Titisee

The Titisee lies at about eight hundred and fifty metres and was formed by a glacier flowing off the Feldberg, which left a terminal moraine that dams the water; it is roughly two kilometres long and up to forty metres deep. A path runs around it in about an hour and a half, and rowing and pedal boats and small passenger launches operate from the village. The village itself is heavily developed for tourism, with a long row of shops selling cuckoo clocks, Black Forest ham and gateau, and it is one of the busiest destinations in the region. The lake freezes in some winters.

History

The lake was formed in the last ice age, dammed by a glacial moraine, and is first recorded in 1050 as Titinsee in the records of the abbey of Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen, and as Dettesee in a deed of 1111; its present name dates from around 1750. Farmers bred cattle in the valleys around it, with craftsmen nearer the lake, and only in the early 20th century did the Höllentalbahn and tourism create a village on the shore; two tuff sarcophagi found by the outflow in 1840 were dated in 2011 to between 700 and 900, showing that the high Black Forest was settled earlier than thought. The name may come from teti, Alemannic for "little child", from the Roman general Titus, or from a nobleman called Titini (Wikipedia, Titisee).

What's there

• The moraine dam - a lake held by debris left by a retreating glacier.
• The shore path - a circuit of about ninety minutes round the water.
• The boats - rowing, pedal and small passenger craft from the village.
• The shopping row - clocks, ham and gateau along the main street.

When to go

May to September for boats and walking; the lake can freeze and be skated in hard winters. The village is crowded through the summer and at weekends.

What to expect

The village is very commercial and busy, which puts many people off. Parking is paid and fills. The water is cold for swimming.

Nearby

The Feldberg rises south; Freiburg lies west.

Key facts