Gernsbach ( German pronunciation: [ˈɡɛʁnsbax] ) is a town in the district of Rastatt , in Baden-Württemberg , Germany. It is located on the river Murg , 7 km (4.35 mi) east of Baden-Baden in the Black Forest . Twin towns are Baccarat in France and Pergola, Marche in Italy. The town is the historic centre of the lower Murg Valley and forms a central place of mid-size with Gaggenau . It is located in the Region Mittlerer Oberrhein , one of the twelve spatial planning regions of Baden-Württemberg . Gernsbach is an officially recognised climatic spa with a historic centre. Furthermore, Gernsbach is noted for its paper industry and Paper Centre, a service provider in the field of training, staff qualification and management consultancy for the German and Swiss paper and pulp industry.
124-601: Gernsbach is located in the northern part of the Black Forest on both banks of the river Murg at 150 to 988 meters above the sea level. In the west the 668 m high mountain Merkur provides a distinctive landscape. In the east there is the 908 m high mountain Teufelsmühle . The local subdistrict area of Gernsbach including all quarters is 8208,86 hectares of which most is covered by forest areas – 6628,00 hectares (81% of
248-617: A Germanic language , the Suebi are generally agreed to have spoken one or more Germanic languages. Tacitus refers to Suebian languages, implying there was more than one by the end of the first century. In particular, the Suebi are associated with the concept of an "Elbe Germanic" group of early dialects spoken by the Irminones , entering Germany from the east, and originating on the Baltic. In late classical times, these dialects, by now situated to
372-775: A Germanic presence in the immediate areas north of the Danube . In particular, Caesar saw the Suebians as the most warlike of the Germanic peoples. During the reign of Augustus the first emperor, Rome made aggressive campaigns into Germania , east of the Rhine and north of the Danube, pushing towards the Elbe. After suffering a major defeat to the Romans in 9 BC, Maroboduus became king of
496-604: A Suevian kingdom which was established within the protective mountains and forests of Bohemia . The Suevians did not join the alliance led by Arminius . In 69 AD the Suebian kings Italicus and Sido provided support to the Flavian faction under Vespasian . Under the reign of Marcus Aurelius in the 2nd century AD, the Marcomanni, perhaps under pressure from East Germanic tribes to their north, invaded Italy. By
620-516: A few decades of regulated forestry had ensured the regrowth of the raw material wood and when the forest-destroying potash extraction had become unnecessary due to the new glass flux soda, some glass huts ( Glashütten ) revived. Some glassblowing factories still testify to this today, for example in Höllental , near Todtnau and in Wolfach . Black Forest ham originated from this region, as did
744-564: A large grouping of Germanic peoples that at least overlaps with the classical terms "Suevi" and "Irminones". However, this term was developed mainly as an attempt to define the ancient peoples who must have spoken the Germanic dialects that led to modern Upper German dialects spoken in Austria, Bavaria , Thuringia , Alsace , Baden-Württemberg and German speaking Switzerland. This was proposed by Friedrich Maurer as one of five major Kulturkreise or "culture-groups" whose dialects developed in
868-845: A main source of the later High German languages , especially the Upper-German dialects predominant in Southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria, which experienced the Second consonant shift some time after about 600 AD. Etymologists trace the name from Proto-Germanic * swēbaz based on the Proto-Germanic root * swē- found in the third-person reflexive pronoun , giving the meaning "one's own" people, in turn from an earlier Indo-European root *swe- (Polish swe, swój, swoi, Latin sui, Italian suo, Sanskrit swa , each meaning "one's own"). The etymological sources list
992-736: A modified tripartite division, which combined natural and cultural regional approaches and was widely used. His Central Black Forest is bounded in the north by the watershed between the Acher and Rench and subsequently between the Murg and Kinzig or Forbach and Kinzig, in the south by the Bonndorf Graben zone, which restricts the Black Forest in the east as does the Freudenstadt Graben further north by its transition into
1116-571: A name with this same meaning, but recorded with a different pronunciation by the Romans. Alternatively, it may be borrowed from a Celtic word for "vagabond". Caesar placed the Suebi east of the Ubii apparently near modern Hesse , in the position where later writers mention the Chatti , and he distinguished them from their allies the Marcomanni . Some commentators believe that Caesar's Suebi were
1240-667: A number of granitic bodies during the Carboniferous period. Among the bigger ones are the Triberg Granite and the Forbach Granite , the youngest is the Bärhalde Granite. In the south lies the zone of Badenweiler-Lenzkirch, in which Palaeozoic rocks have been preserved (volcanite and sedimentary rocks), which are interpreted as the intercalated remains of a microcontinental collision. Still further in
1364-512: A result of the anthropogenic elevation of the low-side lip of the cirque, such as the Mummelsee , Wildsee , Schurmsee , Glaswaldsee , Buhlbachsee , Nonnenmattweiher , and Feldsee . The Titisee formed as glacial lake behind a glacial moraine . The Black Forest is mainly rural, with many scattered villages and a few large towns. Tradition and custom are celebrated in many places in the form of annual festivities. The main dialect spoken in
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#17327988087691488-584: A single nation. They actually occupy more than half of Germania, and are divided into a number of distinct tribes under distinct names, though all generally are called Suebi". Although no classical authors explicitly call the Chatti Suevic, Pliny the Elder (23 AD – 79 AD), reported in his Natural History that the Irminones were a large grouping of related Germanic gentes or "tribes" including not only
1612-531: A specific tribe more or less "Suebian". Caesar noted that rather than grain crops, they spent time on animal husbandry and hunting. They wore animal skins, bathed in rivers, consumed milk and meat products, and prohibited wine, allowing trade only to dispose of their booty and otherwise they had no goods to export. They had no private ownership of land and were not permitted to stay resident in one place for more than one year. They were divided into 100 cantons, each of which had to provide and support 1000 armed men for
