The Black Forest (Germany)

The Black Forest, located in Baden-Wuerttemberg Germany, close to the French border, is home to the original Cuckoo clock and Black Forest Cake. The famous Cuckoo clocks are all handmade and carved into many different beautiful designs.

If you plan to visit this beautiful area be sure to visit the ‘Mummelsee’ (Mummel Lake) where you can find a swarm of small shops selling cuckoo clocks, Black Forest meats, souvenirs, and many more interesting items.

The Mummelsee is approximately 1,055 meters above sea level. While visiting the Mummelsee you can jump on a small boat for a small fee and enjoy the beautiful Black Forest scenery but remember being 1,055 meters above sea level can become pretty chilly. Mid-summer would probably be the peak time for this attraction but any time will be enjoyable.

Home of the Black Forest Cake

The Black Forest cake is a chocolate cake with cherries and whipped cream. The Black Forest cake was first created in the Black Forest region of Germany in the late 19th century.

There are many different recipes for the Black Forest cake, but all versions include chocolate, cherries, and whipped cream.

The most famous version of the Black Forest cake is the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cherry Cake). This version includes Kirschwasser, a cherry liqueur. The Black Forest Cake is a popular dessert in Germany and around the world.

If you are visiting the Black Forest region of Germany be sure to try some of the delicious Black Forest Cake for yourself.

Home of the Black Forest Cuckoo Clock

The Black Forest cuckoo clock was first created in the Black Forest region of Germany in the late 18th century.

The Black Forest cuckoo clock is a wooden clock that features a cuckoo bird that pops out of the top of the clock and sings. The Black Forest clock association was founded in 1893 and is the world’s largest cuckoo clock manufacturer.

The Black Forest cuckoo clock is a popular souvenir and tourist attraction in the Black Forest region of Germany. While visiting the Black Forest region of Germany be sure to visit one of the many shops that sell Black Forest cuckoo clocks.

Points of Interest

The cities of Freiburg and Baden-Baden are popular tourist destinations on the western edge of the Black Forest; baroque-style towns in the forest include Bad Herrenalb, Baiersbronn, Freudenstadt, Gengenbach, Schramberg, Staufen, Titisee-Neustadt, and Wolfach. A baroque-style old town means they mainly consist of half-timbered houses.

Other popular destinations include such mountains as the Feldberg, the Belchen, the Kandel, and the Schauinsland; the Titisee and Schluchsee lakes; the All Saints Waterfalls; the Triberg Waterfalls, located in Central Black Forest the highest waterfalls in Germany; and the gorge of the Wutach River.

The Vogtsbauernh is an open-air museum that shows the life of 16th or 17th-century farmers in the region, featuring a number of reconstructed Black Forest farms.

The German Clock Museum in Furtwangen shows the history of the clock industry and of watchmakers.

Black Forest National Park

The Black Forest National Park was established on 1 January 2014. At 863.7 km² it is the largest national park in Baden-Württemberg and the second largest in Germany, after the Berchtesgaden National Park.

It stretches from the upper Danube valley in the north to the High Rhine in the south and from the eastern Swabian Alb to the Black Forest’s highest peaks.

The park is divided into two zones: a core area with strict environmental protection measures and a peripheral area with more relaxed regulations. The core area covers 505 km², while the peripheral area (358.7 km²) includes villages, agricultural land, and forestry.

The park is home to a wide variety of animal and plant species, including the Eurasian lynx, the hazel grouse, and the black woodpecker. It also includes a number of cultural heritage sites, such as the ruins of Heidelberg Castle and the Black Forest Open-Air Museum.

Freiburg Black Forest

The Freiburg Black Forest is a mountainous, wooded area in the southwest of Germany. It lies within the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, and its highest peak is the Feldberg, at 1,493 meters (4,898 ft) above sea level.

Baden Baden Black Forest

Baden-Baden is a large resort town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg, famous for its hot springs. A famous Roman bathhouse is one of the main attractions there. It has been a popular retreat since Roman times for its thermal baths due to its location on the river Oos.

In the early 1900s, Baden-Baden became a fashionable spa town, particularly popular with the rich and famous from Russia and other parts of Europe. The town is home to some very impressive architecture, including the Kurhaus casino, the Friedrichsbad spa, and the Lichtentaler Abbey.

