Raich: Hiking, Crafts and History

Raich is worth a visit for travellers who want to combine hiking with traces of craftsmanship and local history. Raich’s historic landscape is a blend of wooded slopes, meadows and pastures. There is also the file-making workshop near Lindenhalle and a traditional festival at Hörnle. You can shape your stay around your interests: spend time outdoors, discover a traditional craft or explore regional traditions.

Landscape and hiking routes

Until 1970, Raich’s historic landscape was characterised by steep slopes, ridges and spurs, mostly covered with beech forests typical of lower elevations. Meadows or pastures lie in the hollows where settlements are found, as well as on the flatter areas. Forest and open land thus form two distinct types of landscape.

For a shorter walk, the Rieder Bächle circular route between Raich and Ried offers a clear guide: it is 4.5 kilometres long, has 200 metres of elevation gain and an average gradient of 9 percent, and is rated moderate. The Hörnle circular route in Raich is longer, at 11.6 kilometres with 560 metres of elevation gain. It starts at the car park by Lindenhalle. On a clear day, the view stretches across the valley and the Jura Mountains to the Alps. The stated distances and elevation gains make it possible to compare the routes; also check current trail conditions before setting out.

Nonnenmattweiher can be reached on foot from Raich. Depending on your starting point, the hike can be short or last all day. When choosing accommodation, consider what kind of hiking pace suits your stay and how much time you want to set aside for a route.

Craftsmanship and living traditions

A historic file-making workshop is located near Lindenhalle. Its machines show how files were made individually as recently as 50 years ago. The workshop was previously operated in Wieslet; in 2015/16, the machines found a new home in a building erected in Raich. A visit offers a tangible link between a particular place and the history of a manufacturing process in which each file was made piece by piece.

Local history stretches further back, too: the former Altwaldeck Castle stood within Raich’s municipal area and had probably fallen into ruin at an early date. The large traditional festival at Hörnle takes place every two years. It shows how people used to work and celebrate at home, on the farm and in the fields. Check the event date before your trip so you can plan your stay around it.

A closer look at the wider destination of Kleines Wiesental

Nonnenmattweiher is part of the wider destination of Kleines Wiesental. It lies at an elevation of 913 metres and is one of the highest-standing bodies of still water in the Black Forest. It was artificially dammed in the early 18th century. A section of the peat-covered lake bed then broke away, forming a floating peat island. Several species of sphagnum moss grow on the island, along with hare’s-tail cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), bog cranberry (Vacinium oxycoccos) and round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). The plants you see may vary depending on the season.

Other distinct attractions in the wider destination of Kleines Wiesental can be found in Tegernau and Neuenweg. Tegernau Church was described in 1935 as a small “Wälderkirchlein” (little forest church) with a small bell tower. Neuenweg is home to a very old, broad, spreading pollarded beech. The Zur Krone museum inn in Tegernau includes a historic dining room with a side room, an old “Chuchi” (kitchen) with a vaulted cellar cut into the mountainside, a historic ballroom, sleeping quarters in the attic and a “Schisshüsli” (privy) dating from 1901. These varied places and features complement Raich’s hiking and craftsmanship with historical and landscape impressions from the wider destination.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Sallneck, Wies, Elbenschwand, Neuenweg, Wieslet, Bürchau.

Back to the wider travel overview: Kleines Wiesental.