Schurwald
Encyclopedia
The Schurwald is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg
, southern Germany
, which at its highest point is 513.2 m above sea level
.
It is one of the most important Recreation area
s for the Stuttgart
area. Over the centuries, the vast forests of the mountain range supplied the surrounding towns and villages with wood for fuel and building material, and thus acquired the name "Schurwald", which comes from the German word, Schur, which can mean a shearing or clearcutting
.
and runs eastwards to the foothills of the Swabian Alb
, passing through the districts
of Esslingen, Göppingen
and Rems-Murr-Kreis
. It is bordered to the south by valleys of the Neckar
and Fils rivers, and to the north by the valley of the Rems
. At the eastern end of the Schurwald, which is crossed by numerous streams, is the Herrenbach Reservoir.
, formed by headward erosion
. It contains clay
, marl
and Late Triassic
sandstone
. Lias alpha from the early Jurassic
can also be found, but only on the plateau.
no longer plays a major role in the economy of the Schurwald, and in the last few years a number of farms have been forced to close. Crops grown in the area typically include various kinds of cereals, and root crops such as sugar beet
and potatoes. Due to the cool climate, growth of fruit in orchards is limited. Most residents commute between their homes and the towns of Esslingen, Göppingen
and Stuttgart
and the Rems
Valley. Nassachtal, within the Shurwald, was once one of the poorest places in Württemberg. The forest was once used for the production of charcoal, and was an important source for late medieval glassmakers.
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, southern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, which at its highest point is 513.2 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
.
It is one of the most important Recreation area
Recreation area
A recreation area is a type of protected area designated in some jurisdictions. In the United States, National Recreation Areas are administered by several different agencies. They typically do not meet the strict guidelines to become national parks. In U.S...
s for the Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
area. Over the centuries, the vast forests of the mountain range supplied the surrounding towns and villages with wood for fuel and building material, and thus acquired the name "Schurwald", which comes from the German word, Schur, which can mean a shearing or clearcutting
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
.
Geography
The Schurwald begins to the east of StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and runs eastwards to the foothills of the Swabian Alb
Swabian Alb
The Swabian Alps or Swabian Jura is a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending 220 km from southwest to northeast and 40 to 70 km in width. It is named after the region of Swabia....
, passing through the districts
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
of Esslingen, Göppingen
Göppingen
Göppingen is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. It is situated at the bottom of the Hohenstaufen mountain, in the valley of the river Fils....
and Rems-Murr-Kreis
Rems-Murr-Kreis
Rems-Murr is a district in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Heilbronn, Schwäbisch Hall, Ostalbkreis, Göppingen, Esslingen, the district-free city Stuttgart and the district Ludwigsburg....
. It is bordered to the south by valleys of the Neckar
Neckar
The Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse, in Germany. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the River Rhine...
and Fils rivers, and to the north by the valley of the Rems
Rems
The Rems is a right tributary of the Neckar in eastern Baden-Württemberg. It is 78 km long. Its source is in Essingen, near Aalen. It flows generally west through the towns Böbingen an der Rems, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Plüderhausen, Schorndorf, Remshalden and Waiblingen. At Remseck the Rems flows...
. At the eastern end of the Schurwald, which is crossed by numerous streams, is the Herrenbach Reservoir.
Geology
Geologically, the Schurwald is a dissected cuestaCuesta
In structural geology and geomorphology, a cuesta is a ridge formed by gently tilted sedimentary rock strata in a homoclinal structure. Cuestas have a steep slope, where the rock layers are exposed on their edges, called an escarpment or, if more steep, a cliff...
, formed by headward erosion
Headward erosion
Headward erosion is a fluvial process of erosion that lengthens a stream, a valley or a gully at its head and also enlarges its drainage basin. The stream erodes away at the rock and soil at its headwaters in the opposite direction that it flows. Once a stream has begun to cut back, the erosion is...
. It contains clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
and Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...
sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. Lias alpha from the early Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
can also be found, but only on the plateau.
Economy
AgricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
no longer plays a major role in the economy of the Schurwald, and in the last few years a number of farms have been forced to close. Crops grown in the area typically include various kinds of cereals, and root crops such as sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
and potatoes. Due to the cool climate, growth of fruit in orchards is limited. Most residents commute between their homes and the towns of Esslingen, Göppingen
Göppingen
Göppingen is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. It is situated at the bottom of the Hohenstaufen mountain, in the valley of the river Fils....
and Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and the Rems
Rems
The Rems is a right tributary of the Neckar in eastern Baden-Württemberg. It is 78 km long. Its source is in Essingen, near Aalen. It flows generally west through the towns Böbingen an der Rems, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Plüderhausen, Schorndorf, Remshalden and Waiblingen. At Remseck the Rems flows...
Valley. Nassachtal, within the Shurwald, was once one of the poorest places in Württemberg. The forest was once used for the production of charcoal, and was an important source for late medieval glassmakers.
Peaks
The highest peaks of the Schurwald are:- Kernen (513.2 m)
- Kappelberg (469 m, containing the Kappelberg Tunnel)
- Weißer SteinWeißer SteinWeißer Stein is the name of a 548 m tall mountain in the Odenwald, north of Heidelberg and east of Dossenheim.On Weißer Stein is a 20 m tall lookout tower. It was built in 1906 by the members of the Odenwald club. In good weather other high mountains of the Odenwald can be seen, such as Melibokus,...
(442 m; monument rather than a mountain) - WürttembergWürttemberg (mountain)The Württemberg is a mountain on the territory of the German city of Stuttgart, capital of Baden-Württemberg...
(411 m), site of the Württemberg MausoleumWürttemberg MausoleumThe Württemberg Mausoleum is a memorial in the Rotenberg part of Untertürkheim in Stuttgart, Germany. The mausoleum stands on the peak of Württemberg Hill at the westernmost end of Schurwald woods overlooking the Neckar river. The memorial was built for Catherine Pavlovna of Russia , the second...
Settlements
The following settlements are found within the Schurwald:- AdelbergAdelbergAdelberg is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.-Climate:The annual rainfall of 1045mm is within the top quarter of values recorded in Germany, with lower values registered in 87% of the country's weather stations. The driest month is February, while...
- AichwaldAichwaldAichwald is a municipality in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany....
- BaltmannsweilerBaltmannsweilerBaltmannsweiler is a municipality consisting of the two villages Baltmannsweiler and Hohengehren in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany....
- BirenbachBirenbachBirenbach is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany....
- BörtlingenBörtlingenBörtlingen is a municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.-References:...
- LichtenwaldLichtenwaldLichtenwald is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany....
- Nassachtal
- RechberghausenRechberghausenRechberghausen is a town in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany....
- WäschenbeurenWäschenbeurenWäschenbeuren is a town in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.-Geography:LocationWäschenbeuren is located on the edge of the Schurwald, at the Hohenstaufen, between the Filstal valley and the Remstal valley, some 10 kilometers northern of the district city of...
- WangenWangen (Göppingen)Wangen is a village and municipality in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. It lies on the edge of the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region.-Geography:...