Rothaus: Beer and Hiking in the Black Forest Heights

The rush of cool mountain air was bracing as I stepped off the train on the banks of the Schluchsee. A short bus ride later and I’d be in front of an old beer wagon laden with barrels, the coral-coloured Rothaus brewery rising up in the background. By then the fresh air was starting to warm, mingling fragrances of the forest with the aromas of brewing.

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Anyone with even a passing acquaintance with German beer knows Rothaus, the Black Forest brewery with colourfully labeled bottles depicting a young woman in traditional dress. What fewer people know is that Rothaus is a short train ride from Freiburg, southwestern Germany’s city of Gothic spires, cobblestone lanes, and medieval gates.

Whether you’re coming from Switzerland in the south or points north in Germany, Freiburg makes for an ideal day or two of beer explorations before you venture into the heart of the Black Forest. After you’ve had your fill of Freiburg, it’s a mere 2 hours by train and bus to Rothaus.

The ride up from Freiburg is a like a curtain lifting on the hiking that awaits you in the region. The train traverses meadows tucked up against the rolling foothills of the Alps and trundles through narrow valleys with rushing waterfalls. Black Forest houses with distinctive sloped roofs and carved balconies dot the fields and cling to hillsides overlooking pristine lakes. Before the train ends its journey in the town of Seebrugg on the Schluchsee, you’ll pass the steely blue waters of Titisee and its resort village as well. It’s worth stopping off at either of these places if you have time. If not, get the bus that climbs up the steep and winding road to Rothaus.

A Morning Beer at Rothaus

Your trail choices are endless once you’ve had that first morning beer on the terrace with plenty of other folks having their first morning beer. What you decide will depend on whether you’re staying the night at the Brauerei Gasthof (highly recommended) or heading back to Freiburg (last bus/train leaves around 7:30pm), whether you’re doing a brewery tour, and the like.

This 16-kilometer loop through pastoral farmland to the picturesque Schluchsee and back through brooding forests is one you can do after the noontime brewery tour, a quick lunch, and a beer or two. And you’ll be back in time for a 7 p.m. dinner!

Rothaus to Schluchsee via Seebrugg

At the bus stop across from the Rothaus Tourist Information, drop down toward the Café Jägerklause, pass through a small cluster of houses, then pick up the trail waymarked with a yellow diamond toward Seebrugg. Near the beginning you’ll cross the Mittelweg long-distance hiking trail through the Black Forest before continuing along forestry roads through verdant valleys, with brief stretches along the L170 road.

Even if this portion of the hike is not as exciting as the second half, the path down to the lake has its moments — cows grazing on flower-bedecked slopes, along with the occasional vista across the meadows to low-rise mountains in Switzerland about 30 kilometers away.

In Seebrugg, cross the highway junction and stay to the south of the railway until you reach the station along the Schluchsee, the largest lake in the Black Forest. After you’ve taken in the view across this pristine glacial lake, cross the tracks and climb up to the highway at Hubertus Gasthaus. Cross over to a stretch of trail that takes you up through the woods to the town of Schluchsee, a collection of resort hotels and B&Bs catering to the fairweather crowd.

The Village of Schluchsee

Schluchsee looks back on a long history as one of the oldest villages in the Black Forest. Well before the tourists showed up, a string of poor harvests caused hunger and starvation, fueling an exodus from this village of peasants and artisans. It wasn’t until the completion in 1926 of the “Three Lakes Railway” linking Seebrugg with Titisee that tourism began to reverse the fortunes of the region.

When you get to the center of town, look for the church of St. Nicholas built in 1275 and crowned later with a version of the Baroque onion dome. At some point it was outfitted with a steeply sloped nave and wooden shingle tiles covering the low-slung eaves, an intriguing vernacular design feature.

