That’s me standing next to the Gutach open air museum where they have a VW beetle wearing a huge Bollenhut.
The Black Forest is not only associated with Black Forest Cake, Black Forest Ham and Cuckoo Clocks but also with the Bollenhut – an essential part of the Black Forest Costumes is the PomPom topped hat called Bollenhut. The Bollenhut consists of 11 handmade pompoms (14 pompoms altogether but only 11 are visible). The hat can weigh up to 2 kilograms and comes in the colors red and black. Unmarried women wear a red Bollenhut. Once married, they wear a black Bollenhut.
The origins of the hat and the appropriate dress can be traced back to the mid-1700s. These days, the traditional Black Forest Costume can only be seen at special events and then only in certain towns, so you have to plan in advance to see one.
