The Schurwald is a wooded mountain range in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, southern

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 betwee ...

, which at its highest point is 513.2 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

. It is one of the most important

Recreation area A recreation area is a type of protected area designated in some jurisdictions. By country Canada In the province of British Columbia, recreation areas are lands set aside for recreational use. These lands are also being evaluated to determine ...

s for the

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

area. Over the centuries, the vast forests of the mountain range supplied the surrounding towns and villages with wood for fuel and building material, and thus acquired the name "Schurwald", which comes from the German word, ''Schur'', which can mean a shearing or

clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fores ...

Geography

The Schurwald begins to the east of

and runs eastwards to the foothills of the

Swabian Alb The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...

, passing through the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of Esslingen,

Göppingen Göppingen (Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the bi ...

and

Rems-Murr-Kreis Rems-Murr is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Heilbronn, Schwäbisch Hall, Ostalbkreis, Göppingen, Esslingen, the district-free city Stuttgart and the ...

. It is bordered to the south by valleys of the

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwen ...

and Fils rivers, and to the north by the valley of the Rems. At the eastern end of the Schurwald, which is crossed by numerous streams, is the Herrenbach Reservoir.

Geology

Geologically, the Schurwald is a dissected

cuesta A cuesta (from Spanish ''cuesta'' "slope") is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer laye ...

, formed by

headward erosion Headward erosion is erosion at the origin of a stream channel, which causes the origin to move back away from the direction of the stream flow, lengthening the stream channel.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak It can also refer to ...

. It contains

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part ...

and

Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

. Lias alpha from the early

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

can also be found, but only on the plateau.

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

no longer plays a major role in the economy of the Schurwald, and in the last few years a number of farms have been forced to close. Crops grown due to the elevation typically include various kinds of cereals, and root crops such as

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet ('' Beta vulgaris''). Together ...

and

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

. Due to the cool climate, growth of fruit in orchards is limited, however on the slopes facing south vineyards grow grapes for red and white wine. Most residents commute between their homes and the towns of Esslingen,

and

and the Rems Valley. Nassachtal, within the Schurwald, was once one of the poorest places in Württemberg. The forest was once used for the production of charcoal, and was an important source for late medieval glassmakers.

Peaks

The highest peaks of the Schurwald are: * Kernen (513.2 m) * Kappelberg (469 m, containing the Kappelberg Tunnel) *

Weißer Stein Weißer Stein is the name of a 548-metre (1,798 ft) high hill in the Odenwald, north of Heidelberg and east of Dossenheim. On Weißer Stein is a 20 m tall lookout tower. It was built in 1906 by the members of the Odenwald club. In good weat ...

(442 m; monument rather than a mountain) *

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

(411 m), site of the Württemberg Mausoleum

Settlements

The following settlements are found within the Schurwald: *

Adelberg Adelberg is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Geography Adelberg lies in the Schurwald forest, at an altitude of around 334 to 473m. Climate The annual rainfall of 1045mm is within the top q ...

Aichwald Aichwald is a municipality in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of German ...

Baltmannsweiler ''Baltmannsweiler'' is a municipality in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg. It belongs to the Region Stuttgart. (until 1992 ''Region Mittlerer Neckar'') and the European Metropolitan Region Stuttgart. Geography Geographical loc ...

Birenbach Birenbach is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History As a result of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, the properties of the abbeys of and Oberhof were seized by the Duchy of Württemberg. In 18 ...

Börtlingen Börtlingen is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Geography Börtlingen belongs to the marginal zone of the metropolitan region of Stuttgart. Geographical location Börtlingen is locate ...

Lichtenwald Lichtenwald is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's w ...

*Nassachtal *

Rechberghausen Rechberghausen is a town in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Geography Geographical location The community lies in on the foothills of the central Swabian Jura and on the edge of the eastern Schurwald. The ...

Wäschenbeuren Wäschenbeuren is a town in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Geography Location Wäschenbeuren is located on the edge of the Schurwald, at the Hohenstaufen, between the Filstal valley and the Remstal v ...

* Wangen

Literature

* Schraitle, Egon, Bauer, Ernst Waldemar et al.: ''Schurwald – Esslingen – Filder''. Natur – Heimat – Wandern. Schwäbischer Albverein e. V., Stuttgart. 2., neubearbeitete Auflage. Theiss, Stuttgart 1998, . * Schmidt, Werner: ''Rundwanderungen Schwäbischer Wald und Schurwald. Berglen, Ellwanger Berge, Frickenhofer Höhe, Limpurger Berge, Löwensteiner Berge, Mainhardter Wald, Murrhardter Wald, Schurwald, Waldenburger Berge, Welzheimer Wald''. 5., aktualisierte Auflage. Schneider-Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 2002, . {{Coord, 48, 46, N, 9, 30, E, display=title, region:DE_type:forest_source:GNS-enwiki Forests and woodlands of Baden-Württemberg Hill ranges of Germany Regions of Baden-Württemberg Natural regions of the Swabian Keuper-Lias Plains