Bannwald

Bannwald is a German word used in parts of Germany and Austria to designate an area of protected forest. Its precise meaning has varied by location and over time.

The word Bannwald is a combination of Bann (English ban) and Wald (English forest or wood). Bann has many historical meanings in German, one of which refers to an area controlled by and set aside for the use of a landowner in medieval times (comparable to the forests subject to the royal ban in Anglo-Saxon England). A Bannwald was a forest where a nobleman had the prerogative to make use of it and the creatures in it. A royal ban forest existed at Dreieich (from the heathen worship of three oaks) for a very long period, and its charter was one of the most primitive. The (obsolete) French literal equivalent (also: banbois) is still the toponym of local forests in areas which once were part of the former Holy Roman Empire.

In modern times, the term Bannwald is, in a certain sense, an archaic word which has been revived as a specific term for forests under various types of protection.

The term is generally used with a rather broad meaning:

Depending on the respective forest act, there may be an overlapping or difference in meaning between the terms banned forest and protection forest.

Silvicultural use is still permitted and in the case of protection forests it is even welcome (except in Baden-Württemberg). However, it is prohibited in the core zones of nature reserves. Forestal exclusion zones (temporarily restricted forest areas) subject to hunting prohibitions or restrictions, or temporary hunting grounds or game preserves (areas closed during a hunting season or breeding and upbringing season) are not classified as banned forests.

The term Bann dates back to the Middle Ages. At that time a Bannwald referred to a forest area where the respective territorial lord had the exclusive right to use the forest (forest privilege). Originally this applied only to hunting (hunting privilege) and fishing, however, later it was extended to the complete use of the forest. In the mountain valleys of Switzerland banned forests had the function to protect against avalanches and also to provide sufficient timber for fencing torrents. Corresponding decrees from the 14th century deal with protection against avalanches, rockfalls and flooding. The concept of Bannwald plays an important part in Ludwig Ganghofer's novel Die Martinsklause in which a tyrannical administrator in Berchtesgaden claims excessive privileges.

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