divided comfortably into 13 or 14 day-sections, comprises a total of about 8000m cumulative altitude metres – and sometimes a thousand of those have to be overcome in a single day. For seasoned alpine trekkers or hill walkers that might not sound like much, but the average walker should not underestimate the challenge.
However, this being the Black Forest rather than a remote mountain wilderness, it is almost always possible to shorten any part of the route by taking public transport, or by breaking one section into two, according to one’s personal stamina and ability. Also, for those who do not relish being weighed down by a heavy pack – fret not! Walking-without-luggage packages or luggage forwarding services are available for almost all sections of this route.
While the Westweg does not compete for thrill and adventure with more alpine routes, its quieter, bucolic charms are seductive to those who are romantics at heart.
Typical Black Forest farmhouse (Stage 11B)
Geology
Geologically speaking, the mountains of the Black Forest are quite old. The bedrock, consisting of granite and gneiss, originated from volcanic activity some 200 million years ago. Variegated sandstone deposits, known as Bunter, which can mostly be seen in the northern parts, have built up through the eons. Thick layers of calciferous material (Muschelkalk and Keuper) around the southern fringes of the massif bear witness to an age when the region was covered by an arm of the Tethys Ocean and prehistoric corals populated this warm-water sea.
Prior to the Eocene epoch the Black Forest and the Vosges Mountains were part of the same tectonic plate, but due to the enormous pressures exerted on the earth crust during the formation of the Alps, the plate was stretched and pulled in opposite directions, which caused it to thin and eventually to crack. In a process that has lasted millions of years and is still in progress (at a rate of about 0.1mm per year), the ‘graben’ has sunk by about 4000m. At the same time the broken-off edges of the plates have lifted up, bringing ancient bedrock of granite and gneiss to the surface, while softer layers of Bunter, Keuper and Muschelkalk have eroded. The debris has collected in the plain and built up layer upon layer of sediments that have filled the fissure, which is why today there is no 4000m-deep ‘Grand Canyon’ between France and Germany.
The tiny mountain range of Kaiserstuhl, situated to the west of Freiburg, is geologically unrelated to the Black Forest and the Vosges. It was formed during the Tertiary period and represents the climax of volcanic activity in the Rhine Valley.
During the last ice age about 10,000 years ago (the Würm glaciation), glaciers covered the entire Black Forest, and they have left their distinctive mark on the region’s topography: soft contoured hills and valleys and near-circular tarns at the base of ancient cirques. After the ice retreated, the land, freed of the weight, started to rise. It is still lifting today, but at such a minimal rate that the effect is offset by erosion.
Geographically, the Black Forest is divided into a northern/central and a southern part, although the dividing line is rather arbitrary. The northern/central part extends from Pforzheim at the northernmost tip to Freudenstadt in the east, and Offenburg in the west. The Kinzig valley, which connects these two towns, forms the ‘boundary’. Regions to the south are considered part of the southern Black Forest, also often referred to as Hochschwarzwald (High Black Forest).
In the northern parts, the tallest peaks rarely reach more than 1000m above sea level. This area is characterised by seemingly endless miles of spruce-clad mountains, moors and deeply incised, steep and narrow valleys carved out by rivers that once were vital traffic arteries.
On top of the Black Forest with panoramic views all around (Stage 10A)
The southern Black Forest is where the tallest peaks are found, with Feldberg at almost 1500m topping the list. The southern edges of the massif are geologically still quite active – a phenomena that can be observed in the widening chasms of gorges, such as the Wutachschlucht.
The main central ridge of the mountains divides the region into an eastern and a western part. On the western flanks the mountains soar quite abruptly, rising up from the Rhine Valley to over 1000m, while the eastern slopes fall away much more gradually, forming an extensive high plateau that is characterised by gently rolling hills.
History
Despite its northern latitude, Baden-Württemberg bears many traces of extremely ancient human history. Some of Europe’s oldest archaeological sites have been discovered at various locations between Stuttgart and Lake Constance, but the Black Forest has long remained a forbidding wilderness.
Evidence of early farming settlements dates to around 4000BC. Traces of such camps have been found at a number of locations, such as Schönberg near Freiburg, at Breisach am Rhein and Burkheim am Kaiserstuhl. But it was early Celtic tribes around 800–700BC that began to make inroads into the forest itself. Creating clearances on the eastern plateau near the source of the River Danube, they were the first to exploit the natural resources of the area – most notably its iron ore.
The Romans also had a significant impact on the region, especially around the southern and western edges, where remains of their villas can still be seen. After conquering Helvetia, now modern-day Switzerland, they pushed north along the Rhine, gradually usurping the Celts and driving them into the hills. By AD76 they had built the first traffic artery through the Kinzig valley, in the heart of the Black Forest.
Archaeologists digging for traces of Pforzheim’s ancient past (stage 1)
The Romans, well known for their love of thermal baths, were delighted to find hot springs at sites such as Badenweiler and Baden-Baden and set about constructing elaborate bath houses. The original Roman ruins can still be seen today. Their traditions, meanwhile, have evolved into a modern spa culture.
As the Roman Empire went into decline by about the third century AD, their settlements in Germania became increasingly vulnerable to attacks by Alemannic tribes from the north. The Romans withdrew south of the Rhine and the once grand administrative centre of Augusta Raurica (only about 20km from modern-day Basel), which during its heyday was home to about 20,000 people, eventually reverted to the status of a small fishing village.
The first determined attempts to settle and ‘civilise’ the Black Forest came in the seventh century with the arrival of Irish monks, who were on a mission to evangelise the heathen outposts of Europe. Most of the grand and powerful clerical centres in the Black Forest, such as St Trudpert in Münstertal and St Blasien, originally started as hermitages. In their diligent effort to ‘gain dominion over nature’, the monks cut down the forest and built their pious outposts in the wilderness.
Rötteln Church, built on the foundations of one of the earliest Christian sites in the region (Stage 13A)
The forest, along with the silver mines that brought riches to cities such as Freiburg, was the livelihood of the then sparse population. Ancient tree giants supplied the building material for many of Germany’s grand medieval churches and castles. In later centuries they were also bound for export to Holland, where they were turned into the Dutch merchant fleet.
In the days before motorised transportation, moving the massive tree trunks to bigger rivers, such as the Rhine or Neckar, was a major logistic challenge. Spin-off trades related to the
