The Black Forest is one of my favorite places in Germany!
The Black Forest, or Schwarzwald in German, is located in the southwest corner of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It covers an area of 12,000 sq. km.
It gets its name for the dense conifers that block out a lot of light.
Here’s why I love it so much:
It offers many easy hiking trails with idyllic scenery. Although if you’re looking for something more challenging there are several hundred km of hiking trails to choose from as well! I haven’t done any of the longer hikes here …yet!
The Black Forest does have a dark side though:
This is a henker site where women who were suspected of witchcraft were routinely beheaded. We came across it while hiking. That’s what I love about hiking here. You just never know what you will find. Minutes before, we had come across a Christmas Market in the nearby town of Calw.
A lot of people living there are Catholic and it’s not uncommon to see huge crosses or statues of the Virgin Mary in pastures.
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We see several crosses every time we go hiking in the Black Forest.
While hiking I’ve frequently come across quaint farmhouses and pastures with either sheep or cows. I see them on almost every hike I have done.
It’s not just the Black Forest itself that I like, but also the half-timber houses that you see in small towns and villages. They look like something out of a Hans Grimm fairy tale.
Hey Laurel,
I took a walk in the Black Forest when I was in Germany. It was very very cold and I didn’t get far. It was supposed to be spring but there was no greenery. No snow either.
I was so thrilled to be in the Black Forest because when I was a kid there was a funny British tv show called The Goodies. In one episode they start a radio station but they only have one record called “A Walk in the Black Forest”. So I felt very glamorous to be doing something that I had seen on tv. Well, heard, really.
And Inka!!! Freiburg is my favourite village in Europe. I just loved it there and the people were so friendly.
Wow!! How beautiful it is there! I’ve heard about the beauty of Black forest but never had the time to explore it for myself. Now I really regret that!!! The pictures are amazing! It looks like a place where you don’t know what will come after the corner..esp. the part with the witches…creepy!!
@June – good point about the Christmas trees, I hadn’t thought of that, love your word “supercalifragilisticexpialidoscious!”
@Turkeys for Life – Thanks, you should go, it’s not soooo far from Turkey :0
Great photos, Laurel. How much would we love to go hiking through that scenery?! You’re very lucky to have all this so close to you – and you’re doing a great job for the German tourist board and I bet they don’t even know! 🙂
Julia
Views of the Black Forest help to explain why the British, when they invited Germans to be their monarchs, also got the Christmas tree.
This photo journal is worth more than a thousand words, but i’ll only use one: supercalifragilisticexpialidoscious!
@Migrationology – Thanks and I can imagine that it does very different from where you’re at
@Barry – Thanks, the hiking is really good, but I’m still biased to the Canadian Rockies 🙂
Wonderful photos, Laurel. The hiking must be spectacular and steeped in history.