Elbenschwand – Landscape, Hiking Trail and History
Accommodation in Elbenschwand
Elbenschwand is shaped by its landscape and settlement patterns. It also offers a moderately challenging circular hike and a memorial to the Werewolf murders of 1945.
Settlement Pattern and Getting Around
The district of Elbenschwand comprises the areas of Elbenschwand, Holl and Langensee. Its main village extends high above the Kleine Wiese and along the stream between BĂĽrchau and Tegernau. The settlement pattern is characterized by hamlets, groups of farmsteads and individual farms, situated in the valley and on flatter slopes high above the Kleines Wiesental valley, on the northwest slope of the Zeller Blauen.
The road to Elbenschwand branches off to the right between Langensee and BĂĽrchau, about 1 km from the L 139.
Landscape and Hiking
Elbenschwand’s landscape is characterized by lowland beech forest growing on brown earth soils and on shallow, stony raw soils. From around 800 m upward, species-poor mixed fir forest also occurs. Pastures and meadows can be found on gentle slopes, level ground and in hollows. Shallow soil means that the soil is only a short depth deep; “stony” describes a rocky subsoil. Level ground refers to relatively flat areas, while hollows are slightly depressed landforms. The meadows and pastures mentioned are therefore found not only on slopes, but also on level ground and in depressions.
The Elbenschwand Memorial Circular Trail is a moderately challenging circular hiking route.
Memorial and History
A memorial to the Werewolf murders of 1945 is located in the Elbenschwand forest. The KUK initiative built it on 22 November 2015 on a voluntary basis and at its own expense.
More topics in the wider destination of Kleines Wiesental
The wider destination of Kleines Wiesental also provides regional context. In 1935, Tegernau Church was described as a small “Wälder church” with a little bell tower. In Neuenweg, the pollarded beech has grown very old and very broad.
Nonnenmattweiher lies at an elevation of 913 m and is one of the highest-altitude standing bodies of water in the Black Forest. It was artificially dammed in the early 18th century. In the process, part of the boggy cirque floor became detached, forming a floating peat island. Several species of sphagnum moss grow on the island, as well as hare’s-tail cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), cranberry (Vacinium oxycoccos) and round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia).
Another regional cultural attraction is the Zur Krone museum inn in Tegernau. It includes a historic taproom with a side room, an old “Chuchi” with a vaulted cellar built into the hillside, and a historic ballroom. There are also sleeping chambers in the loft and a “Schisshüsli” dating from 1901. “Chuchi” means the old kitchen; the vaulted cellar belongs to this area. The sleeping chambers in the loft are rooms for overnight stays, unlike the taproom, side room and ballroom. The “Schisshüsli” dates from 1901.
Discover more destinations: BĂĽrchau, Raich, Wies, Wieslet, Neuenweg, Sallneck
Go to the regional travel overview: Kleines Wiesental.
