The Moos is a mountain range in the

Central Black Forest The Central Black Forest (german: Mittlerer Schwarzwald), also called the Middle Black Forest, is a natural or cultural division of the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It generally refers to a region of deeply incised valleys from t ...

in southern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Its highest points are the ''Siedigkopf'' () and the ''Mooskopf'' (), actually the ''Geisschleifkopf''. The Moos is the local mountain or ''

Hausberg {{italic title ''Hausberg'' (lit.: "house mountain", plural: ''Hausberge'') is German for a prominent mountain or hill in the immediate vicinity of a village, town or city, usually located on its municipal territory, but outside the built up are ...

'' of

Gengenbach Gengenbach (; gsw, label=Low Alemannic, Gängäbach) is a town in the district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and a popular tourist destination on the western edge of the Black Forest, with about 11,000 inhabitants. Gengenbach is well k ...

and

Oppenau Oppenau () is a town located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It has a population of 4,700 inhabitants. Geography Oppenau is situated in the Rench valley in the Black Forest. The nearest major cities are Offenburg and Freudenstadt. ...

. The Moos separates the valleys of the

Rench The Rench is a right-hand tributary of the Rhine in the Ortenau ( Central Baden, Germany). It rises on the southern edge of the Northern Black Forest at Kniebis near Bad Griesbach im Schwarzwald. The source farthest from the mouth is that of the ...

and the Kinzig in an east-west direction. At the same time the Nordrach valley and theformerly free imperial valley of the

Harmersbach Harmersbach (below its confluence with the ''Nordrach'': ''Erlenbach'') is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It passes through Zell am Harmersbach, and flows into the Kinzig in Biberach. Until 1806, the Harmersbach valley held the unique ...

rise on it and flow in a north-south direction. Due to its formerly dense and dark afforestation, the Moos is the scene of numerous

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

s and legendary figures. A leading character that appears time and again is the ''Moospfaff'', an old

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

from All Saints' Abbey, who on his way to an

extreme unction In the Catholic Church, the anointing of the sick, also known as Extreme Unction, is a Catholic sacrament that is administered to a Catholic "who, having reached the age of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age", except in t ...

lost the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People * Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

and now searches around leads people astray whilst he tries to find the host. The fictional character

Simplicius Simplicissimus ''Simplicius Simplicissimus'' (german: link=no, Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch) is a picaresque novel of the lower Baroque style, written in 1668 by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen and probably published the same year (alth ...

, who is commemorated on a monument, from the novel ''

Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus ''Simplicius Simplicissimus'' (german: link=no, Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch) is a picaresque novel of the lower Baroque style, written in 1668 by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen and probably published the same year (altho ...

'' by

Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621/22 – 17 August 1676) was a German author. He is best known for his 1669 picaresque novel '' Simplicius Simplicissimus'' (german: link=no, Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus) and the accompan ...

, lived for several years on the Moos during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

. There is an observation tower, the Moos Tower (''Moosturm''), on the Mooskopf which was erected in 1890 and is maintained by the

Black Forest Club The Schwarzwaldverein (Black Forest Club or Black Forest Association) was founded in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) in 1864, making it the oldest German hiking and mountaineering club. The Schwarzwaldverein has almost 90,000 members in 241 loc ...

. On the Geißschleif Saddle between the Mooskopf and the Siedigkopf is the junction of three trails: the Kandelhöhen Way,

Gengenbach–Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail The Gengenbach–Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail (german: Schwarzwald-Querweg Gengenbach–Alpirsbach) is a long distance path through the Central Black Forest in Germany. The 51-kilometre-long east-west route is sponsored and maintained by the Blac ...

and the

Rench Valley Trail The Rench Valley Trail (german: Renchtalsteig) is a 98-kilometre-long 'prestige hiking trail (''Prädikatswanderweg'') in the Central/North Black Forest Nature Park in Germany. It runs in five stages around the Rench valley with its start and f ...

. On the ''Kornebene'' (640 m above NN) the Friends of Nature's Gengenbach branch run a managed hut (Kornebene Friends of Nature House) with overnight accommodation. In the municipal territory of Nordrach at a height of 589 m is ''Gasthaus Moosbach'', the highest inn in the county of Ortenau and the whole of the Moos hills. On 26 Dec 1999,

Hurricane Lothar A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

caused serious damage on the Mooskopf and Siedigkopf. Hitherto the summits were densely covered with high spruce and fir trees which largely blocked the view from the observation tower. After the storm had destroyed the trees, instead of the old monoculture, a considerably more varied mixed forest emerged. On the Siedigkopf is a monument that commemorates the hurricane. Mooskopf turm2.jpg, The Moos Tower (''Moosturm''), Oct 2007 Grimmelshausen-Denkmal.jpg, Grimmelshausen monument Lothardenkmal Siedigkopf.JPG, Hurrican Lothar monument

References

{{Commonscat Mountains and hills of Baden-Württemberg Mountains and hills of the Black Forest