Black Forest

The Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte – Black Forest cake – was invented in the region in the 1930s and is required to contain Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser (cherry schnapps from this specific area) to legally carry the name under German food law. The version served in most European countries is a reasonable approximation. The version served in the Black Forest from a bakery that has been making it for decades is something else. The ratio of cream to cherry, the quality of the sponge, and the cold glass of Kirschwasser served alongside it represent a specific regional food culture that should be experienced in context.

The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) runs along the Rhine valley in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany, stretching roughly 160 kilometres from Pforzheim to Basel. It’s darker and hillier than the name suggests – the forest covers sandstone ridges rising to 1,493 metres at the Feldberg, the highest point in Germany outside the Alps.

What to See

Freiburg im Breisgau is the main city: a university town with a magnificent Gothic Minster (the cathedral), a network of open water channels (Bächle) running through the pedestrian zone, and the Münsterplatz market that operates most mornings. Freiburg is also, by sunshine hours and cycling culture, one of Germany’s most pleasant cities. The old town survived the Second World War bombardment better than most German cities, giving it an intact medieval street pattern that rewards walking.

Triberg is where the famous waterfalls are – Germany’s highest cascades at 163 metres – and where the cuckoo clock industry is most concentrated. The waterfalls are genuinely worth seeing, especially in late spring when snowmelt increases the volume. The cuckoo clock culture is legitimate: artisans in the region have been hand-carving wooden clockwork since the 17th century, and the variety and craft quality in the specialty shops are considerably above what you find in tourist markets elsewhere.

Baden-Baden on the northern edge of the forest is an entirely different character: a 19th-century spa town built around Roman-era thermal springs, with belle époque architecture, a famous casino (Dostoevsky gambled here and wrote The Gambler partly based on the experience), and the Caracalla and Friedrichsbad thermal bath complexes. Staying a night at one of the established hotels and spending the evening in the thermal baths followed by dinner is the specific Baden-Baden experience.

Food

Black Forest cuisine runs to game, spätzle (egg noodles), Maultaschen (pasta pockets filled with meat and herbs – the local equivalent of ravioli), and chanterelle mushrooms in season. The ham (Schwarzwälder Schinken) is cold-smoked over fir branches and has protected designation of origin status – it tastes different from other smoked hams. Hotel Traube Tonbach in Baiersbronn has the highest concentration of Michelin stars per establishment in Germany; dining here requires booking well ahead but represents the apex of regional cooking at formal level.

Getting Around

Regional trains connect Freiburg to Basel (40 minutes), Stuttgart (2 hours), and onward. Within the Black Forest, a car gives the most flexibility for reaching smaller villages and trailheads. The scenic route (B500, the Schwarzwald Hochstrasse) runs along the northern ridge with forest views and occasional viewpoints.

Spring and autumn are the best visiting seasons: lighter crowds than summer, good walking weather, and the forest colour in October is particularly strong.