The Hirschbach Falls (german: Hirschbachfälle) lie between

St. Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

and

Simonswald Simonswald ( Low Alemannic: ''Simeschwald'') is a town in the district of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Twin towns : Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of B ...

in that part of the

High Black Forest The High Black Forest (german: Hochschwarzwald) is a touristic and geographical region in the south-west of the German federal state Baden-Württemberg, primarily in the Southern Black Forest. History of the name The term ''Hochschwarzwald'' o ...

, which is also considered part of the

Central Black Forest The Central Black Forest (german: Mittlerer Schwarzwald), also called the Middle Black Forest, is a natural or cultural division of the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It generally refers to a region of deeply incised valleys from t ...

. The main cascade, which is just under 20 metres high, falls into the ''Hirschbach'' stream in an

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

in the valley of Simonswälder Tal, where it empties into the ''Zweribach'', a tributary of the

Wild Gutach The Wild Gutach (german: Wilde Gutach) is a river in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It flows into the Elz (Rhine), Elz in Gutach im Breisgau. Sights and structures * Hexenlochmühle with two overshot water wheels in a ravine-like witch's hole (' ...

. Another smaller

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

lies 300 metres upstream.

General

The

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

is well known for its numerous waterfalls. The reason for that is its high relief energy which is characterised by large changes in height over short distances which, is the

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

situation in the Simonswälder Tal. On the western side of the valley which drops 300–700 metres, the heavy ice age

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

has given rise to

walls. The Hirschbach and Zweribach

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

s which initially flow through gently rolling highlands descend steeply into these cirques, which are over 300 metres, in a series of cascades, of which only the Zweribach Waterfalls are nationally well known. The upper Hirschbach Fall drops over a small

valley step A valley step (german: Talstufe or ''Talschwelle'') is a prominent change in the longitudinal slope of a valley, mainly in trough valleys formed by glaciers. Typically, a valley formed by glaciers has a series of basins with intervening steps f ...

formed by glacial activity in the high valley of the ''Gschwandersdobel'' on the southwestern corner of the protected ''

Bannwald ''Bannwald'' is a German word used in parts of Germany and Austria to designate an area of protected forest. Its precise meaning has varied by location and over time. Etymology The word ''Bannwald'' is a combination of ''Bann'' (English ''ban'' ...

'' forest and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

of '' Zweribach'' at a height of about 905 metres. It has a drop of just under five metres. The lower Hirschbach Fall, the main cascade, lies at a height of about 850 metres and drops just under 20 metres in four steps into the rugged cirque of ''Groß-Kar''. The Hirschbach Falls are only accessible on foot, either from the

village of Wildgutach or from the plateau of the ''Platte''.

Tourism

The lower Hirschbach Fall is the goal of numerous walks from the Simonswälder valley, the

Hexenloch Mill The Hexenloch Mill (german: Hexenlochmühle), formerly the Dreistegen Mill (''Dreistegenmühle''), lies in the ravine-like Hexenloch (also sometimes called the Hexenloch valley, but not often by the locals) in the Black Forest in Germany betwee ...

or from St. Märgen, usually as part of a hike to the nearby Zweribach Waterfalls. Direct access is via the car park at the Zweribach Bridge / ''Hirschwinkelweg''. From there, the waterfalls are well signposted: first the path runs steadily uphill, turns right after a left turn, heads past the ''Bruggerhof'' farm to the former farmstead of the burnt out ''Brunnenhof'', of which the remains of the wall and chapel have survived. At this point, there is a campsite with a

refuge hut Refuge is a place or state of safety. It may also refer to a more specific meaning: Safety * Area of refuge, a location in a building that may be used by occupants in the event of a fire * Bunker, a defensive fortification designed to protect pe ...

. Above a fork in the path, keep to the left (the right branch leads to the Zweribach Waterfalls). The route then follows a narrow rock path, an overgrown scree slope and steps and walkways secured with ropes and railings, before reaching the waterfalls after walking for 600 metres steadily through the ''Bannwald'' forest. The marked trail then leads uphill in serpentines to a wide forest path between St. Märgen and ''Platte''. The path continues, sometimes diverging to the right, and accompanying the Hirschbach valley on its

orographically Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discip ...

right-hand side to reach the upper fall. File:Brunnenhof bei den Zweribachwasserfällen.jpg, Remains of the ''Brunnenhof'' below the Hirschbach Falls File:ZBW Grillplatz 150707.JPG, ''Vesperplatz'' and chapel below the Hirschbach Falls

External links

walking tips
{{Coord, 48.035003, N, 8.092538, E, type:waterbody_region:DE-BW, display=title Waterfalls of Germany Geography of the Black Forest Emmendingen (district) WHirschbach Falls Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald

General

Tourism

See also

External links