Georgen, that already in the nineteenth century produced simple lathes and sold them to the clock-makers on the farms. These companies were initially blacksmiths, which subsequently grew steadily. In the beginning, in addition to the lathes, they also manufactured other components for the clocks, so they were a link in the division of labor in clock-making in the Black Forest. Thanks to the lathe, the individual parts of the clocks could be worked on more quickly and easily by the farmers. The principle of this tool is to clamp a component in such a way that it is fixed but can be rotated around its own axis. Thus, it is possible to machine the workpiece from different sides and even rotate it while it is being machined. In addition, clamping leaves both hands free, allowing for more accurate tool guidance. The use of a lathe, provided that the clamped workpiece is one made of metal, is also called "metal cutting". The former blacksmiths mentioned above grew in the course to become specialists in lathes, which they manufactured not only for clock-making, but also for other fields. They built milling machines and industrial tools. Based on this orientation, in the twentieth century other companies in the field of precision engineering were established, specifically dedicated to the field of consumer electronics, especially in St. Georgen and Villingen. Brands such as Dual, PE and SABA are well known, although they no longer exist. These companies manufactured record players, cassette recorders and tape recorders. Today, the German Phonomuseum in St. Georgen is a reminder of that era. There is also the Hotel Federwerk in St. Georgen, which is set up in a former factory building and brings the industrial history of the place to life. Each room is dedicated in its design to a company or a technical innovation. Thus, the house contains a total of 51 different episodes about the inventors of the city.

Return Glassblowing The Black Forest was once almost gone. The glassblowing craft in the Black Forest is very old. Its beginnings probably date back to the twelfth century. Glass was produced along several river courses such as the Kinzig and the Murg. The first glassworks were established on the Feldberg around 1579, mainly due to the nature of the soil with its high content of quartz, a raw material indispensable for glass production. Originally, glassworks were not tied to a fixed location. They were usually leased by a landowner to the master glassblowers. Since a lot of wood was needed for their work, the forest around a glassworks was quickly cleared and the workshop had to be moved to another location. The exact knowledge for the production of the glass was kept secret by the master glassblowers. Moreover, it is rumored that the master glassblowers all came from a single widespread family that was only intermarried. Since the glassworks of the Black Forest were very far from the actual place of use of the glass produced, it had to be transported there. This was done by glass carriers who brought the material on their backs with a large stretcher, the so-called "Krätze", to the towns where it was sold at markets. Glassblowing then changed significantly in the eighteenth century. As the demand for glass increased enormously, especially for windows, larger factories sprang up in various places, around which entire villages were settled to accommodate and supply the needed labor. Together with rafting and charcoal burning, glassblowing also led to the almost complete deforestation of the Black Forest. Incidentally, this was originally a mixed forest and not a coniferous one as it is today. The fact that there are many spruce trees today is primarily due to their rapid growth, which predestined them for reforestation. Nevertheless, the industry of glass production has survived to the present day. Traditionally working glassblowing factories still exist today. You can watch the glassblowers at work in various places, such as Alpirsbach, Altglashütten near the Feldberg, Buhlbach near Baiersbronn or Herrischried. This is also possible in the Dorotheenhütte in Wolfach, where there is even a glass museum. In addition, many place names with the component "glass" remind of the long tradition in the Black Forest. There is often a "Glashalde" ("glass dump") or a "Glasbach" ("glass brook") and the Black Forest Railway even has three "Glasträgertunnel", which means "glass carrier tunnels". Click here to go to the Dorotheenhütte in Wolfach.

Lies in unserem großen Schwarzwaldlexikon viel Wissenswertes, Spannendes und manch Amüsantes über Deutschlands größtes Mittelgebirge, seine Menschen, Sehenswürdigkeiten und Spezialitäten sowie seine Tierwelt und einmalige Natur. Deine DEINDESIGNWERK GmbH In our large Black Forest lexicon, read a lot of interesting, interesting and sometimes amusing information about Germany's largest low mountain range, its people, sights and specialties as well as its animal world and unique nature. Find out more about the Black Forest by simply clicking on the individual motifs. MOTIVES Auerhahn Bär Bannwald Barockkirche St. Peter (Schwarzwälder-) Bauernstube Baumwipfelpfad Besucherzentrum Bierbrauerei (Gutacher-) Bollenhut Der Hof von innen Dom St. Blasien Donauquelle (Uhrmacher-) Drehbank Feldberg Flößerei (Gebackene Schwarzwald-) Forelle Freiburger Münster Gerberei Glasbläserei Hirsch Hochzeitspaar Kartoffeln und Bibeleskäs (Schwarzwälder-) Kirschtorte (Schwarzwälder-) Kirschwasser Köhlerei