Settlement History

Before man started to make an impact, the Black Forst was a single area of forest. Even when the Romans started to venture north, they encountered dense, almonst impenetrable forests.

The first human settlement was founded by the Celts around 2500 b.c. at Neuenbürg. Forest clearances indicate that the Celts later also settled in the upper valley of the Murg river. With the settlement of the upper Rhine valley and the fertile plains in the east by the Romans, the first cities and villages were founded on the edge of today's nature park. The central forest areas, however, remained almost untouched for a long time.

The first paved Roman road crossing the Black Forest on its way from Strasbourg via Offenburg through the Kinzig valley to Tuttlingen dates from the year 74 a.c.

During the early Middle Ages the development proper of the Black Forest was started by monasteries and aristocrats, but was initially restricted to the river valleys, where first peasant settlements were built in forest clearings.
During the 13th century, a more intensive use of wood, e.g. for charcoal making, timber rafting or glass production, and the rising importance of mining heralded the first intensive exploitation of the forests. The first spas and resorts were also founded at the end of the Middle Ages to make use of the healing hot springs as in Bad Teinach-Zavelstein, Bad Liebenzell and Bad Wildbad.

As more of the land was settled, agriculture expanded from the villages and monasteries into the forest. Intensive grazing created the typical heaths ("Grinden") - low-nutrient deforested pastures in the higher areas of the Black Forest inhabited by a rich variety of species.

During the 18th century, the Black Forest experienced its boom years, partly driven by the large timber rafting companies such as the "Murgschifferschaft" and the "Calwer Holländer Holzkompanie" selling enormous quantities of timber - so-called "Dutch spruce" - as far downstream as the lower Rhine, and partly driven by mining. This commercial exploitation and unregulated wood cutting depleted the formerly rich reserves of wood. The deforested areas were used as pastures. Not until 1850 was the loss of forest area compensated for by planned reforestation with spruce and pine trees.

With industrialisation starting at the end of the 19th century, the decline of the typical Black Forest trades such as timber rafting, charcoal and glass production was inevitable. The existing iron ore and silver deposits had largely been exploited - several mines within the nature park are open to visitors and bear witness to historic mining activities. In 1896, the last timber raft floated down the river Murg. At the same time, health and spa tourism increased in importance. Baden-Baden became the summer capital of Europe, and tourism became one of the main sources of income for the Black Forest.