1736-653: Is a permanent feature of Alemannic Week, held annually in the Black Forest at the end of September. There are two nature parks and one national park named after the Black Forest that cover the region: the Southern Black Forest Nature Park , the Central/North Black Forest and the Black Forest National Park . The difference between a nature park and a national park is that a nature park's aim
1860-526: Is a traditional cottage industry in the region, and carved ornaments now are produced in substantial numbers as souvenirs for tourists. Cuckoo clocks are a popular example. Glassblowing is another notable craft of the Black Forest region. At the beginning of the 15th century, the art of glassmaking took hold in the Bavarian-Bohemian border mountains, especially since the necessary raw materials such as quartz and wood were abundant here. With
1984-635: Is covered in the east and northeast by Bunter Sandstone slabs, the so-called platforms. On the western edge a descending, step-fault -like, foothill zone borders the Upper Rhine Graben consisting of rocks of the Triassic and Jurassic periods. The dominant rocks of the basement are gneiss (ortho- and paragneisses, in the south also migmatites and diatexites, for example on the Schauinsland and Kandel). These gneisses were penetrated by
2108-676: Is divided into six so-called major units (level 4 landscapes). This division was refined and modified in several successor publications (1:200,000 individual map sheets) up to 1967, each covering individual sections of the map. The mountain range was also divided into three regions. The northern boundary of the Central Black Forest in this classification runs south of the Rench Valley and the Kniebis to near Freudenstadt. Its southern boundary varied with each edition. In 1998,
2232-401: Is here, in the west, where the highest mountains and the greatest local differences in height (of up to 1000 metres) are found. The valleys are often narrow and ravine-like. The summits are rounded, and there are remnants of plateaux and arête -like landforms. Geologically the clearest division is also between east and west. Large areas of the eastern Black Forest, the lowest layer of
2356-599: Is known in the Black Forest region, occurs in the time leading up to Lent . On Fasnetmendig , or the Monday before Ash Wednesday , crowds of people line the streets, wearing wooden, mostly hand-carved masks. One prominent style of mask is called the Black Forest Style, originating from the Black Forest Region. The Black Forest is home to an unusual tarot card game called Cego , that is part of
2480-432: Is to strive for environmentally sustainable land use , to preserve the countryside as a cultural landscape, to market local produce more effectively, to make the area more suitable for sustainable tourism and to practice environmental education . A national park's aims are to protect the country's natural heritage, to practice environmental education, to serve purposes of scientific environmental observation and to prevent
2604-605: The Alamanni and Bavarians , and two kingdoms in the Migration Period were simply referred to as Suebian. Although Tacitus specified that the Suebian group was not an old tribal group itself, the Suebian peoples are associated by Pliny the Elder with the Irminones , a grouping of Germanic peoples who claimed ancestral connections. Tacitus mentions Suebian languages, and a geographical "Suevia". The Suevians were first mentioned by Julius Caesar in connection with
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#17327988087692728-790: The Battle of Nedao there was also a short-lived Kingdom of the Suebi on the Danube, under Hunimund . They were defeated by the Ostrogoths , one of the peoples of eastern origin who had been allies of the Huns. In the sixth century the Suevic Longobards moved from the Elbe to become one of the major powers of the Middle Danube , in competition with the dynasties from the east such as the Herules , Gepids and Ostrogoths . During
2852-967: The Belchen (1,414 m). In general the mountains of the Southern or High Black Forest are higher than those in the Northern Black Forest. The highest Black Forest peak north of the Freiburg–Höllental–Neustadt line is the Kandel (1,241.4 m). Like the highest point of the Northern Black Forest, the Hornisgrinde (1,163 m), or the Southern Black Forest lookout mountains, the Schauinsland (1,284.4 m) and Blauen (1,164.7 m ) it lies near
2976-504: The Black Forest gâteau , which is also known as "Black Forest Cherry Cake" or "Black Forest Cake" and is made with chocolate cake, cream, sour cherries and Kirsch . The Black Forest variety of Flammekueche is a Baden specialty made with ham, cheese and cream. Pfannkuchen , a crêpe or crêpe-like ( Eierkuchen or Palatschinken ) pastry, is also common. The Black Forest is known for its long tradition in gourmet cuisine. No fewer than 17 Michelin starred restaurants are located in
3100-733: The Black Sea drainage basin (drained by the Danube). The longest Black Forest rivers are (length includes stretches outside the Black Forest): Important lakes of natural, glacial origin in the Black Forest include the Titisee , the Mummelsee and the Feldsee . Especially in the Northern Black Forest are a number of other, smaller tarns . Numerous reservoirs like the – formerly natural but much smaller – Schluchsee with
3224-632: The Boii further east near the Hercynian forest . In addition, near the Hercynian forest Caesar believed that the Celtic Tectosages had once lived. All of these peoples had for the most part moved by the time of Tacitus. Nevertheless, Cassius Dio wrote that the Suebi, who dwelt across the Rhine, were called Celts. This may follow a Greek tradition of labelling all barbarian people north of
3348-699: The Central/North Black Forest Nature Park between the cities of Freudenstadt and Baden-Baden and covers an area of 10,062 ha. Its motto is "Natur Natur sein lassen" (let nature be nature). In addition to the characteristic range of fauna found in Central European forests, the following less common animals may be observed in the Black Forest: The mountain range has lower temperatures and higher rainfall than its surrounding countryside. The highlands of
3472-889: The Crisis of the Third Century , new Suebian groups had emerged, and Italy was invaded again by the Juthungi , while the Alamanni ravaged Gaul and settled the Agri Decumates . The Alamanni continued exerting pressure on Gaul, while the Alamannic chieftain Chrocus played an important role in elevating Constantine the Great to Roman emperor . By the late 4th century AD, the Middle Danubian frontier inhabited by
