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 ...
Hundreds of years ago, some areas of the Black Forest were full of holes like a Swiss cheese. Where families now go for pleasant walks or exhilarating bike rides, people toiled in mines for 800 years, bringing ores and rocks above ground in a surreal and dangerous world. The Black Forest was an important mining area. Now, this is only alluded to by place names or at show mines, in which ...
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 ...
In November 1844, a pioneer was born in Mühlburg, in the lovely Black Forest, whose patent now dominates our streetscape: Carl Friedrich Benz. As a graduate mechanical engineer, he’s one of the most important industrial engineers in the history of the global economy, who in 1885, created the first ever motor car: the Benz Patent Motor Car No. 1, a single-cylinder four-stroke engine for driving a three-wheeled carriage. Shown at the 1889 Wor...
Jules Verne and H.G. Wells as well as modern-day science fiction writers such as Bruce Sterling and William Gibson have dared to experiment, writing about the future of a past that never was. What would have happened if...? If the petrol engine had never replaced steam power? If gigantic zeppelins still traversed the skies and travelers wore tweed, leather, and lace? The world would be a different place. The ...
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...
The golden Radhaube—pictured here in all its splendour—is the result of up to 400 hours of sheer artisanal craftsmanship. Though it does require a great deal of endurance from the women who weave it, this traditional headwear serves to this day as a reminder of the good old days in southwest Germany. The citizens of Villingen, for example, continue to wear their city’s time-honoured garb to demonstrate their connec...
As most traditions do, the Hornkappe constantly evolved over the centuries before its most recent form came to be defined by its strikingly large black bow and long fringe around the year 1890. It takes quite a few metres of silk to create such a bow, which was worn by the local rural population on Sundays and holidays until approximately 1930. Above all, however, it symbolised weddings, confirmations, funerals, and other ceremonial ...
Markus Dirr first tasted Monkey47 at Schöllmanns, an exclusive bar in Offenburg. Not too far away for him. He lives and works in Endingen am Kaiserstuhl and adopts a similar approach to the Black Forest dry gin: The finest home-grown ingredients combined with ingenious ideas from throughout the world produce new taste sensations without losing sight of tradition. Tradition is a top priority at the Dirr butcher shop. After a...
Whoever hears the word “Black Forest” thinks instinctively of the renowned cuckoo clock and sees pass before their spiritual eyes the hustle and bustle of the “Fasnet period” (or generally speaking: Fasching, Carnival or a time in which to dress up and celebrate all sorts of traditions). Besides this tradition, the beautiful community of Schönwald in the Black Forest-Baar area celebrates another one: cylindrical straw hats, which were worn by women ...
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...
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...
Propped upright, there she stands, the Old Lady of Schluttenbach. One ailment follows the other, and the residents of the highest and smallest district of Ettlingen are concerned. Everything could be so wonderful: a village square, a fountain, a choir, a lime tree, and a festival. Once a year, the "Sängerkranz Schluttenbach 1889" choir has traditionally extended an invitation to join them in celebration underneath the thousand-year-old lime t...
With everything that you find in the Ratsapotheke pharmacy in the small Black Forest town of Schiltach, you could start producing your own Monkey 47. For the pharmacy museum has, amongst other things, distillation apparatus and a vast array of botanicals on display – certainly more than the 47 to which the Monkey owes its exceptionally mellow flavor. However, exhibits here also include substances that you most certainly wouldn’t want in gin. You ...
The bridal crown, also known as a Schäppel in the Black Forest, enjoys a long tradition, and compared with a bridal wreath or veil, is the oldest decorative form of headdress worn by gushing brides-to-be. A symbol of purity and family status, the bridal crown was hung over the wedding table after the ceremony to bring peace to the married couple. It was initially decorated with flowers, berries and n...
