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| Bavarian Forest | |
|---|---|
 Effects ofbark beetle in the Bavarian Forest | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Großer Arber (Great Arber) |
| Elevation | 4,776 ft (1,456 m) |
| Naming | |
| Native name | Bayerischer Wald (German) |
| Geography | |
 Topography of the Bavarian Forest | |
| Country | Germany |
| Region | Bavaria |
| Parent range | Central Uplands Bohemian Massif |
| Geology | |
| Orogeny | Variscan |
| Rock type(s) | MetamorphicGneiss andGranite rocks |
TheBavarian Forest (German:Bayerischer Wald[ˈbaɪʁɪʃɐˈvalt]ⓘ orBayerwald[ˈbaɪɐvalt]ⓘ;Bavarian:Boarischa Woid) is a wooded, low-mountain region inBavaria,Germany, that is about 100 kilometres long. It runs along theCzech border and is continued on the Czech side by theBohemian Forest (Czech:Šumava). Most of the Bavarian Forest lies within the province ofLower Bavaria, but the northern part lies within theUpper Palatinate. In the south it reaches the border withUpper Austria.
Geologically and geomorphologically, the Bavarian Forest is part of theBohemian Forest - the highest of thetruncated highlands of theBohemian Massif. The area along the Czech border has been designated as theBavarian Forest National Park (240 km2), established in 1970 as the firstnational park in Germany. Another 3,008 km2 has been designated as theBavarian Forest Nature Park, established 1967, and another 1,738 km2 as theUpper Bavarian Forest Nature Park, established in 1965. The Bavarian Forest is a remnant of theHercynian Forest that stretched across southernGermania in Roman times. It is the largest protected forest area in central Europe.[1]
The highest mountain in the region is theGroßer Arber ("Great Arber", 1,456 m). The main river is theRegen, which is formed by theconfluence of the White and Black Regen and flows out of the mountains towards the city ofRegensburg.
Together with the adjacentUpper Palatine Forest on the far side of theCham-Furth Depression, and theNeuburg Forest south ofPassau, the Bavarian Forest forms the largest contiguous area of woodland in Bavaria and, together with theBohemian Forest and theSauwald (its southeastern continuation towardsUpper Austria), it forms one of the largest contiguous forests in Europe.
The Bavarian Forest is drained mainly by theRegen andIlz rivers into theDanube, a small catchment near the Czech Republic drains into theElbe via theMoldau.
The highest mountains of the Bavarian Forest are theGreat Arber at 1,456 m and theGreat Rachel (1,453 m). In the eastern part of the mountains, Germany's first national park, theBavarian Forest National Park, was established in 1970. It was expanded in 1997 and, together with theBohemian Forest National Park (Sumava National Park) in the Czech Republic, is one of the largest protected areas in Europe.
In older cartographic and lexical works, the term "Bavarian Forest" refers only to the mountainous region of theDanube Hills,[2] also known as the Anterior Bavarian Forest (Vorderer Bayerischer Wald) or Vorderer Forest (Vorderer Wald), between the Danube and the Regen, which has its highest elevation in theEinödriegel. The "High Forest" or Hinterer Forest (Hinterer Bayerischer Wald) between the Regen and the Bohemian border, including the mountains of the Arber, Rachel and Lusen, used to be part of the Bohemian Forest. The linguistic usage of the German-Bavarian authorities, the impact of tourism, and the presence formerly of theIron Curtain contributed to the fact that the term "Bavarian Forest" was increasingly extended to mean the entire low mountain region on the German side of the border between Bavaria and Bohemia. As a result of political developments after 1989, most recently the accession of the Czech Republic to theSchengen area, however, there is a discernible trend to see the low mountain range on the German-Czech border as a unit, especially in terms of tourism.
Tourism is important to the Bavarian Forest. Sharing the natural environment arewalkers, theforestry industry and severalski resorts. Furthermore, the Bavarian Forest is known for itsglassblowing in the area ofZwiesel and is also known in the field of geoscience as a result of thefundamental station ofWettzell atBad Kötzting.
