The Frankfurt City Forest or Frankfurter Stadtwald is a forest district in the south of Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. There are also other forest areas spread out through the city.

Basic Facts

The forest is about 48 square kilometres and the largest inner-city forest in Germany. It covers the southern areas of Schwanheim

Schwanheim (Frankfurt am Main)

Schwanheim is a district or Stadtteil of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk West, and is subdivided into the Stadtbezirke Schwanheim, Goldstein-Ost and Goldstein-West....

, Niederrad

Niederrad (Frankfurt am Main)

Niederrad is a district or Stadtteil of Frankfurt am Main, Germany with about 23.000 Inhabitants. It is part of the Ortsbezirk Süd, and is subdivided into the Stadtbezirke Niederrad-Nord and Niederrad-Süd.-History:...

, Sachsenhausen

Sachsenhausen (Frankfurt am Main)

Sachsenhausen is a part of the city of Frankfurt, Germany. Composed of two districts: Sachsenhausen-Nord and Sachsenhausen-Süd, it is part of the Ortsbezirk Süd. It is located on the South bank of the Main river, right in the city center, opposite the Old Town.Sachsenhausen was founded as...

 and Oberrad

Oberrad (Frankfurt am Main)

Oberrad is a district or Stadtteil of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk Süd.To the north of the district lies the River Main. Beyond it, the Eastern Harbor of Frankfurt in the Ostend borough. To the northeast, Oberrad is bordered by Offenbach's Kaiserlei district, to the...

, as well the northern parts of the Stadtteil Flughafen

Flughafen (Frankfurt am Main)

Frankfurt-Flughafen is an independent district or Stadtteil of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk Süd, and is subdivided into the Stadtbezirke Unterwald and Flughafen. It is the least populated district of the city as well as the second largest one after Sachsenhausen...

 district. Four nature trails and sport paths cross the Forest. There are also 1600 seating benches and 25 rest huts, which provide protection in bad weather. Six playgrounds and nine ponds make the forest a popular local attraction.

History

In 1221 the emperor Frederick II

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...

 gave the Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

 large parts of the forest and the corresponding grazing rights

Grazing rights

Grazing rights is a legal term referring to the right of a user to allow their livestock to feed in a given area.- United States :...

. In 1372 Frankfurt bought the city forest from Emperor Charles IV

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

 and wanted to regain these rights. This sparked a hundred year fight with the Knights, which ended with a compromise in 1484. The city paid a sum to graze sheep on the land, but the area was limited. One can still see the stones of the border on the Schäfersteinpfad, Sheep Stone Path.

The use of the forest by farmers for grazing is still evident in the names, Unterschwein- und Oberschweinstiege, which were overnight stables for the acorn and beech nut eating pigs.