The Black Forest is not only worth a trip in summer. The popular holiday region, which has become famous at the latest through films from the 50s like “Schwarzwaldmädel”, is one of the warmest and sunniest in Germany. It inspires all year round with its incomparable natural beauty and the variety of opportunities to be active in the fresh air.
More than 70 mountains and peaks between 1000 and 1493 meters in the sky characterize the Black Forest as Germany's largest and highest low mountain range .
This makes it an almost guaranteed snow and winter sports area, even in times of rapid climate change. Here you can enjoy the entire range of winter sports on bitterly cold days. Experienced skiers are drawn to the slopes. Snowboarders have fun with fast jumps on the half pipes. Cross-country ski trails invite you to do some sport at a more leisurely pace, and you can also do it on snowshoes or in hiking boots Black Forest in its full winter splendor explore. If you're drawn to the ice, you can not only do laps and do pirouettes on the ice skating rink, but also, as a special highlight in the depths of winter, through icy waterfalls climb.
Snow reports and webcams in the individual locations always provide up-to-date information so that even a spontaneous short vacation can be planned thoroughly.
The joint-friendly trend sport Nordic Walking, for which the Black Forest is made, is even suitable for the inexperienced. Supported by two pieces that are reminiscent of ski poles, it goes through forests and meadows, but also up to lofty heights. Breaks in between are rewarded with panoramas that are second to none. For beginners there are gentle climbs such as from the Altglashütten to the Schuppenhörnle. The almost 2,8 kilometers can easily be covered in half an hour.
Football fans shouldn't miss a visit to the Black Forest Stadium. The SC Freiburg is one of the outliers this season and currently has a chance of winning the title or at least a place in the UEFA Cup. Watching live in the football stadium or at least showing your support when betting on football makes the encounters twice as exciting.
But despite all the love for football, the Black Forest in the border triangle between France, Germany and Switzerland is and remains a ski stronghold that has gone down in German history.
1894: Ski enthusiast in Todtnau
The beginning was made by the French diplomat Raymond Pilet, who in February 1891 with the recently built railroad up to the Titisee went there, strapped Norwegian snowshoes to his feet and was the first to ski the highest Summit of the Black Forest climbed. He trudged about ten kilometers for it Feldberg up through the snow, sooner he reached 1493 meters altitude.
Skiing gained popularity. Just ten months after Pilet's pioneering achievement, six recreational athletes founded the at the foot of the Feldberg Todtnau ski club. A “guide to snowshoeing”, available for one mark, advertised the boards not only as a means of transport for mountain farmers, but also as a means of stimulating body and mind. Skiing became recreational fun.
The athletes from the Black Forest kept their leading role in sport for a long time. When the German Ski Association was founded in 1905, 1550 members came from the Black Forest. The neighboring Bavaria brought in just 280 members.
The Black Forest athletes also set the tone when it comes to emancipation. The first women were photographed on skis as early as 1897 when they were practicing with the men on the Feldberg. The First World War put an end to the supremacy of the Black Forest. Plans to host the first Winter Olympics in Feldberg in 1916 became obsolete when the war broke out.
Instead, the Bavarian Garmisch-Partenkirchen became the first German venue in 1936. Since then, the white and blue state has remained a leader, especially when it comes to competitive sports.
In return, the Black Forest has retained its tranquility and tranquility on the slopes, which the first club members already knew as worry-freeing heights.
But non-athletes can also find relaxation and stimulation in the Black Forest. Culture and history lovers are in good hands in Freiburg. The cathedral, which is more than 700 years old, captivates with perfect elements from Gothic and Romanesque architecture. The 116 meter high tower with its octagonal superstructure is considered to be the most beautiful work of Gothic architecture in Germany. A slow tour around Münster is worth it because of the numerous frescoes that adorn the masonry, including gargoyles with demonic grimaces. From the accessible cathedral tower, visitors can enjoy an excellent view of the entire city, including the Kaiserstuhl and the Rhine plain. Magnificent historical buildings such as the Kornhaus and the Alte Wache line the picturesque Münsterplatz.
The Black Forest is also famous for its health resorts, which attracted Europe's nobility in the 18th and 19th centuries and later the money nobility. Baden-Baden has always been number one. In the Friedrichsbad, a nude bath with an unusual mixture of hot air, thermal steam and thermal movement bath, the writer Mark Twain once had a good time.
The Caracalla thermal baths are family-friendly with indoor and outdoor pools, waterfalls and an aromatic steam bath. The Roman bath ruins open to the public are a reminder of the beginnings of bathing culture.
Bad Wildbad
Bad Wildbad, hidden deep in the Enz Valley, is small but beautiful. The international spa with its oriental-style Palais Thermal is also known for its Rossini concerts, among other things. But as everywhere in the Black Forest, recreational sports are not neglected. More modern trends are taken into account, for example, with a mountain bike park.
Germany's highest waterfalls are in Triberg to find. The waters of the Gutach plunge 163 meters over seven cascades. In winter, the tourist attraction becomes an icy natural spectacle when the frost freezes the waterfalls into a glittering ice palace.
But also the culinary delights are not neglected in the Black Forest. The kitchen benefits from all sorts of influences from the border triangle. Soups with pancakes, bacon vespers with farmer's bread, bacon and bacon, liver and black sausage, or pancakes cut into small pieces warm body and soul in winter.
Numerous star chefs have left their mark in the Black Forest - another reason for the region's popularity when it comes to home holidays. The accommodation establishments in the Black Forest counted more than 8,3 million visitors in 2017 and the trend is still increasing.