3596-599: The Gutach . A pragmatic division, which is oriented not just on natural and cultural regions, uses the most important transverse valleys. Based on that, the Central Black Forest is bounded by the Kinzig in the north and the line from Dreisam to Gutach in the south, corresponding to the Bonndorf Graben zone and the course of the present day B 31 . In 1959, Rudolf Metz combined the earlier divisions and proposed
3720-532: The Lombardic language spoken by the Lombards of Italy, and standard "High German" itself, are also at least partly derived from the dialects spoken by the Suebi. (The only non-Suebian name among the major groups of Upper Germanic dialects is High Franconian German , but this is on the transitional frontier with Central German , as is neighboring Thuringian.) Julius Caesar (100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) describes
3844-911: The Marcomanni , who under King Marobodus had moved into the same Hercynian forest as the Coldui (possibly the Quadi ), taking over an area called "Boihaemum". This king "took the rulership and acquired, in addition to the peoples aforementioned, the Lugii (a large tribe), the Zumi , the Butones , the Mugilones , the Sibini , and also the Semnones , a large tribe of the Suevi themselves". Some of these tribes were "inside
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3968-403: The Marsigni , and Buri , who "in their language and manner of life, resemble the Suevi". (Living partly subject to the Quadi are the Gotini and Osi , who Tacitus says speak respectively Gaulish and Pannonian , and are therefore not Germans.) Ptolemy also places the " Lugi Buri " in mountains, along with a tribe called the Corconti . These mountains, stretching from near the upper Elbe to
4092-483: The Oos to Baden-Baden , the middle reaches of the Bühlot above Bühls and the upper reaches of the Rench around Oppenau . Their exit valleys from the mountain range are all oriented towards the northwest. The Central Black Forest (153) is mainly restricted to the catchment area of the River Kinzig above Offenburg as well as the Schutter and the low hills north of the Elz . The Southeastern Black Forest ( Südöstliche Schwarzwald , 154) consists mainly of
4216-399: The South German Scarplands composed of Bunter Sandstone, are covered by seemingly endless coniferous forest with their island clearings. The exposed basement in the west, predominantly made up of metamorphic rocks and granites , was, despite its rugged topography, easier to settle and appears much more open and inviting today with its varied meadow valleys. The most common way of dividing
4340-409: The invasion of Gaul led by the Germanic king Ariovistus during the Gallic Wars . Unlike Strabo and Tacitus who wrote later, he described them as a single people, distinct from the Marcomanni, within the larger Germanic category, who he saw as a growing threat to Gaul and Italy in the first century BC, as they had been moving southwards aggressively, at the expense of Gallic tribes, and establishing
4464-407: The "Rugiclei" up to the Vistula river (probably referring to the "Rugii" of Tacitus). He does not specify if these are Suevi. In the sea, the states of the Suiones , "powerful in ships" are, according to Tacitus, Germans with the Suevic (Baltic) sea on one side and an "almost motionless" sea on the other more remote side. Modern commentators believe this refers to Scandinavia . Closely bordering on
4588-400: The "coastal" regions north of the Rhine. The geographer Ptolemy (c. AD 90 – c. AD 168), in a fairly extensive account of Greater Germany, makes several unusual mentions of Suebi between the Rhine and the Elbe. He describes their position as stretching out in a band from the Elbe, all the way to the northern Rhine, near the Sugambri . The "Suevi Langobardi " are the Suevi located closest to
4712-419: The 20th century following townships were suburbanized: After the redivision of local government in the 1970s followed. Coat of Arms of the quarters These townships and towns border on Gernsbach: A permanent settlement of Gernsbach before the 12th century is not verified. At the beginning of the 12th century the Counts of Eberstein bought the “predium” Rotenfels thus allowing the initial settlement of
4836-402: The Adrabaecampi, are the Sudini and then the Marcomanni living in the Gambreta forest. North of them, but south of the Sudetes mountains (which are not likely to be the same as the modern ones of that name) are the Varisti , who are probably the same as Tacitus' "Naristi" mentioned above. Jordanes writes that in the early 4th century the Vandals had moved to the north of the Danube, but with
4960-458: The Alps as Celtic. Strabo (64/63 BC – c. 24 AD), in Book IV (6.9) of his Geography also associates the Suebi with the Hercynian Forest and the south of Germania north of the Danube. He describes a chain of mountains north of the Danube that is like a lower extension of the Alps, possibly the Swabian Alps , and further east the Gabreta Forest , possibly the modern Bohemian forest . In Book VII (1.3) Strabo specifically mentions as Suevic peoples
5084-409: The Angles and Langobardi west of the Elbe, where they may indeed have been present at some points in time, given that the Suebi were often mobile. It is already mentioned above that stretching between the Elbe and the Oder, the classical authors place the Suebic Semnones. Ptolemy places the Silingi to their south in the stretch between these rivers. These Silingi appear in later history as a branch of
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5208-483: The Baden-Württemberg State Department for Environmental Protection (today the Baden-Württemberg State Department for the Environment, Survey and Nature Conservation) published a reworked Natural Region Division of Baden-Württemberg. It is restricted to the level of the natural regional major units and has been used since for the state's administration of nature conservation: The Black Forest Foothills ( Schwarzwald-Randplatten , 150) geomorphologically form plateaux on
5332-411: The Belchen and Feldberg in the south, where annual rainfall reaches 1,800–2,100 mm. Moisture-laden Atlantic westerlies dump about as much rain in the Northern Black Forest, despite its lower elevation, than in the higher area of the Southern Black Forest. There, the Vosges act as a rain shield in the face of the prevailing winds. On the exposed east side of the Central Black Forest, it is much drier;
5456-411: The Black Forest and caused even greater damage, especially to the spruce monocultures. As had happened following the 1990 storms, large quantities of fallen logs were kept in provisional wet-storage areas for years. The effects of the storm are demonstrated by the Lothar Path , a forest educational and adventure trail at the nature centre in Ruhestein on a highland timber forest of about 10 hectares that
