Cherry harvest at the Schmidt cherry farm in Endingen-Königschaffhausen c. Jigal Fichtner, Schwarzwald Tourismus | |
Everything Cherry: The Black Forest's Most Beloved Fruit
"300 Years of Distilling Kirschwasser"
| |
Dear Travel Colleagues,
April 2026: Spring has arrived in Southwest Germany's Black Forest, and with it comes the season of the cherry. This fruit is inseparable from the region’s landscape, culture, and food. Along the western edge of the Black Forest in and around the unofficial capital of the cherry orchard, Oberkirch, thousands of trees are bursting into blossom right now, painting hillsides white and filling the air with the promise of delicious Schnapps, jams, jellies and fruit. The famous Markgräfler Süßkirsche ("sweet cherry"), grown in this mild climate, is celebrated for its deep black color, rich aroma, and a subtle marzipan note that makes it perfect for jams, juices, and Kirschwasser. Located further north, the Renchtal, Achertal, and Durbachtal valleys within the Ortenau region have long been recognized as valuable areas for cherry cultivation. In this newsletter, we cover a generation of fruit farmers through an initiative called "Jungland", explore a hands-on connection to nature: the opportunity to adopt your own cherry tree, present culinary specialities and festivals and highlight walking and hiking tours, and last but not least celebrate 300 years of distilling and creating Kirschwasser, or better known as cherry Schnapps.
Victoria Larson
| | Black Forest cherry cake in the cherry café at the Schmidt cherry farm in Endingen-Königschaffhausen am Kaiserstuhl c. Jigal Fichtner, Schwarzwald Tourismus | | |
Sweet Temptations: Black Forest (Cherry) Chocolate Cake, Ice Cream, Jam, Festivals and Classes
No visit to the Black Forest is complete without a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, the iconic black, white, and red layered cake that has made the region famous all over the world. Round, generous, and just a little boozy, it is built on layers of dark chocolate sponge, whipped cream, and cherries soaked in locally distilled Kirschwasser, the clear cherry spirit that can only truly be made here. You'll find it on the menu of almost every café and hotel across the region, loved by locals and visitors alike. For those who want to go further, baking courses are offered at a handful of wonderful venues: Hotel Hirsch in Enzklösterle, Café am Eck in Baiersbronn, Café Pause in Freudenstadt, Café Zum gescheiten Beck in Feldberg-Bärental, and Café Zimmermann in Todtmoos. Every two years, the Schwarzwälder Kirschtortenfestival (“Cherry Cake Festival”) in Todtnauberg crowns the best version of the cake. For something cooler, the artisan manufacturer Black Forest Ice Cream, based in Schallstadt, produces a "Schwarzwald & Kirsche" flavor made with natural ingredients and regional Black Forest milk, with every tub sold supporting the Naturpark Südschwarzwald's sustainability and environmental education projects. Then there's Faller Konfitüren in Utzenfeld, a family business that has been producing jams since 1913, still cooking its cherry, sour cherry, and wild blueberry preserves in open copper kettles in small batches, stirred by hand to preserve every last note of natural fruit flavour. Faller sources much of its fruit directly from neighboring farms in the Kaiserstuhl and Markgräflerland, maintaining long-standing relationships with local growers that stretch back generations. So, not only are the ingredients fresh but the practice of growing and harvesting are local and sustainable.
Culinary Black Forest
| | Black Forest fine fruit distillery/fine spirits distillery Fies in Oberkirch-Ringelbach c. Schwarzwälder Feingeistbrennerei Franz Fies GmbH | | |
A Three-Century Legacy of Kirschwasser or Cherry Schnapps
Kirschwasser, a clear and highly aromatic cherry schnapps made from the region’s best fruit, stands out as one of the Black Forest’s most iconic flavors. It is a key ingredient in many dishes, including the renowned Kirschtorte (“Cherry Cake”), as well as artisan chocolates and local cuisine. This tradition thrives most vibrantly in the Renchtal valley, where distilling has been practiced for 300 years. The story begins in 1726, when the Prince-Bishop of Strasbourg, Armand Gaston de Rohan, granted his farming subjects in the district of Oberkirch the right to distil their own fruit for personal use. The decision was pragmatic. Farmers could supplement their income, the regional economy was strengthened, and tax revenues flowed back to the bishop, but the cultural legacy it created has proved far more enduring than any financial calculation. Today, the town of Oberkirch, with a population of just 21,000, is home to around 700 registered home distilleries, earning it the unofficial but well-deserved title of the "distilling capital of Europe." To mark the 300th anniversary this year, the Oberkirch distillers have come together to produce a special collaborative Kirschwasser cuvée — a blend of the finest drops across the region, bottled and refined at the prestigious Edelobstbrennerei Fies in the Ringelbach district. You can explore this centuries-old culture on foot along the Brennersteig trail or during the Heimattage Baden-Württemberg festival in Oberkirch on the 16th and 17th of May.
