Black Forest Blog

Traditional christmas markets take place in many places in the Black Forest every year. The flavour of mulled wine, waffles and fir needles, candlelights and the cosy atmosphere attract the guests every year anew. Besides eating and drinking of course you can find lots of local products for your own or for your christmas gifts.

Here you find dates and places of the biggest and most beautiful markets:

• 22 November - 26 December 2011: Christkindles market in Baden-Baden


• 21November - 23 December 2011: Christmas market in Freiburg


• 24 November - 23 December 2011: Christmas market in Offenburg


• 24 November - 23 December 2011: Christkindlesmarkt in Karlsruhe


• 24 November - 28 December 2011: Sternlesmarkt in Ettlingen


• 26-27 November 2011: Magical Christmas market in Calw


• 22 November - 20 December 2011: Christmas market in Pforzheim


• 2 December - 11 December 2011: Christmas market in Freudenstadt


• 26 November - 23 December 2011: Advent's market and the world's biggest 'advent calendar house' in Gengenbach


• 27 November - 4 December 2011: Advent's market in Gaggenau


• 25 November - 11 December 2011: Christmas market in Bühl


• 26-27 November 2011: Christkindlemarkt in Bad Dürrheim


• 8-18 December 2011: Christmas market in Bad Krozingen


• 2-4 December 2011: Christmas market Bad Säckingen


• 8-11 December 2011: Christmas market on the Rosenplatz in Baiersbronn


• 9-11 December 2011: Christmas market in Oberkirch


• 25 -30 December 2011: Triberg Christmas Magic - thousands of lights illuminate the waterfalls and the nature park nearby

See the new photo galleries on our homepage black-forest-travel.com! Photos in high quality and high resolution from all over the Black Forest.

You will find great images e.g. from Baden-Baden, Karlsruhe, the Black Forest High Road or Lake Titisee, or in the gallery 'top events' photos and info e.g. about the Black Forest carnival, ski-jumping, paraglider's competition, carpets of flowers, the sheperd's race and markets of all kind.

• Gallery Black Forest - from north to south
  
• Gallery Top events in the Black Forest

Traditional christmas markets take place in many places in the Black Forest every year. The flavour of mulled wine, waffles and fir needles, candlelights and the cosy atmosphere attract the guests every year anew. Besides eating and drinking of course you can find lots of local products for your own or for your christmas gifts.

Here you find dates and places of the biggest and most beautiful markets:

• 26 November - 27 December 2009: Christkindles market in Baden-Baden
  
• 23 November - 23 December 2009: Christmas market in Freiburg
  
• 24 November - 23 December 2009: Christmas market in Offenburg
  
• 26 November - 23 December 2009: Christkindlesmarkt in Karlsruhe
  
• 28 November - 28 December 2009: Sternlesmarkt in Ettlingen
  
• 26-29 November 2009: Magical Christmas market in Calw
  
• 23 November - 22 December 2009: Christmas market in Pforzheim
  
• 4 December - 13 December 2009: Christmas market in Freudenstadt
  
• 30 November - 23 December 2009: Advent's market and the world's biggest 'advent calendar house' in Gengenbach
  
• 27 November - 6 December 2009: Advent's market in Gaggenau
  
• 27 November - 13 December 2009: Christmas market in Bühl
  
• 27 November - 20 December 2009: Christmas market in Rastatt
  
• 28-29 November 2009: Christkindlemarkt in Bad Dürrheim
  
• 28 November - 23 December 2009: Advent and Christmas market in Lahr
  
• 10-20 December 2009: Christmas market in Bad Krozingen
  
• 3-13 December 2009: Christmas market in Lörrach
  
• 10- 20 December 2009: Christmas market in Rottweil
  
• 4-6 December 2009: Christmas market Bad Säckingen
  
• 4-6 December 2009: Christmas market in St. Blasien
  
• 5-6 December 2009: Christmas market in Titisee-Neustadt
  
• 10-13 December 2009: Christmas market on the Rosenplatz in Baiersbronn
  
• 11-13 December 2009: Christmas market in Oberkirch
  
• 25 December 2009 - 3 January 2010: Triberg Christmas Magic - thousands of lights illuminate the waterfalls and the nature park nearby

The traditional festival in Schonach in the Central Black Forest began today (5th September 2009) with a grand festival procession. The procession set off for the festival marquee at 3 pm sharp, where the festival was officially opened at 3.30 pm with the tapping of the keg.

There will be plenty of music and high spirits in the large festival marquee from today until Monday evening with something to suit all tastes. Party music on Saturday evening, traditional oompah music and folk music on Sunday and Monday as well as entertainment in local dialect.

There is a large fun fair next to the marquee with a chairoplane, dodgems, a merry-go-round and all kinds of sweet temptations.

A very special event took place once again this year in the small community of Dachsberg in the southern Black Forest: the Dachsberger Charcoal Pile Festival. The charcoal pile at the forest sports ground in the district of Wolpadingen smoked from the 25th July to the 9th August 2009, and a great deal of entertainment was on offer at the same time.

The Markgräfler Bergturnfest gymnastic festival and the jubilee weekend of the Dachsberg traditional costume band with its regional music festival had already taken place on the first two weekends. The climax was the folklore day on Sunday the 9th of August with plenty of music, a national park market and demonstrations of old Black Forest handicraft trades. The charcoal pile will be opened on 21st/22nd August, and the charcoal offered for sale on 22nd August.

In the Dachsberg charcoal pile, charcoal is produced in the traditional manner from approximately 20 steres (cubic metres) of beechwood in approx. 4 weeks (2 weeks just for cooling). The charcoal stack is watched around the clock by the charburners during this time (the shelter can be seen on the left in the top picture, the charburner is clearing the smoke holes in the bottom picture). The charburners also enjoy answering visitors' questions and providing expert information about the composition of the charcoal pile and the history of charcoal burning in the Black Forest.

Charcoal burning was an important industry in the Black Forest for a long time. The charcoal was mainly required for ironworks and glass manufacture. Increasingly larger quantities were needed, which meant that vast areas of the Black Forest were bare and not covered by dense forest as they are today. Coal was increasingly used in industry from the 18th century, so that the trees grew back and the forest could recover.

Incidentally, the community of Dachsberg is set in a beautiful location on a plateau in the Hotzenwald Forest, the southernmost part of the Black Forest. Well-known places in the area include St. Blasien and Todtmoos. Lake Schluchsee, Lake Titisee and Feldberg Mountain are also not far away.