Publius Cornelius Tacitus, a famous Roman senator and historian, was the first to write about the forests in the land of the ancient Teutons, a Germanic tribe. His brief study Germania founded the myth of the eerie forest that housed barbarians and robbers alike — a forest so dense that it helped the Teutons keep the Romans off their backs.
But even in the first century AD, these forests were by no means virgin forests, said Hansjörg Küster, professor of Plant Ecology at the Institute of Geobotany at Leibniz University Hannover.
"The Germanic tribes farmed, too," he told DW, adding that crops planted in a forest won't get enough sunlight. Humans changed the face of the forest long before Tacitus came along, he says. But to the Romans, it was a hostile-looking jungle.
Read more: From destruction to rejuvenation: When forest fires are a good thing
Roman hisotiran Tacitus shaped the idea of the mythical, dense German forest
The limit to Europe's forest-clearing
The kind of land clearing that is currently devastating the primeval Amazon rainforests has existed in Europe for more than 7,000 years. Wood was urgently needed to build ships and houses, for smelting iron ore and to make glass. Demand increased until the late middle ages and early modern times.
"In the 17th and 18th centuries, forests in Central Europe were down to a minimum," says Küster, adding that Europe had the same problem Brazil has today.
People realized something had to be done, and since then forests have been systematically replanted with an eye to sustainability.
Nature conservation as we know it today is based on German forestry laws and management, including a tradition of replanting, Küster said. That's something to be proud of, he added — even if German forests are now struggling in the face of climate change.
Read more: Germany's forests on the verge of collapse, experts report
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Don't be alone in the woods: German forest idioms
Germans and the forest
The Germans' relationship to the forest is a long-standing love affair. Not only are the woods a dominant theme in German art and literature — appearing in the works of Goethe and Caspar David Friedrich alike — the forest also holds a special place in the hearts of many Germans. That adoration for the woods has filtered into the language: "Wald," pops up in numerous German phrases.
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Don't be alone in the woods: German forest idioms
Holz in den Wald tragen
There are a number of German idioms and proverbs that make use of the word forest. "Holz in den Wald tragen" — literally, to carry wood into the forest, is to do something pointless. You could compare it with the English phrases to "carry coals to Newcastle" or "bring owls to Athens," which also mean to undertake a task that is redundant.
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Don't be alone in the woods: German forest idioms
Den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen
The German equivalent of the idiom "can't see the forest for the trees" portrays the idea that someone is so concerned with the details of something that they fail to grasp the situation as a whole. Sometimes being too preoccupied with the smaller things can mean missing the bigger picture. The expression first became popular in German thanks to the works of poet Christoph Martin Wieland.
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Don't be alone in the woods: German forest idioms
Pfeifen im Walde
Translated word for word, "pfeifen im Walde" means whistling in the forest. The English phrase "whistling in the dark" is not so different. Both mean to try and stay brave or convince yourself that everything is alright in a bad situation. The forest is often presented as mysterious, concealing something sinister, for example, in fairytales like "Hansel and Gretel" recorded by the Brothers Grimm.
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Don't be alone in the woods: German forest idioms
Ich glaub', ich steh' im Wald
In English you might have once said something along the lines of "Well, I never!" or "Blow me down!" The same idea lies behind this German exclamation. The direct translation of "Ich glaub', ich steh' im Wald" is "I think I'm standing in the woods." It is a colloquial form of expressing astonishment. Why not try it out next time you're feeling surprised?
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Don't be alone in the woods: German forest idioms
Wie man in den Wald hineinruft, so schallt es heraus
This saying reflects the idea that "what goes around, comes around." It literally translates as: The way you shout into the forest, the way it echoes back out. If you treat someone badly, you'll eventually be treated badly yourself. Many German proverbs stem from a time when everyday life involved hunting in the woods. Folk wisdom was passed on using relatable experiences like an echo in a forest.
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Don't be alone in the woods: German forest idioms
Sich wie die Axt im Walde benehmen
In German if someone is acting like an axe in a forest, they are behaving like a bull in a China shop. Both expressions describe rough, boorish or destructive behavior. The German colloquialism conjures an image of an axe being wielded in a forest destroying surrounding trees, whereas "to behave like a bull in a China shop" evokes pictures similar to the one above — but the sentiment is the same.