Brenner Black Forest
| | Black Forest fine fruit distillery Fies in Oberkirch-Ringelbach c. Jigal Fichtner, Stadt Oberkirch | | |
New Roots: Young Farmers Reviving Old Cherry Varieties
Tradition doesn't survive on its own. It needs people willing to champion it for the next generation. In Oberkirch-Ringelbach, the respected Edelobstbrennerei Fies distillery, under managing director Joachim Neymeyer, has spent the last five years building a remarkable alliance with a new wave of young fruit farmers under an initiative called "Jungland." The premise is beautifully simple: participating orchardists commit to growing old, largely forgotten cherry varieties, and in return receive a guaranteed purchase and price agreement from the distillery, giving them the financial security to take the leap. One such farmer is Jürgen Kimmig, who has turned away from the two high-yield modern strains his father grew at the end of his career and returned instead to a rich diversity of heritage distilling cherries, varieties with evocative names like "Schwarze Schüttler" and "Rencher Wegkirsche." His verdict? The aroma is extraordinary, and as a bonus, the old varieties prove significantly more resistant to disease and pests than their modern replacements. Other Jungland growers include Nico Leininger from Auggen in the Markgräflerland, Michael Busam from Erlach near Strasbourg, Henrik Kopp from Oberkirch-Haslach, and the Agrar Team Renchtal collective. They are actively preserving a cultural landscape of traditional orchard meadows (“Strüobstwiesen”) that has no equal anywhere else in Europe.
Jungland
| | Cherry harvest at the Schmidt cherry farm in Endingen-Königschaffhausen c.Jigal Fichtner, Schwarzwald Tourismus | | |
Adopt Your Own Cherry Tree
For those who want a truly hands-on connection to the land, Obsthof Schörlin in Huttingen near Efringen-Kirchen, one of the largest farms in the Markgräflerland, offers something rather special: you can adopt your very own cherry tree. For just €25 per year, fruit lovers become the patron of a "Regina" table cherry tree on the farm's extensive orchards, where cherries ripen alongside apples, plums, pears, and mirabelles. Patrons are welcome to visit during blossom season, harvest the entire crop by hand when the cherries reach peak ripeness around the 15th of July, and take everything home, with no maintenance required whatsoever. Each tree receives a personalized name tag, and patrons receive regular email updates on flowering, ripening, and growth throughout the season. It makes a wonderful gift for nature lovers or for anyone who simply wants to support traditional fruit growing in Southwest Germany. Meanwhile in Endingen-Königschaffhausen, the fascinating Kirschenmuseum tells the story of just how central this small fruit has been to the life of the Kaiserstuhl. Historic tools and equipment, from tall orchard ladders to picking baskets, sit alongside photographs, documents, and objects from farm and village life that illustrate how the sweet cherry shaped the fates of entire families for generations. Traditional crafts associated with the cherry harvest, including ladder-making, basket-weaving, and working with cherry wood, are also represented, giving visitors a rich sense of what locals still proudly call the "Kirschenkosmos" (“Cherry cosmos”) of the Kaiserstuhl.
Obsthof
| | On the Oberkirch Brennersteig trail c. Renchtal Tourismus GmbH | | |
Blossom Trails: Walking, Cycling, and Picnicking Among the Trees
Right now, in April, the Black Forest is at perhaps its most breathtaking, and nowhere more so than along its famous cherry blossom trails. In the Eggenertal near Schliengen in the Markgräflerland, tens of thousands of trees have transformed the valley into a sweeping sea of white, and the 7-mile circular route through the villages of Niedereggenen, Obereggenen, and Schallsingen is gentle enough for off-road pushchairs, making it ideal for families. Lay out a picnic blanket beneath the branches and let the blossoms do the rest. In the Kaiserstuhl, the almost 10-mile Kirschbaumpfad ("Cherry Tree trail") leads through ancient orchard meadows from Sasbach to Riegel, passing the traces of Celtic and Roman settlements along the way, with a rest stop possible beneath the enormous "Kaiser-Stuhl" (“Emperor’s Chair”) rock at Leiselheim. The Kirschenhof Schmidt in Endingen-Königschaffhausen, run by Nicole Schmidt, a former Kirschenkönigin (“Cherry Queen”) offers a terrace café serving homemade cakes and regional classics. Near Achern, the 10-mile Dreikirschenweg winds through blooming orchards, sunny vineyards, and quiet forest paths, with farm stalls along the way selling cherry jam, apple juice, and home-made liqueurs. Finally, if you want to experience the cherry at full festival intensity, the Kaiserstühler Kirschenfest in Endingen-Königschaffhausen runs from 22 to 25 May 2026 — over 60 years old and still the region's most joyful celebration of this beloved fruit, complete with the crowning of a new Kirschenkönigin.
Achertal Cherry Trail
| | |
Victoria Larson
Press Representative
Southwest Germany/Tourism Board of Baden-Wuerttemberg
victoria@vklarsoncommunications.com
www.visit-bw.com/en
| | |
Natalie Dietl
Team Leader, International Marketing
Southwest Germany/Tourism Board of Baden-Wuerttemberg
n.dietl@tourismus-bw.de
www.visit-bw.com/en
| | | | |
