The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) lies in a sparsely populated, hugely forested area of southwestern Germany.
Wooden farmhouses and simple villages are characteristic elements of this extremely beautiful part of the world. The western area, towards the French and Swiss borders in the Rhine River Valley is dominated by vineyards. Glass blowing and cuckoo clock making are also characteristic of the region. Cuckoo clock-making dates back to 1667. Almost 60 million clocks are made each year.
We spent some time over Christmas here and stayed at Appartamentum Schwarzwaldhaus. To make things a little more Christmassy we picked up a pine branch off the forest floor and used it as a Christmas tree.
Two of the highest peaks in the area are Feldberg which has excellent ski facilities and Belchen with wonderful views. Todtmoos is a small resort town surrounded by mountains covered in forests of Pine trees, and a destination for sled dog championship meets.
The town has a little Holy history too in that apparently a town priest had a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1255 in which she instructed him to build a wooden chapel. Miraculous healings were experienced here and pilgrims still make trips to the Pilgrimage Church, built in 1632.
Thoughts and Things
Have a look at some of these exquisite and wildly creative cuckoo clocks made in the Black Forest.