to the efforts of these early pioneers. All the routing, waymarking and maintenance of the region’s extensive network of walking trails is carried out by its members; in recent years the Schwarzwaldverein has also played an important role in the creation of the Naturparks Schwarzwald Nord and Schwarzwald Süd, mediating between various interest groups to safeguard sensitive habitats and cultural sites, while promoting sustainable outdoor activities. Thanks to these efforts the Black Forest has evolved into a flagship region for sustainable tourism in Germany.
Plants and wildlife
In January 2014 parts of the northern Black Forest were designated as Germany’s newest national park, consisting of two separate pieces of land which together cover an area of about 10,000ha. These areas have not been set aside because of their innate wildness, but rather as an effort to ‘re-wild’ them, and thus to provide better habitat protection for a number of endangered species that are native to the Black Forest. The effects will not be apparent during the initial stages of rehabilitation as it may take 30 years or more for nature to reclaim her ground.
Mountains clad in tall, dark spruce and fir trees and a sombre atmosphere is the classic image that has given the region its name. For many centuries this image was not far from the truth, but today the ecosystem is changing. Originally the forest ecosystem consisted mainly of beech and oak, as well as silver fir (Abies alba), all of which are considered high-value timber species and sources of fuel. For many centuries the forest was fiercely exploited, and sadly, no stands of original primary forest have been preserved.
Attitudes did not begin to change until the time of the industrial revolution. Realising that overexploitation of forest resources was putting people’s livelihoods at stake, the authorities passed the first legislation to protect the environment. It was decreed that no more timber should be harvested in any one year than could naturally regrow within the same period. Simultaneously, a massive reforestation campaign was launched.
Trail through the predominantly deciduous woodlands of the southern Black Forest (Stage 12A)
Unfortunately, then as now, ecological considerations came second to economic priorities. The forest was stocked with fast-growing, commercially valuable Norwegian spruce and Douglas fir, which, thanks to their straight growth and sparsely branched trunks, soon returned a profit. The forest recovered remarkably quickly – within 60 years it had pretty much replenished – but the economically biased strategy soon proved to be short-sighted: the forest had basically been turned into a monoculture of shallow-rooted trees. It was a disaster waiting to happen. And happen it did – most poignantly in December 1999, when legendary hurricane Lothar blasted its way across the Black Forest and within just a few hours lay waste to about 40,000ha of trees.
During major storms, trees with shallow root systems tend to fall like matchsticks. Of course, a storm with the ferocity of Lothar (gusts of over 200km per hour were measured on Feldberg) has the power to flatten anything. But the effect was particularly devastating due to the predominance of these types of trees. Even now, the aftermath of the storm can be observed on many exposed hillsides. It has transformed the terrain and galvanised a shift in forest management. Today more effort is invested in making the forest more climate resilient by planting a variety of species and especially more native deciduous trees. Gradually the forest is changing and returning to something resembling its original ecology.
The growing stands of mixed deciduous trees in the southern Black Forest have created an ambience that is quite different to that of the northern parts, where conifers still dominate and many storm-ravaged areas remain; where dead trees form bizarre sculptures amid young growth but open views still prevail.
Left to right: left: Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria); Yellow Gentian (Gentiana lutea); Moorland Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata)
Another typical landscape feature, especially in the northern mountains, are the patches of moorland, locally known as Grinden – the result of deforestation followed by regular grazing. Even though these moors essentially represent a degraded, man-made landscape, they provide a habitat for highly specialised plants and animals, such as sundew (Drossera sp), cottongrass (Eriophorum sp), marsh cinquefoil (Comarum palustre), bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), bogbean (Menyanthes trifolia), bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) and various insects, including rare dragonflies that can only survive and thrive in such harsh and specialised biotopes.
At the higher altitudes conifers still dominate, while the understory layer consists of mosses and ferns that relish the humid atmosphere. This is the habitat of the endangered wood grouse. Heather, bilberry and cowberry are often found carpeting areas that have lost their tree cover due to the ravages of hurricane Lothar. These open areas also provide a habitat for snakes, such as the European adder, while grass snakes tend to prefer a more boggy terrain.
At lower altitudes there is a richer diversity of tree species, which includes oak, beech, maple, hazel, willow, poplar, lime, mountain ash, and along the warmer western edges, sweet chestnut and even walnut. The understory here tends to be dryer, and occasional stands of holly can also be found. On the southernmost fringe near Rheinfelden, a small natural stand of box trees (Buxus sempervirens) is protected as a nature reserve.
Open meadows and pastures display the full range of central European flora, its variations dependent on soil composition and altitude as well as ecosystem characteristics. Habitat protection is patchy and sometimes covers just an individual field to safeguard specific plants or animals found only in a particular spot.
Perhaps surprisingly, larger animals are rarely seen. Deer, fox and wild boar tend to avoid humans, although they are there, and in recent years even the lynx has returned to its former range in the Black Forest. Birds are by far the easiest animals to observe, and thanks to the variety of habitats there is quite a wide range of species – including wood grouse, peregrine falcon, storks, three-toed woodpecker, green woodpecker, spotted nutcracker, kestrels, red and black kites, buzzards, haw finch, golden oriole, great grey shrike, red-backed shrike, black redstart, blackcap, yellow hammer, cuckoo, goldcrest, goldfinch and wagtails, to name but a few.
Bannwald
Although the Black Forest is a managed environment, there are quite a few areas known as Bannwald (special protection areas) that are set aside for scientific study. They are neither managed nor cut, although if necessary the forestry service may clear obstructed trails. Thus, walkers should be especially careful of falling branches and other unsuspected dangers when entering a Bannwald. On windy days they are best avoided.
In protected areas (Naturschuzgebiet) special rules apply:
keep noise down (ie no portable stereos etc)
keep to the trails
do not pick mushrooms
do not collect stones or minerals
do not feed the wildlife
do not litter
no open fires
use official campsites
do not remove plants or animals
keep dogs on a leash
do not fly model airplanes or kites.
Walking the Westweg
The Westweg leads from the northernmost outpost of the Black Forest in Pforzheim to Basel in the ‘tri-country corner’, where Switzerland, France and Germany meet. Starting in Pforzheim, the route follows the River Enz to Neuenbürg an der Enz, with its medieval castle towering above the town. From here it climbs up to the Dobel plateau. Although on the first day it takes a little while to leave civilisation behind, the second stage runs high above the towns and villages nestled in the valleys, with many beautiful, long-ranging views to the north and west. After passing through the nature reserve at Kaltenbronn, which protects the largest coherent upland moor in Germany, the trail heads down