TheFrankfurt City Forest orFrankfurter Stadtwald is a forest district in the south ofFrankfurt am Main,Germany. There are also other forest areas spread out through the city.
The forest is about 58 square kilometres (39 of which are actually within Frankfurt) and the largest inner-city forest in Germany. It covers the southern areas ofSchwanheim,Niederrad,Sachsenhausen andOberrad, as well the northern parts of theStadtteilFlughafen district. Four nature trails and sport paths cross the Forest. There are also 1600 seating benches and 25 rest huts, which provide protection in bad weather. Six playgrounds and nine ponds make the forest a popular local attraction.
In 1221 the emperorFrederick II gave theTeutonic Knights large parts of the forest and the correspondinggrazing rights. In 1372 Frankfurt bought the city forest from EmperorCharles IV and wanted to regain these rights. This sparked a hundred-year fight with the Knights, which ended with a compromise in 1484. The city paid a sum to graze sheep on the land, but the area was limited. One can still see the stones of the border on theSchäfersteinpfad,Shepherd Stone Path.
The use of the forest by farmers for grazing is still evident in the names, Unterschwein- und Oberschweinstiege, which were overnight stables for the acorn and beech nut eating pigs.
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