Into the realm of Germany’s Black Forest

A three-hour train ride from Frankfurt will take a traveler to the small resort town of Triberg in southern Germany. Once in Triberg train station, a bus will take him to more scenic landscapes in neighboring villages. That's where the mesmerizing adventure in the famous Black Forest begins.

The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is a 60-kilometer-wide, 150-kilometer-long forest mountain range in southwestern Germany. Its tallest mountain, the Feldberg, rises 4,898 feet within the forest—the highest peak in Germany outside of the Alps.

During the early days of the Roman Empire, it was the hunting grounds of early Germanic tribes that controlled the vast frontier —a land that Rome, with all its might and power, failed to conquer. And until the Middle Ages, it was indeed the dark, thickly wooded, nearly impenetrable region its name implies.

Schwarzwald was known by many names throughout history, including Abnoba mons, after the Celtic forest goddess, Abnoba; and Marciana Silva (from the Germanic word marka, "border"). The region was colonized by the Germanic tribes, or Alemanni, who gradually expanded into the higher areas and forests.

In medieval times, the settlements inside the Black Forest became villages and towns, but remained a frontier land for centuries. It was believed to be the sacred grounds of supernatural beings like witches, sorcerers and wizards. To venture into the woodland would spell death or ill-health to the uninvited.

Today, despite the growth of towns and villages within it, the Black Forest is still a densely wooded area, abundant with mostly pine and beech trees. It has become a prime destination for travelers and tourists both in the summer and in the winter, with its beautifully preserved medieval towns made accessible by super highways and tunnels.

The Black Forest, with all its hidden wonders and communities, has opened up to the new world. — BM, GMA News