5580-414: The Black Forest are characterized by regular rainfall throughout the year. However, temperatures do not fall evenly with increasing elevation, nor does the rainfall increase uniformly. Rather, the precipitation rises quickly even in the lower regions and is disproportionately heavy on the rainier western side of the mountains. The wettest areas are the highlands around the Hornisgrinde in the north and around
5704-473: The Black Forest are separated by various features. Geomorphologically , the main division is between the gentle eastern slopes with their mostly rounded hills and broad plateaux (so-called Danubian relief , especially prominent in the north and east on the Bunter Sandstone) and the deeply incised, steeply falling terrain in the west that drops into the Upper Rhine Graben ; the so-called Valley Black Forest ( Talschwarzwald ) with its Rhenanian relief. It
5828-427: The Black Forest area is Alemannic . The forest is best known for its typical farmhouses with their sweeping half-hipped roofs , its Black Forest gâteaus , Black Forest ham , Black Forest gnomes , Kirschwasser and the cuckoo clock . Traditional costume or Tracht is still sometimes worn today, usually at festive occasions. The appearance of such costume varies from region to region, sometimes markedly. One of
5952-423: The Black Forest belongs completely to the state of Baden-Württemberg and comprises the cities of Freiburg , Pforzheim and Baden-Baden as well as the following districts ( Kreise ). In the north: Enz , Rastatt and Calw ; in the middle: Freudenstadt , Ortenaukreis and Rottweil ; in the south: Emmendingen , Schwarzwald-Baar , Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald , Lörrach and Waldshut . The natural regions of
6076-442: The Black Forest to paint his landscapes. The works of the Gutach artist colony around Wilhelm Hasemann were widely admired, their landscape and genre motifs capturing the character of the Black Forest. Like local author Heinrich Hansjakob, they were part of a Baden folk costume movement. In the field of handicrafts, wood carving produces folk art like the Longinus crosses along with sculptors like Matthias Faller . Wood carving
6200-404: The Black Forest to the east and the Vosges to the west. In the centre lies the Kaiserstuhl volcano , which dates to the Miocene . In the times that followed, the Mesozoic platform on the uplands was largely eroded, apart from remains of Bunter Sandstone and Rotliegend Group , but it has survived within the graben itself. During the Pliocene a pronounced but uneven bulge especially affected
6324-418: The Black Forest was a mixed forest of deciduous trees and firs. At the higher elevations spruce also grew. In the middle of the 19th century, the Black Forest was almost completely deforested by intensive forestry and was subsequently replanted, mostly with spruce monocultures . In 1990, extensive damage to the forest was caused by a series of windstorms . On 26 December 1999, Cyclone Lothar raged across
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#17327988087696448-401: The Black Forest; morphologically, geologically and climatically it is separate from the other parts of the Southern Black Forest and, in this classification, is also counted as part of the High Black Forest. At 1,493 m above sea level (NHN) the Feldberg in the Southern Black Forest is the range's highest summit. Also in the same area are the Herzogenhorn (1,415 m) and
6572-422: The Danube, during this period. Caesar describes the Suebi as pressing the German tribes of the Rhine, such as the Tencteri , Usipetes and Ubii , from the east, forcing them from their homes. While emphasizing their warlike nature he writes as if they had a settled homeland somewhere between the Cherusci and the Ubii , and separated from the Cherusci by a deep forest called the Silva Bacenis. He also describes
6696-402: The Elbe Germanic. In the time of Caesar, southern Germany had a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes and was increasingly coming under pressure from Germanic groups led by the Suebi. As described later by Tacitus, what is today southern Germany between the Danube , the Main , and the Rhine had been deserted by the departure of two large Celtic nations, the Helvetii in modern Schwaben and
6820-403: The Elder (as opposed to Tacitus) as being not Suevic but Vandili , amongst whom he also included the Goths, and the Varini, both being people living north of them near the Baltic coast. Pliny's "Vandili" are generally thought to be speakers of what modern linguists refer to as Eastern Germanic . Between the coastal Saxons and inland Suebi, Ptolemy names the Teutonari and the "Viruni" (presumably
6944-444: The Germanic word marka , "border"). The Black Forest probably represented the border area of the Marcomanni ("border people") who were settled east of the Roman limes . They, in turn, were part of the Germanic tribe of Suebi , who subsequently gave their name to the historic state of Swabia . With the exception of Roman settlements on the perimeter (e.g. the baths in Badenweiler, and mines near Badenweiler and Sulzburg ) and
7068-410: The Hermiones". North of the Lugii, near the Baltic Sea , Tacitus places the Gothones (Goths) , Rugii , and Lemovii . These three Germanic tribes share a tradition of having kings, and also similar arms – round shields and short swords. Ptolemy says that east of the Saxons, from the "Chalusus" river to the "Suevian" river are the Farodini , then the Sidini up to the "Viadua" river, and after these
7192-421: The High Black Forest as well as the main ridge of the Northern Black Forest. Apart from that, it is only discernible from a large number of cirques mainly facing northeast. Especially in this direction snow accumulated on the shaded and leeward slopes of the summit plateau to form short cirque glaciers that made the sides of these funnel-shaped depressions. There are still tarns in some of these old cirques, partly
7316-413: The Lugii north of the mountains, he named two large groups, the Lougoi Omanoi and the Lougoi Didounoi, who live between the "Suevus" river (probably the Saale ( Sorbian : Solawa ) or Oder river) and the Vistula, south of the Burgundi . These Burgundians who according to Ptolemy lived between the Baltic sea Germans and the Lugii, stretching between the Suevus and Vistula rivers, were described by Pliny
7440-409: The Marcomanni as a tribe distinct from the Suebi, and also active within the same alliance. But he does not describe where they were living. Strabo wrote that the Suebi "excel all the others in power and numbers." He describes Suebic peoples (Greek ethnē ) as having come to dominate Germany between the Rhine and Elbe, with the exception of the Rhine valley, on the frontier with the Roman empire, and
