Hollental (Hells Canyon)
 

In May we are planning on spending a couple of days in the Black Forest area. One night will be either in Titisee or Staufen. We will be going through the Hollental. Which is the best way to traverse the canyon? By train or drive our rental car?

By feet.

The Höllental is actual a major thoroughfare and very busy with traffic. It is THE main connection between Freiburg and the Black Forest.

The highlight of the canyon is the Hirschsprung at the entrance of the canyon.

If you take the train you should leave the train in Himmelreich and walk around a bit. Then board the next train.

If you take a car you will find places for parking.

The Höllental road is a major road (Bundesstraße), no problems driving through. So if you have a car available anyway, I'd suggest using it to have more freedom and be able to stop whereever you like.

I drove through Höllental perhaps a dozen times during our last holiday in July/August, and didn't find the experience particularly exciting. True, the drive and the scenery is pleasant enough, but nothing to take your breath away, unlike some high-level passes in the Alps. And the traffic is dense with heavy goods vehicles. If there's a roadwork, the traffic typically queues up for miles.
You do get a better view from trains, and if you are stying at least one night in the area, the visitor's card (Gästekarte) you get gives you free rides on local trains and buses on the days of arrival and leaving.

Thanks for the replies. I found the KONUS pass. Am I correct that I can use it on the route from Titisee to Freiburg?

<i>&quot;If you take the train you should leave the train in Himmelreich and walk around a bit.&quot;</i>

We'll be spending some time in the Black Forest on an upcoming trip to Germany and were planning on taking the train through the Hollental.

Could you please supply me with a little more detail about the Hirschsprung and Himmelreich? What exactly is the Hirschsprung? When I'm walking around a bit, is it in a town or hiking on a trail?

I can't find Hirschsprung or Himmelreich in my guidebook, and you have peaked my curiosity. Any additional info would be appreciated. Peace, Robyn :)&gt;-

Robyn,
I don't have much information about either village.
Both Hirschsprung and Himmelreich are between Titisee and Freiburg.
Hirschsprung is mentioned in Fodor's Germany 2007 and both in Lonely Planet Germany. Hirschsprung (Kingdom of Heaven) is the western gateway to the Hollental (Hell's Canyon). Himmelreich (Stag's Leap) is the narrowest point of the valley. I have found a good map of this area at http://www.rvf.de/PDF/Liniennetzplan.pdf

susnobbie, it's the other way round - Hirschsprung is the stag's leap.

The legend is that a knight once hunted a stag, but the stag managed to escape by leaping across the 30m wide gorge. A bronze statue of a stag has been put up on the rock as a reminder of that story.

Himmelreich (&quot;kingdom of heaven&quot;) is a small village at the exit of the canyon.
So you can walk through heaven and hell on the same day...

If you want to see how the area looks like, open Google Earth and enter &quot;hollentalstrasse, Germany&quot;. Activate &quot;roads&quot;. Then follow the B31 in the southeastern direction. At the entrance of the canyon, you will see a very small settlement, this is Himmelreich, actually not more than 10 houses or so, including a restaurant and, as far as I remember, a souvenir shop.

You will also see the railroad tracks (brown strip) which run mostly parallel to the B31.

Hirschsprung is not a settlement, it is the rock where the canyon is narrowest. Before the road was built, the canyon was just 9m wide. There is also a monument of a deer on top of the rock.

There are several hiking trails in the canyon.

&quot;Thanks for the replies. I found the KONUS pass. Am I correct that I can use it on the route from Titisee to Freiburg?&quot;

Yes. You can stay in either Titisee or Staufen and still acquire the pass from your innkeeper.

Hi quokka,
Thanks for correcting my transposition. I loved you &quot;heaven and hell&quot; comment.

HI Traveler1959
Thanks for the tip on Google Earth. I had not thought about using in Germany. I have looked at a lot of the places we are headed.

Unfortunately, because of where I live I only have access to dial-up service, so I can't view Google Earth on my computer. I did, however, spend yesterday at my friend's house, doing the same thing as <b>susnobie</b> and checking out all the places we will be visiting in Germany this October (and all the places we have been to in the past, and many places we would someday like to travel to).

Thanks for the suggestion of Google Earth and the info about &quot;heaven &amp; hell&quot;. Robyn :)&gt;-