The King of the Lake didn’t make an appearance on the day that I visited the Black Forest’s highest glacial lake, the Mummelsee (altitude 1,036 m). Neither the real mystical king, nor the actor who plays him. But there was plenty of mystery to be experienced nevertheless.
The Mummelsee lies at the base of the Northern Black Forest’s highest peak, Mount Hornisgrinde (1,163 m), along Germany’s oldest tourist route, the Black Forest High Road, almost exactly half-way between the famous cities of Baden-Baden, once known as the ‘European Summer Capital’ among the early 19th-century aristocracy and bourgeoisie, and Freudenstadt, famous for having the largest market square (Marktplatz) in Germany.
The lake itself was formed 10,000 years ago when the ice around Mount Hornisgrinde melted as the glacier receded. Few fish survive in this lake because it’s poor in oxygen. But there are many legends associated with the Mummelsee.
I wasn’t particularly excited about my visit when I arrived at the lake. It was very busy with tourists at a time when I was looking for a quiet forest walk. It didn’t help that I was accosted by a perfume vendor the moment I entered the courtyard of the souvenir shops. I feigned ignorance of any language and made my escape as my companions got pulled over to the kiosk. There is a 0.8-kilometer walking path that follows the water’s edge around the lake, and I was delighted to discover that, although there were many tourists congregating in the souvenir shops and drinking coffee and beer on the hotel patio, only a small percentage of them were to be found along the path.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short walk around the Mummelsee, with its soft forest trail and boardwalk, strolling along under shady trees in 34-degree heat.
Along the path are references in word and art about the many legends that relate to the lake. I’m not sure how the Mummelsee became the focus of so many legends, but the guidebook I bought hints that the location of this swampy liquid pool in an area that the Romans called ‘Silva Negra’ because of the impenetrable forests, might lend an air of mystery to it.
The forest surrounding the Mummelsee certainly looks mysterious, and even a little foreboding. There is a wall of trees and foliage that is so thick that peering into the darkness can instill anxiety, but it also inspires the imagination to believe in the magical. A step into the shadows of the woods might expose one to danger, but also to enchantment.
The Mummelsee is worth the visit, not just for the tourist seeking the beauty of nature from a restaurant terrace, or for children hoping to experience a ride in a paddle boat or to climb in the playground, but for the walker as well.
There are 30 kilometers of trails around the Mummelsee and Mount Hornisgrinde. And while I didn’t have the opportunity to hike those kilometers today, I’ve decided that this is a place worthy of a return visit.