The heart of the Bavarian Forest (in its broader sense) is divided into the Rear or High Bavarian Forest (Hinterer Bayerischer Wald) in the centre of the Bohemian Forest, the Regen valley and the Anterior Bavarian Forest (Vorderer Bayerischer Wald). In addition, there are the foothills of the two main ridges to the southeast and those of the Anterior Bavarian Forest to the northwest. Almost all of the crest-like mountain ridges run from northwest to southeast; apart from that the most important local landscapes are generally characterised by theirnatural regional andgeomorphological nature:[3][4][5][6][7][8]
The centre of the Bohemian Forest lies betweenZwiesel in the west andVimperk in the east. It is a low-relief plateau, which rises almost everywhere to above 1,000 m. Northwest, towards theGroßer Falkenstein (1,315 m), the relief energy rises; on the far side of theGreat Regen valley, this line continues, crest- or even arête-like into theKunisch Mountains with the Seewand/Zwercheck. (up to 1,343 m) andOsser (up to 1,293 m), which are located directly on the German-Czech border. The lower-lying Fahrenberg (893 m) finally leads to theHoher Bogen (up to 1,079 m) that descends into theCham-Furth Depression.
However, the highest peaks of the low mountain range are found on a second ridgeline, southwest of the main ridge, and which also runs from northwest to southeast. TheArber (up to 1,456 m) is linked to the Seewand to the north by a mountain ridge; to the northwest the ridgeline crosses theSchwarzeck (1,236 m) and runs up to theKaitersberg (1,133 m); the upper valley of theWhite Regen, the so-calledLamer Winkel, separates this ridge from that of the Kunisch Mountains. To the southeast of the Arber, this ridge is initially interrupted by the Zwiesel Basin, in which nestles the town ofZwiesel, but continues on the far side of the basin, with theRachel (up to 1,453 m), theLusen (1,373 m) and theDreisesselberg (1,333 m), the other highest mountains of the Bavarian Forest and in the whole of the Bohemian Forest too. The crest continues beyond the borders of Bavaria, along the border between the Czech Republic and Austria, crossing the mountains of thePlöckenstein (1,379 m) andHochficht (1,338 m).
TheZeller Valley (Zellertal), which stretches fromBad Kötzting viaBodenmais and northeast ofLangdorf toBettmannsäge and continues in relief terms as far asSpiegelau, separates a third, slightly lower ridgeline, which bounds the High Bavarian Forest to the southwest. Immediately to the southwest of this valley, the ridgeline runs from theWurzer Spitz (817 m) via theWeigelsberg (898 m) and theWolfgangriedel (876 m) to theKronberg (984 m) and, behind the valley of theBlack Regen, over theEschenberg (1,043 m) to theKreuzberg (788 m) atOberkreuzberg.[9]
To the southwest of this third ridge are the rolling hills orHügelland of theRegen Depression borders. Many of the most important settlements of the inner Bavarian Forest such asViechtach,Teisnach,Regen,Rinchnach andKirchdorf im Wald are located here along the course of theBlack Regen. The quartz lode known as thePfahl runs roughly through the centre of the depression, following the mainHercynian direction.
To the south-west of the Regen depression is theAnterior Bavarian Forest (also called the Danube Hills), which is up to 1,121 m high. Its crest also runs roughly south-eastwards, but is clearly divided into individual ridges, each of which runs in a different direction.
In the far northwest are the Elisabethszell Mountains near the village ofElisabethszell, the line of which runs away to the southeast. At theHadriwa they reach a height of 922 m. Immediately to the east are the Hirschenstein Mountains which are similarly oriented. Beginning at theZeller Höhe (850 m), the northernmost mountain of the Anterior Bavarian Forest overall, this range climbs to 1,092 m) at theHirschenstein. Southeast of the Hirschenstein lie theVogelsangwald woods and theVogelsang (1,022 m), which comprises only one ridge; it runs from north to south. On the northern extension of this ridge in the Regen valley lies theHornbergwald forest, which reaches 844 m at theAbendberg and thus clearly towers above the floor of the basin.
Immediately east of the Vogelsang is the Grafling Saddle (Graflinger Paßsenke), which follows the valleys of the Kollbach andTeisnach rivers fromGotteszell in the north toGrafling in the south. It is the most prominent gap in the Anterior Bavarian Forest and is crossed by theBundesstraße 11 which climbs up to a height of 583.7 m.[3] Immediately to the east of the pass are the Riegel Mountains (Riegelbergen) with theEinödriegel (1,121 m) to the north and theBreitenauriegel (1,116 m) to the south of the highest point of the Anterior Bavarian Forest. South of it and separated by the state road, St 2135, is a chain of summits, the Hausstein Mountains (Haussteinberge) andLeopoldswald, running eastwards. TheHausstein reaches a height of 917 m, theFürberg in the far east climbing to 880 m.
