Culture and Traditions
Small chapels, traditional Black Forest mills, churches and cloisters as well as many other historic buildings tell of the rich cultural heritage of the Black Forest Highlands.
A distinct culture of crafts and traditions developed in the Black Forest due to its remoteness in the past and long cold winters. For centuries this was a major center of clock making and the clocks were carried on frame backpacks and sold throughout Europe as far away as Turkey. The region is also closely associated with Alemannic traditions of partying long and hard at Fasnet(Mardi Gras). In every small village or hamlet there are carnival guilds, which often turn the “fifth season of the year” into a wild and crazy event.
St. Blasien Cathedral with its height of 63 m and a dome with a diameter of 36 m is one of the region’s many attractions of international renown and the largest building of its kind north of the Alps. The baroque church and the rococo library in St. Peter, as well as the abbey church and museum in St. Märgen are also well worth seeing. A walk to one of the many small chapels, which nestle quaintly in the countryside also provides a great cultural experience in a beautiful natural setting.
Further information: hochschwarzwald.de/Kultur-Essen
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