The Swabian-Franconian Forest (german: Schwäbisch-Fränkischen Waldberge, also ''Schwäbisch-Fränkischer Wald'') is a mainly forested, deeply incised upland region, 1,187 km² in area and up to , in the northeast of

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 ...

. It forms

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

major unit number 108 within the Swabian Keuper-Lias Land (major unit group 10 or D58). Its name is derived from the fact that, in medieval times, the border between the duchies of

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

and Swabia ran through this forested region. In addition, the Swabian dialect in the south transitions to the East Franconian dialect in the north here.

Hill ranges and hills

The Swabian-Franconian Forest is divided clockwise (beginning roughly in the north) into the

Waldenburg Hills The Waldenburg Hills (german: Waldenburger Berge) are a forested hill range, up to , in the counties of Schwäbisch Hall and Hohenlohe in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg. At the same time the Waldenburg Hills are one of five woodland ...

Mainhardt Forest The Mainhardt Forest is a hill range up to {{GeoQuelle, DE, BFN-Karten in the counties of Schwäbisch Hall and Heilbronn, Hohenlohekreis and Rems-Murr-Kreis in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is named after the municipality of Mainha ...

, Limpurg and

Ellwangen Hills The Ellwangen Hills (german: Ellwanger Berge) are a hill ridge, up to , in the counties of Landkreis Schwäbisch Hall, Schwäbisch Hall and Ostalbkreis in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The name of the range comes from the town of Ell ...

, Virngrund,

Murrhardt Forest The Murrhardt Forest (german: Murrhardter Wald) in the Baden-Württemberg county of Rems-Murr-Kreis is part of the natural region known as the Swabian-Franconian Forest. It reaches a maximum height of . at 1:10,000 scale. A lower value of m ...

Löwenstein Hills The Löwenstein Hills (german: Löwensteiner Berge) are a hill range up to , in the counties of Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg, Rems-Murr-Kreis and Hohenlohekreis in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. They are named after the town of Löwenstein. ...

Heilbronn Hills The Heilbronn Hills (german: Heilbronner Berge) in the borough of Heilbronn with foothills in the county of Heilbronn are the northwestern outliers of the Lowenstein Hills in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg and reach a height of . ...

and Sulm Plateau; in addition the valley of Weinsberger Tal, which lies between the last two uplands, is part of the region The highest point of the Swabian-Franconian Forest is the Hohe Brach (586.4 m). Other high hills include the Hagberg (585.2 m),

Hornberg Hornberg is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, 35 km southeast of Offenburg, and 25 km northwest of Villingen-Schwenningen. Sons and daughters of the town * ( ...

(580.0 m), Hohenstein (572 m), Hohenberg (568.9 m), Hohentannen (565.4 m), Altenberg (564.7 m), Stocksberg (538.9 m), Flinsberg (534.8 m), Juxkopf (533.1 m) and Steinknickle (524.9 m).

Protections

Naturpark Schwäbisch-Fränkischer Wald, or Swabian-Franconian Forest Nature Park in English, is a nature park and protected area within the Swabian-Franconian Forest. The nature park covers an area of 1,270 km², including most of the Swabian-Franconian Forest, but also large areas of adjacent cultural landscapes and historical monuments.

Gallery

File:Beilstein-Billensbach - Wiesen und Wald am Weg nach Stocksberg.jpg, Rural cultural landscape File:Blick aufwärts ins Rottal vor Wielandsweiler.jpg, Meinhardt Forest File:Burg Lichtenberg, Oberstenfeld, Naturpark Schwäbisch-Fränkischer Wald.jpg File:Loewenstein 20120825.jpg, Towns and agriculture (Löwenstein) File:Sulmtal-breitenauer-see-2012b.jpg, Large parts of the original forest has been swapped for agriculture ;Naturpark Schwäbisch-Fränkischer Wald File:Altenbergturm gesamt.jpg, Altenbergturm, a lookout tower File:Der Hörschbach.jpg, Forest stream File:Beilstein - Billensbach - Waldweg nach Stocksberg - Blick über Schmidbachtal bei Sonnenuntergang.jpg File:Hägelesklinge.jpg, Autumn scene File:Beilstein - Kaisersbach - Waldweg nach Billensbach - Herbstsonne strahlt in den Wald.jpg, Autumn in the nature park

Literature

* * LUBW Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg (publ.)
''Naturführer Schwäbischer Wald.''
(Reihe ''Naturschutz-Spectrum. Gebiete'', Vol. 29). ''verlag regionalkultur'', Ubstadt-Weiher, 2007, .

References

External links

*
Landscape fact file for the Swabian-Franconian Forest
by the

Bundesamt für Naturschutz The German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (german: Bundesamt für Naturschutz, ''BfN'') is the German government's scientific authority with responsibility for national and international nature conservation. BfN is one of the government's ...

, at bfn.de
Detailed LUBW natural regional map
at Basis by google.maps (Open "Natur und Landschaft")
Swabian-Franconian Forest Nature Park
(official homepage) {{Authority control Regions of Baden-Württemberg !