7564-434: The Marcomanni still to their west, and the Hermunduri still to their north. A possible sign of confusion in this comment is that he equates the area in question to later Gepidia , which was further south, in Pannonia, modern Hungary, and east of the Danube. In general, as discussed below, the Danubian Suebi, along with the neighbours such as the Vandals, apparently moved southwards into Roman territories, both south and east of
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#17327988087697688-403: The Middle Eocene a rifting period affected the area and caused formation of the Upper Rhine Plain . During the last glacial period of the Würm glaciation , the Black Forest was covered by glaciers; several tarns (or lakes) such as the Mummelsee are remains of this period. The geological foundation of the Black Forest is formed by the crystalline bedrock of the Variscan basement. This
7812-428: The Nomads, they load their household belongings on their wagons and with their beasts turn whithersoever they think best. Notable in classical sources, the Suebi can be identified by their hair style called the " Suebian knot ", which "distinguishes the freeman from the slave"; or in other words served as a badge of social rank. The same passage points out that chiefs "use an even more elaborate style". Tacitus mentions
7936-414: The Northern Black Forest. The Handbook of the Natural Region Divisions of Germany published by the Federal Office of Regional Geography ( Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde ) since the early 1950s names the Black Forest as one of six tertiary-level major landscape regions within the secondary-level region of the South German Scarplands and, at the same time, one of nine new major landscape unit groups. It
8060-410: The Quadi and Marcomanni received large numbers of Gothic and other eastern peoples escaping disturbances associated with the Huns . In 406 AD, Suebian tribes led by Hermeric , together with other Danubian groups including Alans and Vandals, crossed the Rhine and overran Gaul and Hispania . They eventually established the Kingdom of the Suebi in Galicia . With the breaking up of Hunnic power after
8184-411: The Rhine, far to the east of where most sources report them. To the east of the Langobardi, are the "Suevi Angili ", extending as far north as the middle Elbe, also to the east of the position reported in other sources. It has been speculated that Ptolemy may have been confused by his sources, or else that this position of the Langobardi represented a particular moment in history. As discussed below, in
8308-427: The Romans from entering into Gaul. Caesar on the other hand saw himself and Rome as an ally and defender of the Aedui. The forces Caesar faced in battle were composed of " Harudes , Marcomanni , Tribocci , Vangiones , Nemetes , Sedusii , and Suevi". While Caesar was preparing for conflict, a new force of Suebi was led to the Rhine by two brothers, Nasuas and Cimberius, forcing Caesar to rush in order to try to avoid
8432-422: The Southern Black Forest Plateau, is oriented towards the Danube, but drained over the Wutach and the Alb into the Rhine. The southern crest of the Black Forest in the west is deeply incised by the Rhine into numerous ridges. Immediately right of the Wiese above Lörrach rises the relatively small Bunter Sandstone- Rotliegendes table of the Weintenau Uplands ( Weitenauer Bergland ) in the extreme southwest of
8556-435: The Suebi in his firsthand account, De Bello Gallico , as the "largest and the most warlike nation of all the Germans". Caesar confronted a large army led by a Suevic King named Ariovistus in 58 BC who had been settled for some time in Gaul already, at the invitation of the Gaulish Arverni and Sequani as part of their war against the Aedui. He had already been recognized as a king by the Roman senate. Ariovistus forbade
8680-503: The Suebi live there, naming only specifically the Hermunduri and the Langobardi . But he mentions these are there because of recent defeats at Roman hands which had forced them over the river. (Tacitus mentions that the Hermunduri were later welcomed on to the Roman border at the Danube.) In any case he says that the area near the Elbe itself is held by the Suebi. From Tacitus and Ptolemy we can derive more details: Note that while various errors and confusions are possible, Ptolemy places
8804-400: The Suebi, and the Tencteri and Usipetes, already forced from their homes, tried to cross the Rhine and enter Gaul by force. Caesar bridged the Rhine, the first known to do so, with a pile bridge , which though considered a marvel, was dismantled after only eighteen days. The Suebi abandoned their towns closest to the Romans, retreated to the forest and assembled an army. Caesar moved back across
8928-589: The Suebi, but also the Hermunduri, Chatti and Cherusci . Whether or not the Chatti were ever considered Suevi, both Tacitus and Strabo distinguish the two partly because the Chatti were more settled in one territory, whereas Suevi remained less settled. The definitions of the greater ethnic groupings within Germania were apparently not always consistent and clear, especially in the case of mobile groups such as
9052-568: The Suevi, while their language is more like the British." After giving this account, Tacitus says: "Here Suebia ends." Therefore, for Tacitus geographic "Suebia" comprises the entire periphery of the Baltic Sea , including within it tribes not identified as Suebi or even Germanic. On the other hand, Tacitus does clearly consider there to be not only a Suebian region, but also Suebian languages, and Suebian customs, which all contribute to making
9176-604: The Suevi. Whereas Tacitus reported three main kinds of German peoples, Irminones, Istvaeones , and Ingaevones , Pliny specifically adds two more genera or "kinds", the Bastarnae and the Vandili ( Vandals ). The Vandals were tribes east of the Elbe, including the well-known Silingi , Goths , and Burgundians , an area that Tacitus treated as Suebic. That the Vandals might be a separate type of Germanic people, corresponding to
9300-576: The Suiones and closely resembling them, are the tribes of the Sitones . Ptolemy describes Scandinavia as being inhabited by Chaedini in the west, Favonae and Firaesi in the east, Finni in the north, Gautae and Dauciones in the south, and Levoni in the middle. He does not describe them as Suebi. Tacitus describes the non-Germanic Aestii on the eastern shore of the "Suevic Sea" (Baltic), "whose rites and fashions and style of dress are those of
9424-696: The Vandals, and were therefore likely to be speakers of East Germanic dialects. Their name is associated with medieval Silesia . Further south on the Elbe are the Baenochaemae and between them and the Askibourgian mountains Ptolemy names a tribe called the Batini (Βατεινοὶ), apparently north and/or east of the Elbe. According to Tacitus, around the north of the Danubian Marcomanni and Quadi, "dwelling in forests and on mountain-tops", live