The most southerly mountain range, theSonnenwald, is also a chain of individual peaks running from west to east; it is only connected to the Leopoldswald southwest of the Fürberg by a narrow ridge. In its western half, theBrotjacklriegel reaches 1,011 m, in the east theAschenstein climbs to a height of 944 m. Even the mountains at the western and eastern ends of the mountain chain rise clearly above the 800 m line. To the south of the Brotjacklriegel, the isolatedStierberg (716 m), southwest ofZenting, bounds the Lallinger Winkel (see below) markedly in the east. It is usually considered part of the Passau Vorwald (see below).[10]
The westernmost part of the Bavarian Forest is theFalkensteiner Vorwald, which adjoins the Anterior Bavarian Forest. It has an unspectacular, humpy relief. Of the few mountains exceeding 700 m in height, theGallner (709 m) is the most spectacular. It is located immediately west of the Elisabethszell mountains and is still marked by the relief of the Anterior Bavarian Forest. Even higher but clearly lessprominent are an unnamed hill northwest ofZinzenzell at 720 m and a hill southeast ofWiesenfelden that reaches 740 m. In the south near the Danube, in theWaxenberger Forst, theKobelberg reaches a height of 703 m.
BetweenRoding andWiesent, the Falkensteiner Vorwald is divided centrally by a slight depression which follows the south-southwesterly course of the Regen near Roding. In the north it is used byPerlbach and in the south by theWiesent. To the west of this depression, theHadriwa is the highest point, reaching 677 m. All the mountains mentioned so far, except the Gallner, are situated around themarket municipality ofFalkenstein which gives its name to the forest-covered mountains.
The western part of the Vorwald transition in the south and on this side of the Regen into the Jurassic rocks of the Franconian Jura;Regenstauf being located at the boundary between the rock formations. BelowNittenau, the Regen breaks through the Vorwald impressively in a 90° bend and various smaller loops. The main summit in this high-relief part of the landscape, is theJugendberg (611 m) immediately southwest of Nittenau, but more spectacular are the slopes of the 664 m highGailenberg above the bend in the Regen. On the right-hand, western side of the Regen theSchwarzberg reaches at height of 538 m immediately east ofMaxhütte-Haidhof.
In the north of the western part of the Falkensteiner Vorwald, there is a second, somewhat less prominent Regen water gap : the Reichenbach Regen valley (Reichenbach Regental) which begins at the bend in the Regen below Roding, runs throughWalderbach and ends directly belowReichenbach. By contrast, the wider Regen valley section between the two water gaps from Treidling to the town of Nittenau, as well as the Roding Regen valley, belong to the adjoiningUpper Palatine Hills, while the valley section byCham is part of the Cham-Furth Depression.
To the southeast and adjacent to the Regen Depression and Anterior Bavarian Forest is thePassauer Vorwald and, beyond it, theAbteiland ("Abbey Land"), which on average is only a little hillier than the Regen valley. In the north of the region are the towns ofGrafenau andFreyung, to the south is theNeuburg Forest, south of theDanube betweenVilshofen andPassau. In the east, roughly fromWaldkirchen, the Abbey Country transitions into the Wegscheid Plateau, which flows seamlessly into theMühlviertel region ofLower Austria. This reaches a height of 948 m in theFrauenwald. To the west the Passauer Vorwald, south of the High Bavarian Forest and opposite its northern and northeastern perimeter mountains, descends into theLallinger Winkel (Deggendorfer Vorwald) around 400 metres lower.
The Bavarian Forest is continued, initially northwest, then northeast, by theUpper Palatine Forest,Fichtel Mountains,Ore Mountains andSudetes. Geologically, as the southwestern edge of theBohemian Massif, it is indistinguishable from theBohemian Forest on the other side of the Czech border and from theSauwald on Austrian soil. Together with the Upper Palatinate Forest it forms the main unit group known as theUpper Palatine-Bavarian Forest.
For the sake of simplicity, a distinction is not made between the Bohemian Forest (originally the Inner Bavarian Forest) and the Bavarian Forest. Instead, the common local name of "Bavarian Forest" is used for the entire area of the low mountain range on the German side, as the term "Bohemian Forest" has become synonymous with the areas in theCzech Republic. A distinction is only made between the Anterior Bavarian Forest and the High Bavarian Forest, with thelineament of theBavarian Pfahl being regarded as the boundary line between them. In the north–south direction, a distinction is made between the Upper and Lower Forest.
