If you really think about it, Monkey and bison have quite a lot in common. You give both of them care and affection and plenty of time to mature, they don't like to stand in a corner, unappreciated, and they're indigenous to the Black Forest. Monkey 47 has brought a new "animal species" to the Black Forest, which is enjoying increasing popularity among connoisseurs of fine spirits. A cute ...

What do the Vatican, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and Oberried have in common? All three are the only places in Europe under the special protection of the Hague Convention in the event of armed conflicts – effectively the younger sister of the Geneva Convention. Many would seem perplexed by the mention of Oberried. A community with 2,800 residents in the Dreisamtal valley under special protection? Yes. Oberried has more to offer than ma...

The residents of a small, remote village on the plateau of the Hotzenwald forest had a clever idea for increasing the number of tourists that came to visit. In 1968, they brought the first 8,000 roses to Nöggenschwiel. It is now estimated that there are over 20,000 rose plants. The center of the village soon ran out of space, so the residents of Nöggenschwiel came up with a new ...

When Montgomery “Monty” Collins, the developer of Monkey 47, came to Berlin in 1949, the “Da Bach na” race in Schramberg was a traditional event that had long since been in full flow. The tub race down the Schiltach stream was first staged in 1936 and is a weird and wonderful custom that has become a real highlight of the Swabian-Alemannic carnival season. Each year, these madcap Schramberg daredevils – individually or in pairs – tremble with...

Born in Bernau (Black Forest) in 1839, painting offered Hans Thoma a way to escape his origins. After the death of his father, a trained miller who later worked as a lumberjack in the Black Forest, Thoma had to provide for his mother and sister, and so he began painting portraits and landscapes for the homes of prosperous farmers. The young “peasant painter” caught the attention of the bailiff of St. Blas...

Anybody who sits in front of his fire these days, savoring a fine drop of Monkey 47 and gazing into the warm glow has probably had his wood delivered to the front door or bought it at the local hardware store. But more and more people are discovering the joy of procuring their own firewood. For local communities, it is an opportunity to make use of their woodlands, and the cozy ...

If you can’t immediately read the time on the Schramberg town hall clock, this isn’t necessarily due to an overindulgence of Monkey 47. A quick glance at the astronomical clock tends to cause confusion. Instead of two hands, it has three, there is a revolving disc with the signs of the zodiac, and what looks really strange is that the clock face does not display the hours from 1 to 12 but t...

In the past few years, pilgrimages have become really popular again. Away from the long, established pilgrim routes and famous sites, a beech tree in Gütenbach Forest has developed into a place of reflection and inspiration. The tree holds a sandstone figure of Christ firmly within its bark. Only the head and part of the breast still protrude. The "Balzer Crucifix" would have disappeared into the tree a...

The dogs are wild with excitement. They bark frantically and strain nervously in their harnesses. Their ice blue eyes convey their unyielding determination to run... run... just run. Finally, the long-awaited call of the “musher” sounds out and the pack of huskies sprints off through the snow. No other region in Europe has embraced the sport of sled dog racing like the southern Black Forest. Each year, major events held in B...

In the far south lies the small town of Schopfheim next to the Black Forest, and the lake in the district of Eichen is a temperamental wonder of Mother Nature. For most of the time, it is a dry lake and only fills up occasionally in wet years. And this can happen overnight. This unusual body of water was first mentioned in 1772, when five young men drowned in it. Only ...