A watermill and a ski lift
For many years a lot of tourists have gone skiing to the Black Forest.Skiing has got a long tradition: The first patented in the world was invented here in the Black Forest - as far as we know today.
It was invented in the winter of 1906/07 in Schollach, north of Titisee Neustadt. The lift was 280m long, covered a difference in height above sea level of 32m and it was operated by a water mill.
Yet it was in the neighbouring town of Todtnau where the people had eskiing already 20 years before. It was the physician, doctor Tholu, who got hold of the first pair of skis. Mr Tholu had worked as a physician on a ship in Norway and he heard there that Frithjof Nansen, the explorer of the Arctic region, had walked across Greenland wearing snow shoes.
Thinking of his medical practice in the snow-covered Black Forest, the country doctor thought - What is good for Greenland cannot be bad for the Black Forest and in 1888 he ordered snow shoes in Norway.
Yet he could not get used to them and feeling disappointed he put them up into the attic. In the meantime the inhabitants of Todtnau had a new idea. They wanted to climb the Feldberg in winter. The doctor got his skis down from the attic and tried them again, together with friends. Finally Frithjof Nansen was personally asked to provide genuine Norwegian snow shoes - and in 1891 he did. Since then people have skied in the Black Forest. The Todtnau ski club was founded and Nansen became its first honorary member. In the following year an obstacle race on skis took place and after that post men were equipped with skis - following the doctor‘s example.
This skiing club was the forerunner of the Black Forest skiing club, which was turned into the German skiing association in 1905.
In the Black Forest people take a lot of trouble to be up to date. Since 1975 sledge dog races have taken place in some places in the south of the Black Forest. Todtnau is especially famous for that. Huskies, Malamutes, Greenland dogs and Samojedes pull the sledges spurred by their owners who are standing at the back of the sledge. They help the dogs to go uphill by pushing hard with one foot. There are different classes of races and some teams are made up of 12 dogs or more.
> Why exactly the Black Forest?
> Partly sophisticated partly informal
> A watermill and a ski lift
> Clear sounds in the Black Forest
> Also setting the trend in jazz
> The "Silver Star", a famous inn, and the "Simplizissimus"German: Wassermühle mit Skilift
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