Belchen, Summit in Black Forest, Germany

Belchen is a mountain in the Black Forest standing 1414 meters tall. The northern slopes are covered in forest, while the southern sides open up to grasslands.

Mining shaped the Belchen area between 900 and 1975, at times on an important scale. A chain of well-preserved boundary stones from 1790 runs over the summit, marking the old border between Habsburg Further Austria to the north and the Margraviate of Baden to the south. The first guest house below the summit was built in 1866, replaced in 1899, and the road up was opened in 1904.

The name Belchen comes from the Middle High German "belche", meaning a white patch standing out against the dark forest. The treeless summit also gives its name to the Belchen triangle: the Ballon d'Alsace in the Vosges and the Belchenflue in Switzerland, both visible from the mountain.

The Belchenbahn gondola runs from Aitern-Multen to a top station at 1,356 metres, 1,150 metres long with a 262-metre climb, and has step-free boarding at both ends. The uppermost stretch of the Belchen road has been closed to private cars since the cable car opened in December 2001. Marked trails also lead up from Untermünstertal, Schönau and Neuenweg, and a 1.3 km circular trail starts at the Belchenhaus.

The name Belchen comes from the Middle High German word belche, meaning a white patch standing out against the dark forest. The same name is given to other peaks in view, including the Ballon d'Alsace in the Vosges and the Belchenflue in Switzerland, which together with this summit form the Belchen triangle.