History The Black Forest on the Tabula Peutingeriana: a mountain chain with fantastically formed trees as a symbol of an unsettled and virtually inaccessible terrain Black Forest farmhouse, 1898 An unmarried Black Forest woman wearing a red Bollenhut, 1898 There are several ruined military fortifications dating back to the 17th century. Historically, the area was known for forestry and the mining of ore deposits, but tourism has now become the primary industry, accounting for around 300,000 jobs. Roughly oblong in shape, with a length of 160 kilometres (100 miles) and breadth of up to 50 km (30 mi), it has an area of about 6,009 km 2 (2,320 sq mi). Its highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres (4,898 ft) above sea level. It is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers. 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.