The Bavarian Forest is the rump of aPalaeozoic mountain chain, whosebedrock is classified as LateProterozoic toSilurian. After several phases of deformation andmetamorphosis the mostlysedimentary, but alsoplutonic andvolcanic, source rocks were metamorphosed over millions of years into the present-daygneisses. These gneisses were intruded by mightygranite rock especially in theCarboniferous andEarly Permian. TheKunisch Mountains in the north are formed ofschist, whilst thegabbro-amphibolite massif aroundEschlkam andNeukirchen beim Heiligen Blut with theHoher Bogen form the southernmost foothills.
An important line that divides the Bavarian Forest into two parts is the approximately 150-kilometre-long fault line of theBavarian Pfahl. Originally created as a large-scale fault during the UpperDevonian to UpperCarboniferous, it was reactivated by fracturetectonics in the outgoingPalaeozoic and earlyMesozoic to form a herringbone crack system (Fiederspaltensystem), which was filled with quartz by the penetration ofhydrothermal solutions. Due to the strength of the rock, this quartz wall protrudes up to 30 metres above the surrounding area for long distances. North of the Pfahl is found mainly gneiss, south of it granite andmigmatites tend to predominate.
Between Regensburg and Passau, there is a marked difference in height between the forested mountains to the northeast and the Danube plain ("Gäuboden") to the southwest. This dividing line between theTertiary Hill Country and the Bavarian Forest is marked by the Danube Edge Fault (Donaurandbruch), ageological disruption between the sunken crystallinebasement, lying beneath theTertiary andQuaternary deposits of themolasse basin, and the still visible part northwest of this line, which belongs to the Bavarian Forest.
Quite striking too, is the difference in height between the Danube Plain, 300 to 350 m, and the highest peaks of the Anterior Forest, such as theEinödriegel at 1,121 m}, a difference of 800 metres in height over only a few kilometres of horizontal distance. Due to the uplift of the Bavarian Forest, which also affected the Neuburg Forest and the Sauwald, there was anantecedent incision of the riversInn andDanube into this area of the crystalline basement which led to the formation of a narrow valley zone fromPleinting down the Danube into Austria and south of Passau, where the Inn has formed a deeply incised riverbed.
Whilst theAnterior Bavarian Forest only exceeds 1,000 m in a few places (for example, theBrotjacklriegel 1,016 m,Einödriegel 1,121 m,Breitenauriegel 1,114 m,Vogelsang 1,022 m,Hirschenstein 1,092 m andPröller 1,048 m), most of the summit regions in the High Bavarian Forest are over 1300 up to 1,400 m (Plöckenstein 1,378 m,Dreisesselberg 1,333 m,Lusen 1,371 m,Großer Rachel 1,453 m,Kleiner Rachel 1,399 m,Kaitersberg 1,133 m,Großer Falkenstein 1,315 m,Großer Osser 1,293 m,Zwercheck 1,333 m,Großer Arber 1,456 m).
In particular, those regions of the High Bavarian Forest were covered by snow and ice fields during theIce Age that also left their traces. Here, on the vast plateaux there were rather extensivefirn fields rather than longglacial snouts. The thickness of the glacier ice at 1,050 m was about 125 metres. Where the glaciers made their way into the valley, one can still find glacial landforms such ascirques, caroids (Karoide) andcirque lakes (Großer Arbersee,Kleiner Arbersee,Rachelsee) as well asmoraine banks.
The toe of the glacier, for example near the Grosser Arbersee, was located at a height of 850 metres, the snout of the northern glacier down to the small Arbersee at a height of about 830 metres. Accordingly, there was a considerable difference in height of more than 600 metres from the summit regions to theterminal moraines. Other glacial tongues flowed down from the Grosser Rachel. Here too, there are cirques and caroids, which suggest ice-age glaciation.
Amongst the places of interest in the Bavarian Forest are:
Nature
Observation towers | Culture
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The following is a list of the mountains in the Bavarian Forest, sorted alphabetically with heights given in metres (m) abovesea level (NN):
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49°00′N12°40′E / 49.000°N 12.667°E /49.000; 12.667
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