"Schwarzwald - Forêt Noire - Black Forest" Top 5 Page for this destination Black Forest by Loeffle

Black Forest Travel Guide: 116 reviews and 371 photos

View from Feldberg (1492 m) to the East - Black Forest

Introduction to Black Forest

Black Forest - Forêt Noire - Schwarzwald or as Romans called it "Silva nigra" respectfully was for a long time a mountainous area covered with deep, dark forests (name!), robbers and thieves and wild animals. Today it might be hard to imagine these things, but still up to 90 % (in some regions) of Black Forest are covered by trees. Those parts which are tree-less were cleared by humans after the 10th century, when regions better suited for settlement became overcrowded (like the Rhine Valley, the Baar or the Gäu regions in the North).

Black Forest is located in SW Germany in the RegioTriRhena close to NW Switzerland and Alsace. The mountain range is about 170 km N to S, and between 30 and 50 km E to W.

A little bit of Geology

Titisee in late winter

Black Forest started to "rise" about 70 million years ago together with its sister mountain range the Vosges mountains West of the Rhine Valley. The original layers from Trias were almost completely eroded (but they can be seen again East of Black Forest on the Baar).

The main rocks consisting of Granite and Gneiss are still very well visible, especially in the higher Southern Black Forest.

Todays Black Forest landcape was formed by rivers and glaciers. During the iceages the whole Southern Black Forest was covered by might glaciers. On the picture to the right you can see a relict of the Feldberg Glacies (Titisee). Other Glacier valleys are Zastlertal and Upper Wiesental (worth visiting if you are into geology).

Places of Interest, Hiking, Towns, Nature

Löffingen medievaltown on the edge of Black Forest

Black Forest is one of the most popular tourist region in Germany, but there are very few places (Titisee, Mummelsee, Baden-Baden) that are overcrowded. Often you can find very nice and quiet places only a few km's away. Schluchsee is for example much nicer than Titisee, but it has no name.

Black Forest is a paradise for hiking. If you like to walk on marked paths. Don't expect "Northern wilderness" where you navigate with compass and map. It's actually forbidden to leave the paths to protect nature. Whole Black Forest is a kind of national park.

If you are really into hiking I recommend one of the marked paths of Schwarzwaldverein
http://www.schwarzwaldverein.de/SWV_Wege/SWV_WegeFernwanderwege.htm
especially the the "Querweg", connecting Freiburg with Konstanz (177,5 km, 7 to 10 days)

Primarily you will visit Black Forest because of its nature. But there are also other places of interest: old medival towns (like L?ffingen on the right), small villages, traditional Black Forest farms, old silver or iron mines, museums showing the past or specialties (cukkoo clocks or ski) and much more.

Pros and Cons

Pros:landscape, hiking, skiing, great cuisine, good infrastructure, intact nature
Cons:some places are too crowded (Titisee e.g.) and lost much due to that
In a nutshell:One of the nicest areas in Germany

Last visit to Black Forest: Jun 2003
Intro Updated Jun 13, 2003
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Reviews (10)

Schwarzwald on its best? ;) - Black Forest

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte Local Customs (1)

Naja, its kind of "trademark" of the Black Forest ... But most Black Forestians hardly ever make this cake. Anyway for... more travel advice

View over Titisee to Feldberg - Black Forest

Hiking in Winter :) Things to Do (2)

Around most Black Forest towns/villages some paths are cleared from the snow... Just choose a sunny day (even if its... more travel advice

Titisee in winter ... Tourist Traps (1)

Either you hate or like Titisee - go there and you will see why ;) Of course its a lovely location, but much of the... more travel advice

Zastler Valley with Feldberg seen from Schauinsl. - Black Forest

Zastler Valley Off The Beaten Path (5)

On the picture (taken from the Schauinsland mine) you can see Zastler Valley and Feldberg (with 1.493 m Black Forest's... more travel advice

Restaurants (1)
Delicious, regional food - not...

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Comments (20)

Wild_Orchid Apr 15, 2005 at 12:19 AM Report Abuse

a lovely page-the cake & restaurant tips were excellent!!
lotharlerch Apr 13, 2005 at 10:30 PM Report Abuse

A nice area indeed, I passed it several times but without longer stops . But it was always nice to be above the winter fog of the Lake Constance and the Rhine valley on the way to/from Freiburg
Anjutka Oct 8, 2004 at 2:58 AM Report Abuse

Hello!It looks a nice and beautiful place...
Astralka Sep 19, 2004 at 5:07 AM Report Abuse

such a magic place must have an effect on the mind! so get up and make your Home Page cheerful! U know the saying:Everything happens for a reason..
JourneyOf1 Sep 16, 2004 at 9:32 AM Report Abuse

Your tips are excellent, and great pics also>>>>Really good page. Yvette
freya_heaven Jul 24, 2004 at 8:52 AM Report Abuse

Excellent info about the Black Forest, Well Done! Great Photos too. Happy travels (~_~)
Sjalen Mar 2, 2004 at 6:02 AM Report Abuse

Wow this took me right back to visiting my friends outside Freiburg...:-) Great tips for next time too!
MURRA Feb 11, 2004 at 6:54 AM Report Abuse

black forst horse day good to hear of rural charms
ettenaj Nov 30, 2003 at 2:29 PM Report Abuse

Brilliant tips here the black forest looks very tempting
globetrott Nov 2, 2003 at 1:39 PM Report Abuse

Great pics of a lovely landscape ! One of my aunts lives in Hinterzarten so I have been there quite often. My favorite place there is the famous restoration-garage for vintage cars in Glottertal :-)