Schwarzwaldverein | |
Purpose | Maintenance of hiking trails in the Black Forest region |
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Location | |
Origins | 1864 |
The Schwarzwaldverein (Black Forest Club or Black Forest Association) was founded in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) in 1864, making it the oldest German hiking and mountaineering club. The Schwarzwaldverein has almost 90,000 members in 241 local chapters. Activities of the club include hiking, environmental protection, the promotion of local culture ( Heimatpflege ), trail maintenance, and family and youth work projects in the Black Forest. [1] [2]
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. [3] 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.
The Schwarzwaldverein in responsible for a network of hiking trails spread throughout the entire Black Forest region. The so-called "Main trails", the Westweg, Mittelweg, and Ostweg (West, Middle, and East Trails), run in a north–south direction. Other north-south trails are the Kandelhöhenweg and the Ortenau 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-Alpirsbach, Cross-trail Rottweil-Lahr, Cross-trail Freiburg-Bodensee, the Black Forest-Kaiserstuhl-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 and ending in Basel.
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.
The Black Forest 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 the borders with France and Switzerland. It is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers.
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The Schauinsland is a mountain in the Black Forest with an elevation of 1,284 m (4,213 ft) above sea level. It is a popular destination for day trips. Due to the high amount of silver mining, it was previously known as "Erzkasten" ; the name "Schouwesland" first appeared in 1347. The mountain is located roughly ten kilometres south-east of Freiburg's city centre.
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Titisee-Neustadt is a municipality in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is made up of the six communities of Neustadt, Langenordnach, Rudenberg, Titisee, Schwärzenbach and Waldau.
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The Central Black Forest, also called the Middle Black Forest, is a natural or cultural division of the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It generally refers to a region of deeply incised valleys from the Rench valley and southern foothills of the Kniebis in the north to the area of Freiburg im Breisgau and Donaueschingen in the south. Its highest area, which is southeast of the Elz valley, is also part of the High Black Forest.
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The English calamity was a hiking disaster which took place on the Schauinsland near Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on 17 April 1936. The tragedy unfolded when a group of twenty-seven English schoolboys were stranded after being led up the mountain by their teacher, Kenneth Keast, who ignored multiple warnings of poor weather conditions. While hiking along the mountain's crest, the ill-prepared group became disoriented due to fog and an ongoing snowstorm. With intervention of residents from a nearby village, the majority of the group were returned to safety. Five students died from exhaustion.