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32-963: The Gäu Plateaus are the northwestern part of the Southern Scarplands . The Gäu Plateaus extend from the Upper Rhine to the Tauber valley . They are bordered to the west by the Black Forest and the Upper Rhine Plain , to the north by the Odenwald and the Mainfranken Plateaus, to the east by the Franconian and Swabian Keuper-Lias Lands and the Swabian Jura . The underlying rock is made up of

64-547: A border region, the Bohemian Forest has had a complicated history. In the 20th century it was part of the Iron Curtain , and large areas were stripped of human settlement. Even before that, settlement was sparse and for centuries forests dominated over human dwellings and pathways. These unique circumstances led to the preservation of unspoilt nature and forest ecosystems relatively unaffected by human activity. On

96-730: Is Großer Arber (1,456 m) on the Bavarian side; the highest peak on the Bohemian and Austrian side is the Plöckenstein (Plechý, 1,378 m). The most eastern peak is the Sternstein (1,125 m). The range is one of the oldest in Europe, and its mountains are eroded into round forms with few rocky parts. Typical for the Bohemian Forest are plateaux at about 1,000–1,200 m with relatively harsh climates and many peat bogs . The Bohemian Forest

128-803: Is a low mountain range in Central Europe . Geographically, the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and the South Bohemian Region in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germany , and form the highest truncated uplands of the Bohemian Massif , up to 50 km wide. They create a natural border between the Czech Republic on one side and Austria and Germany on the other. For political reasons,

160-405: Is not always successful in its task, and many believe the rapid growth of tourist accommodation and services is destroying the former calm of the Šumava region. Šumava National Park is also suffering from problems connected with bark beetles , and there is heated debate about how to deal with them. According to archaeological findings, the Bohemian Forest area was not significantly populated during

192-705: Is the dividing range between the watersheds of the Black Sea and the North Sea , where water collected by the Vltava , Otava and Úhlava rivers flows. These rivers all spring from the Bohemian Forest. Owing to heavy precipitation (mostly snow), the peat bogs and the Lipno Reservoir , the Šumava region is an important water reservoir for Central Europe . More important for their aesthetic value than for holding water are several lakes of glacial origin . As

224-705: Is the case to some extent with the Swabian and the Franconian Jura, which run north of the upper course of the Danube . Vineyards are concentrated in the lower regions of the scarplands, whilst forestry plays an important role in the higher mountain areas. Bohemian Forest The Bohemian Forest , known in Czech as Šumava ( pronounced [ˈʃumava] ) and in German as Böhmerwald ,

256-531: The Tauber . 49°03′00″N 8°55′26″E  /  49.0500°N 8.9240°E  / 49.0500; 8.9240 Southern Scarplands The South German Scarplands is a geological and geomorphological natural region or landscape in Switzerland and the south German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg . The landscape is characterised by escarpments . It is variously referred to in

288-736: The Neogene geological period, after the Upper Rhine Rift Valley was formed as a result of plate tectonic processes about 30 million years ago. The regions either side of the rift valley were violently uplifted, producing the Black Forest on the German side and the Vosges on the French side. This uplifting had the consequence that in the entire South German scarpland region the strata no longer lay horizontally, but were tilted away from

320-622: The Rhine Rift Valley and the Rhine-Main Plain , whilst the dip slopes fall comparatively gradually towards the (north-)east into the depressions beyond which lie the Thuringian Forest , Thuringian Highland , Franconian Forest , Fichtel Mountains , Upper Palatine Forest and Bavarian Forest . Similarly the Swabian and Franconian Jura descend quite gently towards the south(east) to the Danube valley, whilst

352-514: The Triassic and Jurassic periods of the Mesozoic era. The sedimentary beds were gently tilted and exposed to the surface and erosion and weathering occurred differentially based on their composition. The less resistant rocks eroded faster, retreating until the point they were overlain by more resistant rock resulting in the cuestas characteristic of scarplands. The present scarp landscape

