Black Forest

Lore & Background

In ancient times, the Black Forest was known as Abnoba mons, after the Celtic deity Abnoba. In Roman times (Late antiquity), it was given the name Silva Marciana ("Marcynian Forest", from the Germanic word marka, "border"). The Black Forest probably represented the border area of the Marcomanni ("border people") who were settled east of the Roman limes. They, in turn, were part of the Germanic tribe of Suebi, who subsequently gave their name to the historic state of Swabia. With the exception of Roman settlements on the perimeter (e.g. the baths in Badenweiler, and mines near Badenweiler and Sulzburg) and the construction of the Roman road of Kinzigtalstraße, the colonization of the Black Forest was not carried out by the Romans but by the Alemanni. They settled and first colonized the valleys, crossing the old settlement boundary, the so-called "red sandstone border", for example, from the region of Baar. Soon afterwards, increasingly higher areas and adjacent forests were colonized, so that by the end of the 10th century, the first settlements could be found in the red (bunter) sandstone region. These include, for example, Rötenbach, which was first mentioned in 819. Some of the uprisings (including the Bundschuh movement) that preceded the 16th century German Peasants' War, originated in the Black Forest. Further peasant unrest, in the shape of the saltpetre uprisings, took place over the next two centuries in Hotzenwald.

In Their Own Story

Originally, the Black Forest was a mixed forest of deciduous trees and firs. At the higher elevations spruce also grew. In the middle of the 19th century, the Black Forest was almost completely deforested by intensive forestry and was subsequently replanted, mostly with spruce monocultures. In 1990, extensive damage to the forest was caused by a series of windstorms. On 26 December 1999, Cyclone Lothar raged across the Black Forest and caused even greater damage, especially to the spruce monocultures. As had happened following the 1990 storms, large quantities of fallen logs were kept in provisional wet-storage areas for years. The effects of the storm are demonstrated by the Lothar Path, a forest educational and adventure trail at the nature centre in Ruhestein on a highland timber forest of about 10 hectares that was destroyed by a hurricane. Several areas of storm damage, both large and small, were left to nature and have developed today into a natural mixed forest again.

Reader's Guide

The Black Forest stretches from the High Rhine in the south to the Kraichgau in the north. In the west it is bounded by the Upper Rhine Plain; in the east it transitions to the Gäu, Baar and hill country west of the Klettgau. From north to south, the Black Forest extends for over 160 km (100 mi), attaining a width of up to 50 km (30 mi) in the south and 30 km (20 mi) in the north. The Black Forest is the highest part of the South German Scarplands, and much of it is densely wooded, a fragment of the Hercynian Forest of antiquity. Administratively, the Black Forest belongs completely to the state of Baden-Württemberg and comprises the cities of Freiburg, Pforzheim and Baden-Baden as well as the following districts: Enz, Rastatt, Calw, Freudenstadt, Ortenaukreis, Rottweil, Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Lörrach and Waldshut. Geomorphologically, the main division is between the gentle eastern slopes with rounded hills and broad plateaux (Danubian relief) and the deeply incised, steeply falling terrain in the west that drops into the Upper Rhine Graben (Valley Black Forest with Rhenanian relief). The highest mountains and greatest local differences in height (up to 1000 metres) are found in the west. The valleys are often narrow and ravine-like. The summits are rounded, and there are remnants of plateaux and arête-like landforms.

Did You Know?

• The Black Forest is the source of both the Danube and Neckar rivers.
• Its highest peak is the Feldberg at 1,493 metres (4,898 ft) above sea level.
• Tourism now accounts for around 300,000 jobs in the area.
• On 26 December 1999, Cyclone Lothar caused extensive damage, especially to spruce monocultures.
• In Roman times, the Black Forest was called Silva Marciana, from the Germanic word marka meaning 'border'.