Explore The Black Forest with our guide!

Three things which spring to mind when you say the words “Black Forest”: Cuckoo Clocks Watchmaking

Tourism

And while these aspects are definitely imbedded into the culture of the Black Forest, this special region in Germany has so much more to offer.

The Black Forest is a forested region in Southwest Germany and has no connection to Black Forest Gateaux, despite the fact that both are absolutely delightful! Many legends came from this dark and wonderful area of trees and mountains, including the well-known fable Hansel and Gretel. It is no surprise that this forest has a fantasy feel to it.

In this captivating area you can find Germany’s highest mountain called the Feldberg at almost 1,500 meters high. The Feldberg is a great location for winter enthusiasts because the snowy mountain provides over 50 kilometers of slopes. There is a freestyle snowboard park that will have you jumping around like a pro!

The name “Black Forest” derives from the dark-coloured pine trees that cover the area. According to several historic sources, in the 17th century the Romans encountered the forested area while travelling through Germany. They named the forest like so since the trees were so dense, you were not able to see between the trees during the day.

The Danube River, the second longest river in Europe, originates in the Black Forest and stretches through this mountainous region, eventually ending in Ukraine. This river borders 10 countries – Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany – and is a source hydroelectricity to some of their regions.

There also many glacial lakes that run through the region. Apart from skiing and snowboarding, many tourists and locals take to watersports on the dozen of lakes.

Triberg Falls, the largest waterfall in Germany, calls Black Forest home. Many tourists visit this region for its natural beauty and hot springs, the most popular being Baden Baden.

If you like picturesque shops and amazing looking churches, this is the place to be. You can see the Strasbourg Cathedral from the western slopes of the Black Forest. The Cathedral is located in France and was considered the world’s tallest building from 1647 to 1874. Today is it the sixth-tallest church in the world.

Switching gears, do you like a tipple? Then you are in for a treat. The Black Forest has more distilleries per capita than any other place on earth! To be exact, there are 28,000 distilleries. Surely there is something for everyone’s taste buds here.

The undeniably natural beauty, the history, the culture, the Black Forest should be on everyone’s bucket list because there is something for every explorer.

Written by Dana.

Dana is from Italy but studying agriculture and forestry in Germany.