Black Forest
There is also a suburb of Adelaide named Black Forest, South Australia.The
Black Forest (
German Schwarzwald) is a
wooded mountain range in
Baden-Württemberg, southwestern
Germany. It is bordered by the
Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the
Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493
meters (4,898
feet). The name Black Forest comes from the general dark color of the numerous
coniferous trees that grow in this region.
Black Forest ham and the
Black Forest gateau originated from this region.
Geologically, the Black Forest consists of a cover of
sandstone on top of a core of
gneiss. During the last ice age, the
Würm 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
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,
Lörrach, 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, is seems dark from the shadows of all the trees.
The cities of
Freiburg and
Baden-Baden are popular tourist destinations on the western edge of the Black Forest; towns in the forest include
Bad Herrenalb,
Baiersbronn,
Freudenstadt,
Gengenbach,
Schramberg,
Staufen,
Titisee-Neustadt, and
Wolfach. 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, the highest waterfalls in Germany; and the
gorge of the
Wutach River.
The
Vogtsbauernhöfe 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.
The Black Forest is known for its
cuckoo clocks,
fairy tales,
honey, and
Black Forest gateau.
*
Feldberg (1,493 m; 4,898 ft.)
*
Herzogenhorn (1,415 m; 4,642 ft.)
*
Belchen (1,414 m; 4,639 ft.)
*
Schauinsland (1,284 m; 4,212 ft.)
*
Kandel (1,241 m; 4,072 ft.)
*
Blauen (1,165 m; 3,822 ft.)
*
Hornisgrinde (1,164 m; 3,819 ft.)
Image:Feldberg.JPG|The Feldberg.Image:Blick über den Mittleren Schwarzwald 2.JPG|A view in the Middle Black Forest.Image:Schwarzwald 1.jpg|The Black Forest.Image:titisee_winter.jpg|The lake Titisee, popular year-round.Image:romantik.jpg|Famous Hotel Romantik next to the Titisee.Image:clock_forest.jpg|The Black Forest is known for its native clock makersImage:freistadt.jpg|The Münster cathedral of Freiburg, the most important city of the region.Image:Schwarzwald trails.jpg|Hiking in the Black Forest*
Hercynian Forest*
Deutsches Uhrenmuseum*
Touristic information at schwarzwald.de*
Touristic information at blackforestinfo.com*
Black Forest Article*
Black Forest Gifts*
Pictures*
Schwarzwald Bauernhaus Photo Gallery
