The Frankfurt City Forest or ''Frankfurter Stadtwald'' is a forest district in the south of
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. There are also other forest areas spread out through the city.
Basic Facts
The forest is about 48 square kilometres and the largest inner-city forest in Germany. It covers the southern areas of
Schwanheim,
Niederrad,
Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...
and
Oberrad, as well the northern parts of the ''
Stadtteil
A quarter is a section of an urban settlement.
A quarter can be administratively defined and its borders officially designated, and it may have its own administrative structure (subordinate to that of the city, town or other urban area). Such a ...
''
Flughafen 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.
Skyline of Frankfurt from Goetheturm on a hazy evening 140827 1.jpg, Forest and skyline in August 2014
Image:Jacobiweiher4.jpg, Jacobi pond in the Stadtwald
Image:Königsbrünnchen.jpg, The ''Königsbrünnchen'' flows into a pond in the Stadtwald
Image:Unterschweinstiege.jpg, Pig Signpost in the Frankfurt ''Stadtwald''
History
In 1221 the emperor
Frederick II gave the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
large parts of the forest and the corresponding
grazing rights
Grazing rights is the right of a user to allow their livestock to feed (graze) in a given area.
United States
Grazing rights have never been codified in United States law, because such common-law rights derive from the English concept of the ...
. In 1372 Frankfurt bought the city forest from Emperor
Charles 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 the
Schäfersteinpfad, ''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.
External links
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City Forest
City Forest
Forests and woodlands of Hesse