Ruins of Heidelberg Castle

The ruins of Heidelberg Castle are a set of ruined walls and the palace foundation that offers a guided tour. Heidelberg Castle is situated at an elevation of 130 meters above the Neckar river, at some distance from it. The hill rises about 90 m above the plain on which it is built as well as about 30 meters over the course of just 1,000 m as measured from the outer curtain wall to the location of the inner keep.

The Neckar flows around this promontory separating it from the Fichtelberg massif, which rises about 1,500 meters east of Heidelberg on the opposite side of the river. Heidelberg is easily seen throughout Baden-Württemberg and especially from the Alp-like hills of the Odenwald.

The entrance to the city of Heidelberg is about two kilometers away (1¼ mi) in a straight line, although it may be closed depending on the route taken. On busy days, in particular in summer with crowded roads, the wait to get in can belong.

The Heidelberg castle is a mix of styles from Gothic to Renaissance. The oldest part of the castle is the keep, which was built in the 12th century. Other parts of the castle were added in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. In 1537, a fire destroyed most of the castle, and it was not rebuilt until the 17th century.

In 1803, during the Napoleonic Wars, Heidelberg Castle was occupied by French troops. In 1806, it was blown up by the French to prevent its use as a stronghold by the Austrians. The remains of the castle were used as a quarry for building materials for the city.

The first excavations of the castle ruins took place in 1839. The Heidelberg castle was reconstructed between 1900 and 1912. Today, the Heidelberg Castle is a popular tourist attraction with over 1 million visitors each year.

The Black Forest Open-Air Museum

The Black Forest Open-Air Museum is an open-air museum located in the Black Forest town of Dachsbach, Germany. Built on a mountain slope, the museum’s 25 historical buildings offer a cross-section of Black Forest vernacular architecture from the 17th to 19th centuries.

The majority of buildings were moved to the site from their original locations in the Black Forest. Some of the museum’s buildings include a blacksmith’s workshop, a water mill, a bakehouse, and a barn.

The Black Forest Open-Air Museum also includes an exhibition on traditional Black Forest crafts, such as wood carving and glassblowing. The museum is open from April to October.

The German Clock Museum Furtwangen

The German Clock Museum Furtwangen is a museum in the Black Forest town center of Furtwangen, Germany, dedicated to the history of clocks. The museum has over 1,000 clocks on display, from ancient timepieces to modern wristwatches.

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday.

Lake Titisee

Lake Titisee is a lake in the Southern Black Forest, Germany. With an area of 18.5 square kilometers, Lake Titisee is the largest lake in the Black Forest. The lake was formed about 10,000 years ago when a glacier retreated from the area.

Today, the lake is a popular destination, with a promenade and an old-town quarter that is surrounded by turrets and towers. The lake has a surface area of 1.84 square kilometers, is approximately 8.5 meters deep at its deepest point, and contains 2.7 cubic kilometers of water.

Black Forest Geography

Geologically, the Black Forest consists of a cover of sandstone on top of a core of gneiss. During the last ice age, the glaciation, the Black Forest was covered by glaciers; several cirques such as the Mummelsee are remains of this period.

Rivers in the Black Forest include the Danube, Enz, Kinzig, Murg, Neckar, and Rench. The Black Forest is part of the continental divide between the Atlantic Ocean watershed (drained by the Rhine) and the Black Sea watershed (drained by the Danube).

Administratively, the Black Forest belongs to the following counties; in the north: Enz, Pforzheim, Rastatt, and Calw; in the middle: Freudenstadt, Ortenaukreis, and Rottweil; in the south: Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, and Waldshut. Dialects spoken are Alemannic and Swabian.

The forest mostly consists of pines and firs, some of which are grown in commercial monoculture; the main industry is tourism.

Due to logging and land-use changes, the forest proper is only a fraction of the size it used to be. Moreover, it has suffered serious damage from acid rain.

The storm Lothar knocked down trees over hundreds of acres of mountaintops in 1999. This left some of the high peaks and scenic hills bare, with only primary-growth shrubs and young fir trees.

Many people say that they call it the black forest mountains because when on the mountain, in the wooded areas, it seems dark from the shadows of all the trees.

Once you enter the Black Forest you will notice many houses much like the houses above. These houses have the typical design you will see throughout your visit to the area.

Conclusion

Germany’s Black Forest region is a great place to visit. It has forest trails, and hiking trails for outdoor activities. Free guided tours on castle ruins. Learning history through their museums. And a good way to taste authentic food.

FAQ

See Related

• 66 Interesting Facts About Germany
• The States of Germany
• Must-See Castles in Germany