Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Thirty Years' War brought widespread
devastation but, by aligning themselves with
Catholic emperor Ferdinand II, the Wittels-
bachs managed not only to further expand their
territory but to score a promotion from duchy
to
Kurfürstentum
(electorate), giving them a
say in the election of future emperors.
Not all alliances paid off so handsomely. In
the 1680s Maximilian II Emanuel (r 1679-1726) - a man of great ambition but poor
judgement - battled the Turks alongside the Habsburg Kaiser in an attempt to topple the
Ottoman Empire. Much to his dismay, his allegiance did not lead to the rewards he had
expected. So he tried again, this time switching sides and fighting with France against
Austria in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14). The conflict ended in a disas-
trous Franco-Bavarian loss and a 10-year occupation of Bavaria by Habsburg troops. Not
only had Max Emanuel failed to achieve his personal goals, his flip-flop policies had also
seriously weakened Bavaria's political strength.
Max Emanuel's son, Karl Albrecht (r 1726-45), was determined to avenge his father's
double humiliation. Through some fancy political manoeuvring, he managed to take ad-
vantage of the confusion caused by the War of Succession and, with the backing of Prus-
sia and France, ended up on the imperial throne as Karl VII in 1742. His triumph,
however, was short-lived as Bavaria was quickly reoccupied by Austrian troops. Upon
Karl Albrecht's death in 1745, his son Maximilian III Joseph (r 1745-77) was forced to
renounce the Wittelsbachs' claims to the imperial crown forever.
Germany's first ever postage stamp was issued in
Bavaria in November 1849 and was called the
Sch-
warze Einser
(Black Penny). Not as rare as Bri-
tain's Penny Black, a used copy only fetches
around €1300 when auctioned.
MILESTONES IN BLACK FOREST HISTORY
In the beginning the Black Forest was just that: a huge, dark, dense clump of trees so impenet-
rable that even the Romans didn't dare colonise it, although they couldn't resist taking advantage
of the thermal mineral springs in Baden-Baden on the forest's edge. Around the 7th century, a
band of intrepid monks took a stab at taming the area, but it would be another few centuries until
the ruling Zähringer clan founded Freiburg in 1120. In order to solidify their claim on the land,
they moved farmers into the valleys to clear the trees and create small settlements. This led to the
discovery of natural resources and, up until the 15th century, the extraction of iron, zinc, lead and
even silver were major industries.
While their feudal lords enjoyed the spoils of their subjects' labour, the lot of the miners and
farmers steadily deteriorated. In the 16th century unrest fomenting in the Black Forest eventually