9548-820: The Varini of Tacitus), and further east, between the coastal Farodini and the Suebi are the Teutones and then the Avarni . Further east again, between the Burgundians and the coastal Rugiclei were the "Aelvaeones" (presumably the Helveconae of Tacitus). Tacitus called the Baltic sea the Suebian sea. Pomponius Mela wrote in his Description of the World (III.3.31) beyond the Danish isles are "the farthest people of Germania,
9672-555: The annual rainfall there is about 750 L/m . Suebi The Suebi (also spelled Suavi , Suevi or Suebians ) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic . In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names such as the Marcomanni , Quadi , Hermunduri , Semnones , and Lombards . New groupings formed later, such as
9796-417: The area from being commercially exploited. The Southern Black Forest Nature Park ( Naturpark Südschwarzwald ) was founded in 1999. It comprises 394,000 ha and is therefore Germany's largest nature park (as of 2020). It encloses the southern part of the Central Black Forest, the Southern Black Forest and adjacent areas. The Central/North Black Forest Nature Park ( Naturpark Schwarzwald Mitte/Nord )
9920-496: The area was known for forestry and the mining of ore deposits, but tourism has now become the primary industry, accounting for around 300,000 jobs. There are several ruined military fortifications dating back to the 17th century. In ancient times, the Black Forest was known as Abnoba mons , after the Celtic deity, Abnoba . In Roman times ( Late antiquity ), it was given the name Silva Marciana ("Marcynian Forest", from
10044-460: The best-known Black Forest costumes is that of the villages of Kirnbach , Reichenbach and Gutach im Kinzigtal with the characteristic Bollenhut headdress. Unmarried women wear the hats with red bobbles or Bollen ; married women wear black. Engaged women sometimes wear a bridal crown ( Schäppel ) before and on the day of their wedding, whose largest examples from the town of St. Georgen weigh up to 5 kilograms. Its rural beauty as well as
10168-459: The borders with France and Switzerland . It is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers. Its highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres (4,898 ft) above sea level . Roughly oblong in shape, with a length of 160 kilometres (100 miles) and breadth of up to 50 km (30 mi), it has an area of about 6,009 km (2,320 sq mi). Historically,
10292-599: The catchment areas of the upper reaches of the Danube headstreams, the Brigach and Breg as well as the left side valleys of the Wutach north of Neustadt – and thus draining from the northeast of the Southern Black Forest. To the south and west it is adjoined by the High Black Forest ( Hochschwarzwald , 155) with the highest summits in the whole range around the Feldberg and the Belchen . Its eastern part,
10416-469: The constant pursuit of war. Strabo describes the Suebi and people from their part of the world as highly mobile and nomadic, unlike more settled and agricultural tribes such as the Chatti and Cherusci : ...they do not till the soil or even store up food, but live in small huts that are merely temporary structures; and they live for the most part off their flocks, as the Nomads do, so that, in imitation of
10540-510: The construction of the Roman road of Kinzigtalstraße , the colonization of the Black Forest was not carried out by the Romans but by the Alemanni . They settled and first colonized the valleys, crossing the old settlement boundary, the so-called "red sandstone border", for example, from the region of Baar . Soon afterwards, increasingly higher areas and adjacent forests were colonized, so that by
10664-521: The crystalline basement of the Northern Black Forest and the adjacent parts of the Central Black Forest, the bunter sandstone platforms rise in prominent steps. The most resistant surface strata on the stepped terrain of the grinden uplands and the heights around the upper reaches of the Enz , which have been heavily eroded by the tributaries of the Murg, is the silicified main conglomerate (Middle Bunter). To
10788-597: The east and north are the nappes of the Upper Bunter (platten sandstones and red clays). South of the Kinzig the Bunter Sandstone zone narrows to a fringe in the east of the mountain range. It is considered proven that the Black Forest was heavily glaciated during the peak periods of at least the Riss and Würm glaciations (up to about 10,000 years ago). This glacial geomorphology characterizes almost all of
10912-694: The east it transitions to the Gäu , Baar and hill country west of the Klettgau . From north to south, the Black Forest extends for over 160 km (100 mi), attaining a width of up to 50 km (30 mi) in the south and 30 km (20 mi) in the north. The Black Forest is the highest part of the South German Scarplands , and much of it is densely wooded, a fragment of the Hercynian Forest of antiquity. Administratively,
11036-465: The end of the 10th century, the first settlements could be found in the red (bunter) sandstone region. These include, for example, Rötenbach , which was first mentioned in 819. Some of the uprisings (including the Bundschuh movement ) that preceded the 16th century German Peasants' War , originated in the Black Forest. Further peasant unrest, in the shape of the saltpetre uprisings, took place over
11160-460: The following ethnic names as being from the same root: Suiones (whence also the name of the Swedes ), Samnites , Sabellians , Sabines , and, according to one of the hypotheses, Slavs , indicating the possibility of a prior more extended and common Indo-European ethnic name, "our own people". Notably, the Semnones , known to classical authors as one of the largest Suebian groups, also seem to have
11284-479: The forest" and some "outside of it". Tacitus confirms the name "Boiemum", saying it was a survival marking the old traditional population of the place, the Celtic Boii , though the population had changed. Tacitus describes a series of very powerful Suebian states in his own time, running along the north of the Danube which was the frontier with Rome, and stretching into the lands where the Elbe originates in
11408-518: The grounds of the Diocese of Speyer located on a spur, thus having an ideal location for the construction of a fortification. Black Forest The Black Forest ( German : Schwarzwald [ˈʃvaʁt͡svalt] ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany , bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to
