The Black Forest

The Black Forest is a major tourist destination in Germany. It is located in Baden-Wurttemberg region of Germany.

The Black Forest is a forested mountain range in Baden-Württemberg region of southwestern Germany. The forest is surrounded by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The tallest peak is the Feldberg with an altitude of 4,898 ft or (1,493 meters). The area is more or less rectangular in shape and it is 200 km (120 miles) long and 60 km (37 miles) wide. Consequently, it has a space of around 12,000 km2 or 4,600 square miles. In German language, the Black Forest is known as Schwarzwald. The name dates back to the Romans who denoted the densely wooded mountains as Silva Nigra, that is "Black Forest", since the thick expansion of coniferous trees in the forest blotted out majority of the light within the forest.

Geology : The Black Forest comprises a coat of sandstone over a foundation of granites and gneiss. Previously, it underwent tectonic development with the Vosges Mountains close by. Subsequently, a rifting phase affected the region and resulted in creation of the Rhine graben during the Middle Eocene era. At the time of the final glacial phase of the Würm glaciation, glaciers covered the entire forest. Many lagoons and lakes like the Mummelsee are remnants of this phase.

Rivers in the Black Forest : Rivers in the Black Forest include the following:

• Danube (It originates as the convergence of the Breg and Brigach rivers in the Black Forest)
• The Kinzig
• The Enz
• The Nagold
• The Murg
• The Rench
• The Neckar
• The Wiese

The Black Forest partially divides the Black Sea Drainage Basin and the Atlantic Ocean Drainage Basin. The Danube and the Rhine rivers drain both the basins respectively.

Tallest peaks in the Black Forest : The tallest peaks in the Black Forest are as follows:

• Feldberg (1,493 meters (4,898 feet))
• Herzogenhorn (1,415 meters (4,642 feet))
• Belchen (1,414 meters (4,639 feet))
• Spiesshorn (1,349 meters (4,426 feet))
• Schauinsland (1,284 meters (4,213 feet))
• Kandel (1,241 meters (4,072 feet))
• Hochblauen (1,165 meters (3,822 feet))
• Hornisgrinde (1,164 meters (3,819 feet))

Political: Governmentally, the Black Forest entirely comes under the state of Baden-Württemberg and consists of the city of Pforzheim and the districts (Kreise) given below:

• Rastatt, Enz, and Calw (in the north)
• Ortenaukreis, Freudenstadt, and Rottweil (in the middle)
• Schwarzwald-Baar, Emmendingen, Lörrach, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, and Waldshut (in the south)

Ecology and economy: The Black Forest typically comprises firs and pines and some of them are cultivated in commercial monoculture. Like other woody areas, the forest has had locations that were destroyed as a result of large-scale lumbering. Because of land usage modifications and logging, the actual forest is just a small part of its original dimension. In 1999, the storm Lothar devastated plants on hundreds of acres of mountain peaks. As a consequence of this calamity, some of the picturesque hills and tall peaks became exposed, with just little fir plants and primary growth bushes.

The principal industry in this area is tourism. Other than the monuments and towns mentioned below, the forest is intersected by various long distance walkways, which include some of the oldest to be set up. E1, the European long-distance corridor intersects the forest after the courses of a few of the regional long-distance trails. There are many smaller lanes appropriate for day walking, cross-country skiing and mountain biking tracks. The overall system of trails adds up to approximately 23,000 km (14,000 miles), and is kept up and managed by a charitable organization, the Schwarzwaldverein (Black Forest Society). The organization has approximately 90,000 members (statistics from Bremke in 1999).

Because of the prosperous mining history going back to the medieval periods, (the Black Forest was one of the most significant mining sites in Europe around 1100), there are plenty of mines that have been opened again for the common people. You can visit these mines in the Suggental, the Kinzig valley, the Muenster valley, and nearby Todtmoos.

Tourist Attractions in the Black Forest
Major tourist attractions in the Black Forest are as follows:

Towns :

• Calw (the birth town of Hermann Hesse)
• Freiburg
• Staufen
• Gengenbach
• Haslach
• Schiltach
• Altensteig

There are several old towns in the area.

Mountains:

• The Belchen
• Feldberg
• The Schauinsland
• The Kandel

Lakes :

• Schluchsee
• Titisee

Waterfalls :

• The Triberg Waterfalls
• The All Saints Waterfalls

The canyon of the River Wutach is also a popular tourist destination.

Museums : The Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof is an outdoor museum that demonstrates the life of 16th or 17th century cultivators in the area, displaying several renovated Black Forest ranches.

The German Clock Museum in Furtwangen displays the background of the watch manufacturing business and of clockmakers.

Routes through the Black Forest:
For motorists, the principal route across the area is the rapid A5 (E35) expressway. Nevertheless, a range of beautiful routes with way signs like the Schwarzwald Tälerstrasse (100 km (62 miles), the Murg and Kinzig valleys), Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse (60 km (37 miles), Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt), or Badische Weinstrasse (Baden Wine Street, 160 km (99 miles), a wine route from Baden-Baden to Weil am Rhein) provides composed motoring by the highways. The final is a beautiful tour beginning in the south of the Black Forest moving north and incorporates various little villages and old distilleries. One more particular way is the ‘Deutsche Uhrenstraße’, also known as the German Clock Road, a spherical path which outlines the horological background of the area.

Fauna in the Black Forest:
Other than the usual types of animals to be seen in a European forest region, you will see the following species of wildlife in the Black Forest:

• The large earthworm Lumbricus badensis is discovered only in the Black Forest area
• Cattle: Cattle in the Black Forest come under the uncommon species of “Hinterwälderberg” cattle
• You can see owls and eagles very closely
• Black Forest Foxes are a variety of horse, formerly essential for intense agricultural activities

Culture in the Black Forest: Languages spoken in the region are Swabian and Alemannic.

• Fasnet: Fasnet or Fasnacht is one of the most popular festivals in this area. It takes place before Lent and people celebrate it by putting on masks. Fasnet is held on Rosenmontag (the Monday before Ash Wednesday).
• Cuisine : The area is famous for the Black Forest Cake or the Black Forest Cherry Cake and Black Forest ham.
• Crafts: Wood-carving is a conventional small-scale industry in this area. Cuckoo clocks manufactured in this area are quite famous.

Cheap world tours provides you more information about the The Black Forest.