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Don't be alone in the woods: German forest idioms
Es herrscht Schweigen im Walde
Directly translated as "there is silence in the forest," the colloquial German term describes a situation in which no one dares to say anything out of embarrassment or fear. The best idiomatic English equivalent is perhaps the informal phrase "the cat's got their tongue."
Author: Tessa Livesey
Cultural differences
The forest is still today regarded as a symbol of German identity, celebrated over the centuries by poets, writers and painters. Other European cultures that also have dense forests have a more distanced relationship to their woodlands.
Forests appear in folk songs and myths. It's interesting, Küster notes, that Father Christmas allegedly lives at the North Pole in most countries while his German counterpart shows up come Christmas time from "deep in the forests."
"The Chasseur in the Forest"
In the early 19th century, the myth of the "eerie forest" emerged once again. As Napoleon's troops marched toward Germany, citizens thought to plant trees along the borders to France, hoping the French would get lost in them just as the Romans did so long ago — after all, says Küster, "both spoke a Romance language, and consequently they knew nothing about the forest." As a result, the German forest was glorified even more.
The Romance period marked the height of arboreal mythology. In 1774, German painter Caspar David Friedrich painted a lost French soldier in a painting entitled The Chasseur in the Forest. It shows a lone man in the forest, tiny, peering around at the tall, tall trees.
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Forests in Germany
Bavarian Forest National Park
The treetop path near Neuschönau leads the visitors over 1.3 kilometers to undreamt-of heights and opens uniquely beautiful views over the landscape of the Bavarian Forest, especially from the 44 meter high tree tower. In 1970 the Bavarian Forest was declared a national park - the first in Germany.
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Forests in Germany
Berchtesgaden National Park
It's the only German national park in the Alps. Because of its high mountain location, with a bit of luck, hikers here can spot such rare animals as the alpine ibex, golden eagle, alpine hare and alpine marmot.
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Forests in Germany
Black Forest National Park
Since January 2014, parts of the Northern Black Forest have been under special protection. The North Black Forest National Park in Baden-Württemberg is a showcase project championed by Winfried Kretschman, state premier and Green Party member.
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Forests in Germany
Jasmund National Park
It's Germany's smallest national park, but that doesn't diminish its beauty. Jasmund National Park, in the far north of the island of Rügen, is home to one of the world's few surviving primeval beech forests. In 2011, UNESCO declared it part of the World Heritage Site, "Ancient Beech Forests of Germany".
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Forests in Germany
Müritz National Park
Woodlands, lakes and marshes shape the scenery in Müritz National Park in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. After repeated human intervention in this habitat, its flora and fauna are being a given a chance to recover. The cultivated pine forests are gradually being replaced with deciduous trees such as beech and birch.
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Forests in Germany
The Elbe Riverscape
An alluvial forest is considered an important part of a riverscape. Regular flooding provides a unique habitat for flora and fauna, as it does here on the Elbe in the state of Brandenburg. The Elbe River Landscape has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1997.
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Forests in Germany
Harz Mountains
This low mountain range is not just one of the largest forested areas in Germany. It's also one of the most popular. As early as 1824, the writer Heinrich Heine devoted a travelogue to it. In the middle of the Harz is the Brocken, whose summit is many a hiker's destination. In addition, many animal and plant species live in these mixed forests, among them this endangered Brocken anemone.
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Forests in Germany
Hainich National Park
The largest contiguous deciduous mixed forest in Germany lies in the state of Thüringen, or Thuringia. Because of its native beech forests with up to 800 ancient trees, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 2011. It's home to many rare animal species, such as the European wildcat.
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Forests in Germany
Northern Upper Palatinate Forest
Here, too, some habitats, such as moist and marshy meadow valleys, woodlands and streams, are still almost in their original state. They lend the countryside a mystical quality. The ruins of Flossenbürg Castle are a landmark in the Northern Upper Palatinate Forest nature reserve.
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Forests in Germany
Spessart
A range of low wooded mountains on the border between Hesse and Bavaria, the Spessart was once used as a hunting ground by aristocrats and archbishops. The 19th-century bands of brigands there are also legendary. Wilhelm Hauff immortalized them in his novella "The Inn in the Spessart" in 1827.
Author: Andreas Kirchhoff (ms)