Schluchsee to Rothaus via Dürrenbühler Hof

The second half of the loop back to Rothaus takes the hike up a notch. Find the Faulmannweg route out of Schluchsee and follow this beautiful narrow path over rocks and tree roots to the intersection of the Glasweg and Hotzenweg, both signed with wooden plaques. The Hotzenweg is the old footpath to the Hotzenwald region with its steep-sided valleys, moors, and high plateaus. Speculation has it that Hotzen was a rough woolen cloth used to make the baggy pants worn by farmers who lived in the southern Black Forest.

Pause here to enjoy the stillness of the forest and let your imagination drift back to what it must have been like in the depths of the Black Forest when villages and hamlets were isolated from larger towns, especially when the snow made the paths virtually impassable. A close friend whose family has a cabin in the region told me that the historical economies of these hamlets and villages — the intricate and time-consuming tasks of wood carving, cuckoo clock making, and glassmaking — developed out of this isolation and remoteness. This is how families passed the time and eked out an existence during the long winter months.

Once you’ve collected yourself from your reveries, walk north along the Hotzenweg to the Mühlenweg, then follow this path to the intersection with the Mittelweg long-distance trail just north of the hamlet of Faulenfürst and cross the quiet country road.

The Old Estate above Rothaus: Dürrenbühler Hof

This gently descending stretch back into Rothaus is the most picturesque, with the Swiss Alps looming up in the distance through dark clouds and meadows dotting the landscape in fifty shades of green. Along the way you’ll pass through the Dürrenbühler Hof estate with its tiny St. Cyriakus pilgrimage chapel.

Prior to the arrival of modern comforts, life in the Black Forest heights could be an arduous affair. Fate played an outsized role in people’s lives, and solace was sought in faith. Chapels like the one on the Dürrenbühler estate were erected in villages and hamlets across the region.

The Chapel of St. Cyriac was built in 1655 by miners searching the area for iron ore. The chapel pays tribute to Cyriacus, a Roman nobleman who converted to Christianity and was martyred for his troubles. Inhabitants of the region made pilgrimages to the chapel to venerate St. Cyriac, who is the patron saint of winegrowers and farmers, and is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Today hundreds of pilgrims arrive on the feast of St. Cyriac (8 August) for the annual consecration of vehicles (tractors, cars, motorcycles, and wagons). Why vehicles? I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s the connection between winegrowing, farming, and farm implements. At any rate, it must be quite the spectacle in this otherwise tranquil hamlet just above Rothaus.

A Nightcap in Rothaus

From these bucolic fields it’s only another 2 kilometers along the Rothaus interpretive path to dinner and beers at the Brauerei Gasthof. Since you’ve probably had more than a few Rothaus Pilsners over the course of your life, order the Rothaus Hefeweizen, a beer you won’t see often outside of the Black Forest.

Beyond the well-known yeast aromatics of Weissbiers (clove, banana), wheat beers are, broadly speaking, either honeyed and lusciously rich, or refreshingly sleek with a citric acidity. This one’s in the latter category, a beer that deftly weaves together banana custard, clove, and allspice with a wheaty citrus character that gives it a refreshing edge after a day out on the trails.

Odds and Ends

As is the case with many hikes, it’s not the best idea to rely on Google Maps. I took photos of two detailed maps at the Tourist Info Rothaus and downloaded the Hochschwarzwald hiking app. You can also buy maps of the region — well worth it for longer stays.

If you are staying in the region for a few days, consider a hike out to Lenzkirch, which is along Stage 8 of the long-distance Mittelweg crossing the Black Forest from north to south. Lenzkirch is the home of Brauerei Rogg, which brews an excellent Hefeweizen. The Rothaus/Lenzkirch stretch is 13 kilometers one way, which would make for a long but doable return hike if you’re overnighting in Rothaus. You could also arrange to leave your luggage in Rothaus, hike to Lenzkirch, overnight there, then hike back — with a detour to Schluchsee on the way out or back.

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All images by F.D. Hofer

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