11532-731: The headwaters of the Vistula , he calls the Askibourgian mountains. Between these mountains and the Quadi he adds several tribes, from north to south these are the Sidones , Cotini (possibly Tacitus' Gotini) and the Visburgi . There is then the Orcynian (Hercyian) forest, which Ptolemy defines with relatively restricted boundaries, and then the Quadi. Beyond this mountain range (probably
11656-580: The joining of forces. Caesar defeated Ariovistus in battle, forcing him to escape across the Rhine. When news of this spread, the fresh Suebian forces turned back in some panic, which led local tribes on the Rhine to take advantage of the situation and attack them. Also reported within Caesar's accounts of the Gallic wars, the Suebi posed another threat in 55 BC. The Germanic Ubii , who had worked out an alliance with Caesar, were complaining of being harassed by
11780-649: The last years of the decline of the Western Roman Empire , the Suebian general Ricimer was its de facto ruler. The Lombards, with many Danubian peoples both Suebian and eastern, later settled Italy and established the Kingdom of the Lombards . The Alamanni, Bavarii and Thuringii who remained in Germania gave their names to the still-existing German regions of Swabia , Bavaria and Thuringia respectively. Suebian languages are thought to be
11904-481: The later Chatti or possibly the Hermunduri , or Semnones . Later authors use the term Suebi more broadly, "to cover a large number of tribes in central Germany". While Caesar treated them as one Germanic tribe within an alliance, albeit the largest and most warlike one, later authors, such as Tacitus , Pliny the Elder and Strabo , specified that the Suevi "do not, like the Chatti or Tencteri , constitute
12028-418: The lower Murg valley. From Rotenfels the counts of Eberstein ordered to uproot the wooded and swampy valley and to found new settlements. By 1200 the route Loffenau–Scheuern–Gernsbach–Staufenberg was established. In an ebersteinian inheritance document Gernsbach is first mentioned in written form in 1219 as ‘’Genrespach’’. At that time there was already a differentiation between a Marktdorf (a settlement which had
12152-614: The modern Sudetes ) where the Marsigni and Buri lived, in the area of modern southwest Poland, Tacitus reported a multitude of tribes, the most widespread name of which was the Lugii . These included the Harii , Helveconae , Manimi , Helisii and Naharvali . (Tacitus does not mention the language of the Lugii.) As mentioned above, Ptolemy categorizes the Buri amongst the Lugii, and concerning
12276-484: The modern concept of East Germanic , is a possibility that Tacitus also noted, but for example the Varini are named as Vandilic by Pliny, and specifically Suebic by Tacitus. At one time, classical ethnography had applied the name Suevi to so many Germanic tribes that it appeared as if, in the first centuries AD, that native name would replace the foreign name "Germans". The modern term "Elbe Germanic" similarly covers
12400-540: The modern day Czech Republic . Going from west to east the first were the Hermunduri , living near the sources of the Elbe and stretching across the Danube into Roman Rhaetia . Next came the Naristi , the Marcomanni , and then the Quadi . The Quadi are on the edge of greater Suebia, having the Sarmatians to the southeast. Claudius Ptolemy the geographer did not always state which tribes were Suebi, but along
12524-482: The much higher Southern Black Forest with its distinctive highland economy and ice age glacial relief. The term High Black Forest referred to the highest areas of the South and southern Central Black Forest. The boundaries drawn were, however, quite varied. In 1931, Robert Gradmann called the Central Black Forest the catchment area of the Kinzig and in the west the section up to the lower Elz and Kinzig tributary of
12648-408: The national game of Baden and Hohenzollern , and these are the only regions of Germany where tarot cards are still used for playing games. The game has grown organically, and there are many regional variations, but in recent years the establishment of a Cego Black Forest Championship has led to official tournament rules being defined. In addition, regular courses and local tournaments are held and it
12772-705: The next two centuries in Hotzenwald . Remnants of military fortifications dating from the 17th and 18th centuries can be found in the Black Forest, especially on the mountain passes. Examples include the multiple baroque fieldworks of Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden or individual defensive positions such as the Alexanderschanze (Alexander's Redoubt), the Röschenschanze and the Schwedenschanze ( Swedish Redoubt ). Originally,
12896-650: The north and northeast periphery of the mountain range that descend to the Kraichgau in the north and the Heckengäu landscapes in the east. They are incised by valleys, especially those of the Nagold river system, into individual interfluves ; a narrow northwestern finger extends to beyond the Enz near Neuenbürg and also borders the middle reaches of the Alb to the west as far as a point immediately above Ettlingen . To
13020-785: The northern bank of the Danube, from west to east and starting at the " desert " formerly occupied by the Helvetii , he names the Parmaecampi , then the Adrabaecampi , and then a "large people" known as the Baemoi (whose name appears to recall the Boii again), and then the Racatriae . North of the Baemoi, is the Luna forest which has iron mines, and which is south of the Quadi. North of
13144-678: The other lakes of the Schluchseewerk , the Schwarzenbach Reservoir , the Kleine Kinzig Reservoir or the Nagold Reservoir are used for electricity generation , flood protection or drinking water supply. The Black Forest consists of a cover of sandstone on top of a core of gneiss and granite . Formerly it shared tectonic evolution with the nearby Vosges Mountains . Later during
13268-451: The permission of the manor, glassblowers operated simple glass production facilities as "wandering huts" ( Wanderhütten ), the locations of which were relocated when the local resources were available. They needed huge amounts of firewood and wood for potash . In the second half of the 18th century, the huts had to close due to a shortage of wood and sales difficulties. Only after 1800, when the demand for luxury glass increased enormously, when
13392-525: The region's cultural heritage. After the defeat of Further Austria in 1805, much of its territory was allocated to the Grand Duchy of Baden . During the ensuing Napoleonic Wars , soldiers from Baden deployed with Napoleon's troops to Spain where, among other things, they learned a new card game, Ombre . They took this back to Baden and adapted it to be played with Tarot cards which were then in common use in southern Germany. Cego soon developed into