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384-780: The Upper Rhine Rift Valley in the area of maximum uplift and flexure, scarplands were formed to the east and west of the rift, their layers of rock all dipping away from the Upper Rhine. These regions are the known in the west as the North French Scarplands (in northern France and the Palatinate) and in the east as the South German Scarplands (in Baden-Württemberg and northern Bavaria). These two great areas of scarpland are linked in

416-539: The Bohemian and German sides have different names in their languages: in Czech , the Bohemian side is called Šumava and the Bavarian side Zadní Bavorský les 'Rear Bavarian Forest', while in German , the Bohemian side is called Böhmerwald 'Bohemian Forest', and the Bavarian side Bayerischer Wald 'Bavarian Forest'. In Czech, Šumava is also used as a name for the entire region in Bohemia and Germany. The designation Šumava has been attested in

448-454: The Bohemian borderland began. In the area, 136 villages with German names relating to forest clearing ( Rodungsnamen ) existed. In addition, groups of German village names appear, one such group between Sonnberg (first mentioned in 1279) and Deutsch Reichenau (1261), another group around Zettwing (1356). South of Ottau , German villages form a line along the road from Linz through Hohenfurth to Krummau . Another old settlement area

480-635: The Celtic agricultural settlements desolated. With the departure of the Marcomanni, the forests were left to evolve with almost no human influence. The Bohemian Forest forests began to change character only with the arrival of the Slavs in the 6th century, who found a refuge in the middle of the impenetrable forests. The cultural landscape began to penetrate the wooded surroundings. The gradual but disorganized and fairly subtle form of colonisation continued until

512-586: The German literature as the: The South German Scarplands run (from north(-northeast) to south(-southwest)) more or less between the southern Rhön , the Spessart , the Odenwald and the Black Forest in the west, the Franconian Jura in the east, the Swabian Jura to the southeast and the northeastern foothills of the Jura to the south. The wooded west and northwest-facing scarps drop sharply towards

544-706: The Paleolithic era – the Stone Age (dates back to 9000 BC). The initial settlements of a more permanent character appeared in the southwest of Bohemia during the Bronze Age (3,000 to 1,000 years BC). In the 1st century AD, the forest was inhabited by Gallo-Romans as well as by Germanic tribes in its northern part. The Celts were however gradually forced out by the Germanic tribe (the Marcomanni ), who left

576-505: The Rhine rift descending from west to east. As a result of the lifting and tilting of these sedimentary layers, weathering set in, which the more resistant layers of rock withstood for longer than the softer layers. For example, the clays were relatively easily eroded and formed gentler gradients, whilst the harder sandstones or limestones were less susceptible to weathering and formed the steeper scarps. The resulting geological structures brought

608-590: The Swabian Jura, for example, drop very steeply to the north(-northwest) from the so-called Albtrauf - the top of the main scarp. The South German Scarplands are part of a scarp landscape that stretches from the Bohemian Forest to the Paris Basin . This anticlinal terrain is a result of the tectonic bulging of the earth's surface between Paris and the Bohemian Forest. Following the sinking of

640-596: The continued existence of large forested areas, because of the low productivity of its soils. Muschelkalk underlies the fertile Gäu landscapes of the Baar as far as Lower Franconia . The Keuper, with its relatively poor soils again, lends its name to the scarplands of the Keuper-Lias Uplands . The most prominent Jurassic scarps - notably the Swabian and Franconian Jura – are formed by the White Jura and, in

672-625: The late 11th century. Slavic settlement gradually shifted south, without however reaching the upper Vltava valley. Slavic-founded settlements carried the names of Christian Saints, which indicates that the founding was after the Christianization of Bohemia . Some toponyms indicate that the new Slavic settlers came in contact with remaining Germanic people. Under the rule of King Ottokar I , organized colonization of Bohemian Forest by German settlers began. Bavarian settlers after various wars with Serbs (modern Serbs/Sorbs) for domination over

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704-735: The late 15th century in Antonio Bonfini 's work Rerum unganicarum decades . Folk etymology connects the name's origin with the Czech words šum , šumění (literally 'hum, humming') denoting the noise of trees in the wind. The most accepted opinion among linguists derives Šumava from a theorized Proto-Slavic word * šuma 'dense forest', cf. Serbian šuma as it adjoins regions populated by Sorbs of Lusatia and surrounds (North Eastern Bavaria and Saxony). There are corresponding toponyms in modern-day Serbia i.e. Šumadija 'land of dense forests'. Modern Serbian maintains

