The Höllental is an imposing nine kilometer-long valley so steep and enclosed tightly by rocky slopes that some parts don’t see daylight until late-morning. It lies between Himmelreich and Hinterzarten, stretching east of Freiburg en route to lakeside town Titisee.
Though this passage isn’t considered hellish by modern standards, it was basically impassable until a railway was constructed in the early 1900’s. Until around the same time, there were no roads, only a mule path running alongside a creek.
Hirschsprung, or Stag’s Leap, is the narrowest point of the valley. Here, a male deer escaped hunters by leaping across the crevice. A bronze statue of a stag memorializes the story.
The best way to see the gorge is on a four-hour (each way) hike. We didn’t have enough time, so instead we saw as much as we could from the road.
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