The Kirnbach is an approximately 8 km long river running through the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

in the

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

district. It flows into the Kinzig, then to the southeast between Wolfach and

Hausach Hausach (; ) is a city in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Hausach was founded in the 13th century, below Husen Castle. In the 14th century, it became a possession of the County of Fürstenberg, who gave the t ...

Course

The Kirnbach is a stream located in the

, flowing through the Kirnbach district of Wolfach, one of the three "

Bollenhut A (, literally "ball-hat") is a formal headdress with distinctive woollen pompoms worn since by Protestant women as part of their folk costume or in the three adjoining Black Forest villages of Gutach, Kirnbach and Hornberg-Reichenbach. ...

villages." It originates as the Rotsalbach at the edge of the municipality, near the Moosenmättle in

Schiltach Schiltach is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, on the river Kinzig, 20 km south of Freudenstadt. Geography Schiltach lies on the eastern side of the Black Forest ...

. After winding westward for about four kilometers, it merges with the shorter, but hydrologically significant Grafenlochbächle to form the Kirnbach. From this confluence, the Kirnbach generally flows northwest, largely following the direction of the Grafenlochbächle, until its mouth. The total length of the Kirnbach, from the source of the Rotsalbach at the Moosenmättle to its mouth, is 8.1 kilometers. The Kirnbach's catchment area spans 17.1 square kilometers. To the north-northeast, it borders the catchment area of the upstream Kinzig River. To the east-southeast, via the Rotsalbach, it adjoins the basin of the Sulzbach, which flows to the

Schramberg Schramberg is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, 25 km northwest of Rottweil. With all of its districts (Talstadt, Sulgen, Waldmössingen, Heiligenbronn, Schönbron ...

; thus, its waters also reach the upstream Kinzig via the Lauterbach and

rivers. In the southeast and south, streams primarily feeding the left-bank Kirnbach headwater, the Grafenlochbächle, compete with other streams on the opposite side that flow towards the Gutach's headwater, the Reichenbach. Beyond the southwestern watershed, the Gutach itself runs almost parallel to the downstream Kinzig. The highest elevation within the catchment area is the 871.9-meter-high Moosenkapf, situated above the spring at the Moosenmättle. This peak is part of a recessed semicircle of mountains, within which the slightly higher Mooswaldkopf lies just outside the Kirnbach's direct catchment. The Kirnbach flows through the eponymous scattered settlement, which now extends throughout the entire valley. Its course takes it past old farmhouses and the church in the upper valley. The stream ultimately empties into the Kinzig River between the towns of

Wolfach Wolfach () is a town in the Black Forest and part of the Ortenaukreis in Baden-Württemberg (Germany) and borders the Freudenstadt and Rottweil districts. History Wolfach was first mentioned in 1084 as ''Wolphaha'' and was given a wide var ...

and

. Its incised valley, which only widens somewhat in its lower reaches, can be explored along the small but wild river via the Bollenhutwegle, a designated footpath.

References

Rivers of Baden-Württemberg Rivers of the Black Forest Rivers of Germany {{BadenWürttemberg-river-stub

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See also

References