 natural monument.](/de/bilder/geroldsauerwasserfall/GeroldsauerWasserfall.jpg)
The Waterfall and Its Surroundings
South of Geroldsau, the Grobbach runs through the narrow Grobbach valley and falls 9 m over a step in the so-called Bühlertal granite, forming the waterfall. A resistant, silicified shatter zone (Ruschelzone) creates that step — shatter zones are bands of rock broken up by tectonic movement. The environmental authorities judged the waterfall worthy of protection for its integrity and its rarity, and rated it a geological natural monument of the “very good” class.
Rhododendrons planted around the falls bloom in April and May. Wooden walkways along the Grobbach open up several views onto the natural monument, and numerous hiking and walking trails run around the waterfall. The Waldgaststätte Bütthof (forest restaurant) lies a little to the south.
The waterfall is easy to reach by car, with parking at the Waldgaststätte Bütthof. Alternatively, you can leave the car at the Malschbach forest car park and walk from there.
History
The waterfall once went by the name “große Bütte”, the great tub.[1] The hollow it pours into was likened to a Bütte, a wooden tub, and the waterfall passed the name on to the nearby Bütthof. Travel guides made the falls increasingly well known in the 1820s, and more and more visitors found their way into the Grobbach valley. In the middle of the 19th century, the Badeanstalten Kommission (bathing establishments commission) invested in better access: it renewed the paths and built walkways and bridges. From 1874, a small hut right beside the waterfall served refreshments to guests. Once the tram and the Merkurbergbahn (Merkur funicular) were built, visitor numbers at the waterfall fell sharply and the refreshment business no longer paid. Occupation troops demolished the hut after the Second World War.
Sources
- Geologische Naturdenkmale im Regierungsbezirk Karlsruhe, pp. 127 f
- Geschichte des Bütthofs on buetthof.de
References:
- ↑ BNN article of 14 August 1997