The Black Forest in Germany, or Schwarzwald, is one of the world’s most fascinating and diverse forests. It can be found in Baden Württemberg, a vast forest mountain range and the leading tourist destination in Germany. It is 1,493 meters (4,898 ft) above sea level, bounded by the Rhine Valley and a forest floor of 6,009 sq km to its south.
The Black Forest Germany attracts many tourists worldwide, but most come from Germany and Switzerland. In the Black Forest region, tourists can visit a sizeable modernistic light engineering industry from watchmaking and gold mining days.
History Of Black Forest Germany
This mountain range is densely packed with conifer trees, which are highly dark green, so the Romans gave it the name The Black Forest. The combination of cultural highlights, charming old towns, culinary delights, and colourful nature makes this place worth visiting.
The Black Forest originates from the Neckar and Danube rivers, near France and Switzerland’s border. Schluchsee is the highest lake in the area and is located in the southern Black Forest.
The lake was formed by glaciation in the Feldberg area. It was originally 930 meters high above sea level and 7.3 km long in an area of 1.4 km across; this glacier lake is the largest in the Black Forest, Germany.
The Fun Activities
This town has scenic lakes, hiking trails, a giant cuckoo clock, the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, and pine forests. The cuckoo palace is associated with some of the eminent cuckoo clock makers in the region. The best time to visit the town is in early spring or late autumn to see its best.
You can visit Triberg Waterfalls, Titisee-Neustadt Lake, Mummelsee Lake, the Black Forest Museum, Sommerrodelbahn Gutach’s rides. Also, visit the German Clock Museum, Danube Nature Park, Dorotheenhütte Glassworks, and go to the two-way cable car at Schauinsland.
How To Get In?
Take the Black Forest high road to set foot in the Black Forest region. One can take the bus line- 245 to Mummelsee and share the taxi or hike 7 miles. To visit the charming corners and small towns, you can hire a rented car that makes your ride easy. A trip will take more than one hour to reach the destination.
You can even find the Black Forest railway, a train that connects Karlsruhe and Constance, and the links from the northern ends of the region, places like Strasbourg through Ulm, Munich, and Stuttgart. Intercity trains also run on the main routes. The closest airports to the Black Forest are Karlsruhe and Konstanz (Basel, Stuttgart, and Zurich).
What To Eat?
With its scenic beauty, there are plenty of restaurants and village guest houses where you can enjoy food. The Swabian or Baden dishes are Venison, Baden-Baden goose liver, Maultaschen, Gugelhupf (a type of cake), chocolate cake, cherry cake, and Black forest cake (Schwarwalder Kirschtorte). These are some of the specialities of this place.
Vesper is a standard fare that can be enjoyed between meals in the Black Forest. It comprises homemade sausages, Black Forest ham, and smoked trout.“Wässerli” is an alcohol-content fruit schnapps made from pears, cherries, greengages, or plums. And also, the most popular fruit schnapps, “Kirschwasser”, is known as Kirch-Wasse. It is a fermented cherry juice, which means cherry water.
One can enjoy it with a slice of Black Forest ham and gateau. One should also taste the Black Forest’s traditional wines, such as Muller-Thurgau, Gutedel, Silvaner, Riesling, Bacchus, Nobling, Chardonnay, Kerner, Muskateller, Blau Spatburgunder, and Graw-und Weburggunder.
Itinerary
The Black Forest has beautiful valleys, castles, and attractive places. Here are some of the places where one can go on an itinerary.
1. Freiburg
Freiburg in Breisgau offers unlimited relaxing options during your Black Forest Germany trip. Whether for a couple of days or weekends, you will enjoy this place. A quiet green spring makes traditional art, culture, modernity, and history easy to access.
2. Baden-Baden
Take your time for relaxation in Baden-Baden, nestled in the southwestern Black Forest of Germany. It is close to the French border. This is a spa town alongside the small river, Oos. This town is famed because of its architecture and spa, as it was the Spa Town of Europe in the 18th and 20th centuries.
In 2021, this place became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, named “Great Spa Towns of Europe”, and in 2020, awarded the most beautiful hiking trail in Germany. One can also take the picturesque drive from the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse to see the charming towns of the central Black Forest region.
3. Rhine Valley
The Rhine Valley, or Rhine Gorge, is located between Bingen and Bonn near the Swiss border in Germany. In June 2002, it was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites for its beautiful cultural landscape. To explore the panoramic views, you can travel by foot or bicycle, and for little distant places, explore by rented car, railway, or boat.
There are roughly 40 castles, which are now turned into museums, restaurants, and luxurious hotels, which are the main attractions of this place. This part of Black Forest is also famous for its fantastic wine, which has been popular since Roman times. A Glass of white wine made out of the best and freshest wine grapes is Riesling.
4. Hochfirst
An enchanting place, Hochfirst is a wooded mountain range surrounded by pine trees. This place is between the Saig and Titisee-Neustadt. 1890, the Hochfirst Tower (Hochfirstturm) was built as a steel lattice tower. The height of this tower is 25 meters. In 1989, the tower became a listed building, which now bears the antennas for microwaves and mobile phone communications. This place holds its ski jump, the Hochfirstschanze, which organizes World Cup Ski Jumping.
5. Europa Park
This park is located in Rust’s southwestern Black Forest. This is the largest theme park in Germany and the 2nd most famous theme park in Europe, after Disneyland Paris. This park has 13 roller coasters that were opened in 1984. It is a powered coaster that speeds through the diamond mines. It is a family fun park, and almost 60,000 visitors are accommodated daily. It is also the place of the Euro Dance festival.
6. Calw
Calw is a market square located in the Nogold Valley. The market has an attractive historic town centre in the Black Forest. One can reach this town by road and train. This small town is the administrative centre of the Calw district. It is known for its traditional half-timbered houses and historic towns. In German, this route is known as the ‘Deutsche Fachwerkstrasse‘.
The benediction monastery of St. Paul and St. Peter is only 2 km away. The Hirsaw Abbey was one of the most significant monasteries in the whole of today. It is famous for being the home of eminent German author and Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse.
Ending Thought
From wherever you make your starting point, you will be astounded by the pleasing beauty of the Black Forest Germany. Make your vacation worth visiting on a break, and have fun with your family and friends.
Last Updated on December 14, 2023 by Anjan Bandyopadhyay
