LITMIR.BIZ

      On top of the Black Forest with panoramic views all around (Stage 10A)

      The southern Black Forest is where the tallest peaks are found, with Feldberg at almost 1500m topping the list. The southern edges of the massif are geologically still quite active – a phenomena that can be observed in the widening chasms of gorges, such as the Wutachschlucht.

      The main central ridge of the mountains divides the region into an eastern and a western part. On the western flanks the mountains soar quite abruptly, rising up from the Rhine Valley to over 1000m, while the eastern slopes fall away much more gradually, forming an extensive high plateau that is characterised by gently rolling hills.

History

      Despite its northern latitude, Baden-Württemberg bears many traces of extremely ancient human history. Some of Europe’s oldest archaeological sites have been discovered at various locations between Stuttgart and Lake Constance, but the Black Forest has long remained a forbidding wilderness.

      Evidence of early farming settlements dates to around 4000BC. Traces of such camps have been found at a number of locations, such as Schönberg near Freiburg, at Breisach am Rhein and Burkheim am Kaiserstuhl. But it was early Celtic tribes around 800–700BC that began to make inroads into the forest itself. Creating clearances on the eastern plateau near the source of the River Danube, they were the first to exploit the natural resources of the area – most notably its iron ore.

      The Romans also had a significant impact on the region, especially around the southern and western edges, where remains of their villas can still be seen. After conquering Helvetia, now modern-day Switzerland, they pushed north along the Rhine, gradually usurping the Celts and driving them into the hills. By AD76 they had built the first traffic artery through the Kinzig valley, in the heart of the Black Forest.

      Archaeologists digging for traces of Pforzheim’s ancient past (stage 1)

      The Romans, well known for their love of thermal baths, were delighted to find hot springs at sites such as Badenweiler and Baden-Baden and set about constructing elaborate bath houses. The original Roman ruins can still be seen today. Their traditions, meanwhile, have evolved into a modern spa culture.

      As the Roman Empire went into decline by about the third century AD, their settlements in Germania became increasingly vulnerable to attacks by Alemannic tribes from the north. The Romans withdrew south of the Rhine and the once grand administrative centre of Augusta Raurica (only about 20km from modern-day Basel), which during its heyday was home to about 20,000 people, eventually reverted to the status of a small fishing village.

      The first determined attempts to settle and ‘civilise’ the Black Forest came in the seventh century with the arrival of Irish monks, who were on a mission to evangelise the heathen outposts of Europe. Most of the grand and powerful clerical centres in the Black Forest, such as St Trudpert in Münstertal and St Blasien, originally started as hermitages. In their diligent effort to ‘gain dominion over nature’, the monks cut down the forest and built their pious outposts in the wilderness.

      Rötteln Church, built on the foundations of one of the earliest Christian sites in the region (Stage 13A)

      The forest, along with the silver mines that brought riches to cities such as Freiburg, was the livelihood of the then sparse population. Ancient tree giants supplied the building material for many of Germany’s grand medieval churches and castles. In later centuries they were also bound for export to Holland, where they were turned into the Dutch merchant fleet.

      In the days before motorised transportation, moving the massive tree trunks to bigger rivers, such as the Rhine or Neckar, was a major logistic challenge. Spin-off trades related to the timber industry began to proliferate. Rafting, charcoal making, glass manufacture and potash production all boomed – and brought the forest ecosystem to the brink of collapse. Only the absence of heavy machinery and intermittent calamities, such as outbreaks of the plague or war, periodically halted the devastation and gave the forest a chance to recover. But at the dawn of the industrial revolution, tree cover had been reduced to only 30 per cent.

      During the latter part of the 19th century circumstances conspired to bring about a radical shift. Firstly, the growing influence of industry on people’s lives nurtured a new appreciation and idealisation of nature. The ‘idea of nature’ became the ‘holy grail’ of the Romantic movement and artists and philosophers revered nature as a source of inspiration.

      Latschigfelsen – a prominent promontory high above Murg Valley (Stage 2)

      The Black Forest was one of the first regions in Germany to discover its potential as a tourist destination, although at first it wasn’t the forest or the mountains that attracted visitors from all over Europe, America and Russia – it was the allure of a cure. The numerous mineral-rich hot springs of the Black Forest, which had been praised for their curative powers since Celtic times, now attracted the gentry of Europe. Once the first steam engine railway lines were introduced, the healing waters attracted an influx of well-heeled tourists, and became a lucrative source of revenue for the region.

      Medical philosophy at the time also held that fresh air and gentle exercise, such as walking, was conducive to health and wellbeing. However, royalty could not be expected to roam the woods, so the solution was to create ‘Kurparks’ in every spa town: beautiful park-like arboretums, embellished with ornamental trees and bushes from far-flung regions of the planet, were created in the English style that was the fashion at the time.

      Burg Rötteln, near Basel, dates to at least the 13th century (Stage 13A)

      In 1864 the now-famous Schwarzwaldverein (Black Forest Association) was founded with the idea of protecting the cultural and natural heritage of the Black Forest and promoting it to walkers and tourists.

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