13516-710: The region, among them two restaurants with three stars (Restaurants Bareiss and Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn ) as well as the only restaurant in Germany that has been awarded a Michelin star every year since 1966. At Schwarzwald Hotel Adler in Häusern , three generations of chefs from the same family have defended the award from the first year the Michelin Guide selected restaurants in Germany until today. The German holiday of Fastnacht , or Fasnet , as it
13640-535: The regions of the Black Forest is, however, from north to south. Until the 1930s, the Black Forest was divided into the Northern and Southern Black Forest, the boundary being the line of the Kinzig valley . Later the Black Forest was divided into the heavily forested Northern Black Forest , the lower, central section, predominantly used for agriculture in the valleys, was the Central Black Forest and
13764-467: The right to run a market) and a Kirchdorf (a settlement which had the right to build a church). Gernsbach (also called “Hof” – ‘’a little settlement of farmers’’) was a Kirchdorf at that time, being located to the left of the Murg in the south of the Waldbach on the ebersteinian allodium. The local church was the preceding building of today’s St.-Jakobskirche. To the north of the Waldbach was a Marktdorf on
13888-815: The rock massif of Battert near Baden-Baden). Thick rotliegendes rock, covered by bunter, also occurs in the north of the Dinkelberg block (several hundred metres thick in the Basel geothermal borehole). Even further to the southeast, under the Jura, lies the North Swiss Permocarboniferous Basin. Since the downfaulting of the Upper Rhine Graben during the Eocene epoch, the two shoulders on either side have been uplifted:
14012-531: The sacrifice of humans practiced by the Semnones in a sacred grove and the murder of slaves used in the rites of Nerthus practiced by the tribes of Schleswig-Holstein . The chief priest of the Naharvali dresses as a woman and that tribe also worships in groves. The Harii fight at night dyed black. The Suiones own fleets of rowing vessels with prows at both ends. While there is debate possible about whether all tribes identified by Romans as Germanic spoke
14136-485: The sense of tradition of its inhabitants attracted many artists in the 19th and early 20th centuries, whose works made the Black Forest famous the world over. Notable were Hans Thoma from Bernau and his fellow student, Rudolf Epp, who was sponsored by the Grand Duke of Baden, Frederick I . Both artists painted motifs from the Black Forest throughout their lives. Artist J. Metzler from Düsseldorf travelled through
14260-399: The south of the Elbe, and stretching across the Danube into the Roman empire, experienced the High German consonant shift that defines modern High German languages , and in its most extreme form, Upper German . Modern Swabian German , and Alemannic German more broadly, are therefore "assumed to have evolved at least in part" from Suebian. However, Bavarian , the Thuringian dialect ,
14384-429: The southeast (around Todtmoos) is a range of exotic inclusions: gabbro from Ehrsberg , serpentinites and pyroxenites near Todtmoos, norite near Horbach ), which are possibly the remnants of an accretionary wedge from a continental collision. Also noteworthy are the basins in the Rotliegend , for example the Schramberg or the Baden-Baden Basin with thick quartz-porphyry and tuff plates (exposed, for example, on
14508-440: The southern Black Forest, including the Feldberg. As a result, the upper surface of the basement in the northern part of the forest around the Hornisgrinde is considerably lower. In the central Black Forest, the tectonic syncline of the Kinzig and Murg emerged. Geomorphologist Walther Penck regarded the Black Forest as an uplifted geologic dome and modeled his theory of piedmonttreppen (piedmont benchlands) on it. Above
14632-419: The southern German area from the first century BC through to the fourth century AD. Apart from his own linguistic work with modern dialects, he also referred to the archaeological and literary analysis of Germanic tribes done earlier by Gustaf Kossinna In terms of these proposed ancient dialects, the Vandals, Goths and Burgundians are generally referred to as members of the Eastern Germanic group, distinct from
14756-409: The southwest it is adjoined by the Black Forest Grinden and Enz Hills ( Grindenschwarzwald und Enzhöhen , 151), along the upper reaches of the Enz and Murg, forming the heart of the Northern Black Forest. The west of the Northern Black Forest is formed by the Northern Black Forest Valleys ( Nördliche Talschwarzwald , 152) with the middle reaches of the Murg around Gernsbach , the middle course of
14880-403: The third century a large group of Suebi, also referred to as the Allemanni , moved up to the Rhine bank in modern Schwaben , which had previously been controlled by the Romans. They competed in this region with Burgundians who had arrived from further east. Strabo does not say much about the Suebi east of the Elbe, saying that this region was still unknown to Romans, but mentions that a part of
15004-503: The total area). That is more than twice as much as the average ratio in Baden-Württemberg. Settlement and traffic areas make up 6% - less than half of the average. 12% of the area used for agriculture. The core city is divided into “to the right of the Murg” (including: Kelterberg , Entensee , Kolonie and Nord ) and “to the left of the Murg” (including: Klingele , Waldbach , Faltergass , Heppeler , Walheimer Hof , Stadtbuckel , Siedlung , Hahnbachweg , Panoramaweg and Weinau ) In
15128-401: The western rim of the range. Rivers in the Black Forest include the Danube (which originates in the Black Forest as the confluence of the Brigach and Breg rivers), the Enz , the Kinzig , the Murg , the Nagold , the Neckar , the Rench , and the Wiese . The Black Forest occupies part of the continental divide between the Atlantic Ocean drainage basin (drained by the Rhine ) and
15252-401: Was destroyed by a hurricane. Several areas of storm damage, both large and small, were left to nature and have developed today into a natural mixed forest again. The Black Forest stretches from the High Rhine in the south to the Kraichgau in the north. In the west it is bounded by the Upper Rhine Plain (which, from a natural region perspective, also includes the low chain of foothills); in
15376-405: Was founded in 2000. It covers 375,000 ha and is thus the second-largest in Germany (as of 2020). It begins in the southern part of the Central Black Forest, bordering on the Southern Black Forest Nature Park and covers the rest of the Black Forest to the north. The Black Forest National Park , established in 2014, is the first national park in Baden-Württemberg. It lies completely within
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