Schwarzwaldverein
Encyclopedia
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1864, making it the oldest German hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
club. The Schwarzwaldverein has almost 90,000 members in 241 local chapters. Activities of the club include hiking, environmental protection
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
, the promotion of local culture (Heimatpflege), trail maintenance, and family and youth work projects in the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
Organisation
The Schwarzwaldverein consists of the main association and 241 independent local member chapters. The local chapters are organized into 17 regions, and have a membership of almost 90,000 members. The executive committee consists of three members, and the current president is Eugen Dieterle. In addition to the executive committee, there are nine divisional officers, each of whom is responsible for coordinating specific parts of the club's activities. The main offices are in Freiburg.Trail Maintenance
The Schwarzwaldverein in responsible for a network of hiking trails spread throughout the entire Black Forest region. The so-called "Main trailsLong-distance trail
Long-distance trails are the longer recreational trails mainly through rural areas, used for non-motorised recreational travelling ....
", the Westweg
Westweg
The Westweg, , is a long-distance hiking trail running north-south through the Black Forest from Pforzheim to Basel. The trail is around 285 kilometres long, and was founded in 1900. It is currently maintained under the auspices of the Schwarzwaldverein...
, Mittelweg, and Ostweg (West, Middle, and East Trails), run in a north-south direction. Other north-south trails are the Kandelhöhenweg and the Ortenau
Ortenau
The Ortenau is a historical territory in Baden-Württemberg, located on the right bank of the River Rhine. It covers approximately the same area as the Ortenaukreis, a present-day district....
Wine Path in the west, as well as the Gäurandweg in the east. The "Cross-trails" (Querwege) run in an east-west direction: the Cross-trail Gengenbach
Gengenbach
Gengenbach is a town in the district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and a popular tourist destination on the western edge of the Black Forest with about 11,000 inhabitants....
-Alpirsbach
Alpirsbach
Alpirsbach is a town in the district of Freudenstadt in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest on the Kinzig river, 13 km south of Freudenstadt.Alpirsbach is twinned with the French commune of Neuville-sur-Saône....
, Cross-trail Rottweil
Rottweil
Rottweil is a town in the south west of Germany and is the oldest town in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb hills, Rottweil has about 25,000 inhabitants...
-Lahr
Lahr
Lahr is a city in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 38 km north of Freiburg in Breisgau and 100 km south of Karlsruhe...
, Cross-trail
Schwarzwald-Querweg Freiburg-Bodensee
The Schwarzwald-Querweg Freiburg-Bodensee is a long-distance footpath that runs in an east–west direction in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
-Bodensee, the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
-Kaiserstuhl
Kaiserstuhl
The „Kaiserstuhl“ is a relatively low mountain range – a Mittelgebirge – with a maximal height of 556.6 m above sea level. It is of volcanic origin and located in the South West of Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald...
-Rhein Cross-trail, the Hotzenwald Cross-trail, and others. All trails are marked with a colored lozenge. In the 1990s a long-distance bike trail was added parallel to the Westweg starting in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
and ending in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
.
"Youth in the Schwarzwaldverein"
The "Youth in the Schwarzwaldverein" (Jugend im Schwarzwaldverein) is an independent youth organization of the Schwarzwaldverein with a membership of around 11,000, composed of all members 27 years of age and under. Many different levels of activities are offered, including regular meetings, excursions, and camps. The regional offices offer regional camps and advanced training for leaders from the local chapters. The main office offers large camps, experiential learning opportunities and training for members and non-members.External links
- Official site
- Site of the "Jugend im Schwarzwaldverein"
- Cooperative project of the Schwarzwaldverein and the Schwäbischen Albvereins - (Swabian AlbSwabian AlbThe Swabian Alps or Swabian Jura is a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending 220 km from southwest to northeast and 40 to 70 km in width. It is named after the region of Swabia....
Association) - Hiking portal for the Black Forest
- Information about the Schwarzwaldverein's hundredth anniversary