736-662: The layer of Muschelkalk , which is largely covered by Letten keuper or loess . The soils in the region are mostly of very high quality. In the Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands ("Handbook of the natural regional divisions of Germany") which appeared from 1953 to 1962 the Neckar and Tauber Gäuplateaus are part of the German Central Uplands and contain the following subdivisions (the handbook's regional numbers are shown in brackets): Based on

768-743: The other hand, many habitats dependent on farming activity are slowly turning into forest. In the Czech Republic , the most valuable area is protected in the Šumava National Park and Protected Landscape and the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve . Part of the German section is protected as the Bavarian Forest National Park . The Bohemian Forest is a popular holiday destination because it is excellent hiking country. Most interesting natural and cultural sights are connected with more than 500 km of summer marked trails and many bike trails. However, park administration

800-417: The region, cleared the forest and founded settlements in the to date largely uninhabited mountainous region, which thereby became culturally close to Bavaria . Since then the nature in Bohemian Forest, including the forested landscape developed under the strong influence of human activity. The borderline virgin forests receded, making way for fields and pastures, and thus in the 13th century, the colonisation of

832-809: The south by the scarps of the Tafeljura on the High Rhine , as well as those in the region of Basel , the Ajoie and in the rest of the Belfort Gap . In the area of the Faltenjura, around the southern perimeter of the Upper Rhine Rift in the Sundgau (Pfirter Jura), the two scarplands (unfolded layers) are separated from one another by a short distance. The rock layers involved were formed in

864-577: The southwest, also the Brown Jura. The Upper Rhine Rift Valley and the Mainz Basin have relatively fertile arable land as a result of ice age deposits of loess . In the uplands, however, the soils only have low to medium productivity. In places where limestone reaches the surface, karstification has resulted in the formation of caves which drain almost all of the precipitation. As a result, these upland areas have very little surface water. This

896-728: The system of the Division of Germany into Major Natural Regional Units" ( Gliederung Deutschlands in Naturräumliche Haupteinheiten ) by the Federal Conservation Office (BfN) in 1994 the natural region is known as D57 Gäuplateaus, Neckar and Tauber Land ( D57 Gäuplatten, Neckar- und Tauberland ) but covers the same area. The term Gau (in Alemannic German : Gäu ) was originally used to refer to open, treeless water meadows. Today

928-550: The term Gäu landscapes ( Gäulandschaften ) is mainly used to refer to the open terraces of the Swabian-Franconian Scarplands and so includes the areas of open, fertile arable fields. The name Neckar and Tauber Gäu Plateaus is to be seen as a collective reference for the Gäu landscapes located in the catchment area of the river Neckar and its tributaries and which extend northeast to the catchment area of

960-466: The use of the word šuma 'forest' and the toponym Šumava equates to 'forested lands'. In the ancient maps of astronomer and geographer Ptolemy , the mountain chain is called Gabreta . In the maps of Greek geographer Strabo the mountain chain is called Sudeta . Both names given to the mountain chain are of Celtic etymology. The Bohemian Forest comprises heavily forested mountains with average heights of 800–1,400 metres. The highest peak

992-552: The various geological strata to the earth's surface where they could be easily observed and assessed. The most important strata are named after the geological periods of the Mesozoic era. These are, in order of their occurrence from west to east: Bunter sandstone , Muschelkalk , Keuper , Black Jura , Brown Jura and White Jura . Bunter sandstone occurs predominantly in the Northern Black Forest and has ensured

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1024-560: Was formed during the Mesozoic era. About 350 million years ago a large basin emerged which was surrounded by mountain ranges and ridges. Prior to that red sandstone had accumulated in the numerous depressions, the erosion products from the Variscan mountains . In the Triassic and Jurassic periods the region sometimes lay above sea level and sometimes below it, so that alternate beds of continental and marine deposition were laid down. The typical, present-day, escarpments have emerged since

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