Bergwacht Schwarzwald

What Bergwacht Schwarzwald does

Bergwacht Schwarzwald e.V. is a state-commissioned non-profit mountain rescue organization operating across the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded circa 1924, the organization delivers emergency medical response, technical rope rescue, helicopter winch operations, and civil protection services through 22 local groups (Ortsgruppen) staffed by approximately 650 active honorary rescue personnel out of a total membership of roughly 1,500. Access is triggered primarily through the European emergency number 112, which routes calls to integrated control centers (Integrierte Leitstellen) that dispatch Bergwacht alongside professional fire, ambulance, and police services. End-users are the general public in distress in remote, steep, or otherwise inaccessible terrain — hikers, skiers, mountain bikers, paragliders, and others — as well as state and municipal emergency services requiring specialized off-road capability. The organization recorded 1,171 rescue operations in 2023.

The technical stack is domain-specialized rather than software-centric: Gebirgstrage mountain rescue stretchers, Akja rescue sleds for snow operations, high-clearance vehicles such as the VW Amarok, helicopter winch systems operated jointly with DRF Luftrettung, and — most recently — DJI FlyCart 100 cargo drones capable of transporting up to 100 kg of equipment to inaccessible sites, launched May 2026. Specialized rescue qualifications held by personnel include RSH Helicopter Rescue Specialist, Seilbahnretter (cable car rescue), and Baumretter (tree rescue) certifications. The youth program (Jugendbergwacht) and annual service examinations feed a continuous volunteer pipeline.

The business model is a hybrid of public commissioning and philanthropic funding. The core mandate is a state commissioning agreement (Staatlicher Rettungsdienstauftrag) with Baden-Württemberg, which constitutes the structural revenue base. This is supplemented by individual donations, corporate sponsorships (notably naturenergie hochrhein AG since June 2024), Fördermitgliedschaften memberships, and legacies, facilitated through the RaiseNow/Altruja online fundraising platform. Services are provided free of charge to persons in distress. A €5.8 million state grant was awarded in recent years for rescue station construction and equipment, including the Feldberg and Hinterzarten stations. The organization has no parent company, no public listing, and operates as an eingetragener Verein under German law.

Name

Bergwacht Schwarzwald

Legal name

Bergwacht Schwarzwald e.V.

Website

https://bergwacht-schwarzwald.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bergwacht Schwarzwald e.V. is a state-commissioned non-profit mountain rescue organization serving the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded circa 1924, it deploys approximately 650 active volunteers across 22 local groups for emergency rescue, civil protection, and disaster response under a state mandate funded by Baden-Württemberg.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mountain Rescue Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Ambulance Services (621910), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

Search & Rescue (Urban/Water/Wilderness) Coordination (HLAJAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emergency Response & Search-and-Rescue (SAR) (BPAGAAAA)

Keywords

• Mountain rescue services
• Emergency medical response
• Disaster relief operations
• Civil protection services
• Search and rescue

Headquarters

HQ city

Kirchzarten

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. State Commissioning (Staatlicher Rettungsdienstauftrag): Bergwacht Schwarzwald operates as the designated mountain rescue service (Bergrettungsdienst) commissioned by the state of Baden-Württemberg, performing emergency rescue off-road and away from settlements throughout the Black Forest. This forms the core public-service mandate and funding basis.
2. Donations and Sponsoring: The organization raises funds through individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and a membership program (Fördermitglied). The website features online fundraising via RaiseNow/Altruja software.
3. Legacies and Inheritances: The organization accepts bequests and legacies as part of its long-term fundraising strategy.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Bergwacht Schwarzwald is the state-commissioned mountain rescue organization (Bergrettungsdienst) for the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It provides 24/7 emergency medical and technical rescue of injured or distressed persons in off-road, steep, and inaccessible terrain, delivered by approximately 650 active honorary rescue personnel across 22 local groups. The organization also delivers civil protection and disaster response capabilities, supported by specialized equipment including rope systems, rescue vehicles, helicopters, and the DJI FlyCart 100 cargo drone.

Product overview

Bergwacht Schwarzwald is a volunteer mountain rescue organization operating as a unified rescue service rather than a technology product company. The core offering is emergency medical rescue and evacuation services across the Black Forest, delivered through 22 local groups with approximately 650 active volunteers. Supporting services include civil protection/disaster response capabilities, youth development programs (Jugendbergwacht), nature conservation activities, and the TRITTSICHER magazine publication. Recent innovation includes cargo drone transport services using the DJI FlyCart 100 for logistics support in inaccessible terrain.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mountain Rescue Service (Bergrettungsdienst)

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,171 rescue operations in 2023 across the Black Forest region
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• naturenergie hochrhein AGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2024A strategic partnership announced in June 2024 between naturenergie hochrhein AG (a German-Swiss energy company headquartered in Rheinfelden) and Bergwacht Schwarzwald, connecting the themes of nature conservation, safety, and regional identity. The partnership was launched at the Summer Service Examination (Dienstprüfung Sommer) 2024. Shared values include commitment to nature conservation in the Black Forest and regional community engagement. naturenergie provides support as a regional partner of clubs, social institutions, and cultural projects.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• PGHM (Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne): French high-mountain gendarmerie platoons conducting mountain and alpine rescue across the French Alps, Pyrenees, and Corsica; comparable in mission (wilderness and high-altitude rescue), structured differently as a public-law enforcement unit but directly comparable in operational function.
• SAC Bergrettung Schweiz: Swiss Alpine Club's mountain rescue service, the official commissioned alpine rescue organization for Switzerland; operates a comparable volunteer-based alpine rescue model across a different national jurisdiction with similar equipment, rope, and helicopter winch capabilities.
• Bergrettung Südtirol / CNSAS: Italian Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico), the state-commissioned mountain rescue service for Italy; runs an analogous volunteer-based alpine rescue model covering the Dolomites and broader Italian Alps, making it a strong regional comparator.

Broad incumbents

• Technisches Hilfswerk (THW): Federal German civil protection agency providing technical disaster response, with overlapping civil protection and disaster deployment activities including the 2021 Ahrtal flood response; much broader mandate but shared volunteer basis and disaster rescue domain.
• Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe: Major German non-profit providing ambulance, rescue, and civil protection services with a substantial volunteer base; overlaps with Bergwacht in emergency medical response, helicopter rescue, and disaster response activities under a broader humanitarian mandate.
• Malteser Hilfsdienst: German relief organization of the Sovereign Order of Malta providing emergency medical services, disaster response, and civil protection with a strong volunteer base; comparable to Bergwacht in mission overlap on EMS, civil protection, and volunteer-driven emergency response.
• Bayerisches Rotes Kreuz (BRK): State Red Cross chapter providing ambulance, rescue, and civil protection services across Bavaria, frequently a co-beneficiary of state mountain rescue infrastructure funding alongside Bergwacht; broader medical and humanitarian mandate but overlapping volunteer rescue operations.

Direct peers

• DRF Luftrettung: Germany's leading air rescue non-profit operating helicopter rescue (e.g., Christoph 54), a documented partner of Bergwacht Schwarzwald for winch operations; comparable volunteer-supported emergency aviation model with overlapping missions in mountain and wilderness rescue.
• Bergwacht Bayern: State-level Bergwacht organization covering Bavaria, structurally identical to Bergwacht Schwarzwald as a non-profit commissioned mountain rescue service under state authority with local groups and honorary volunteers. Operates at larger scale in a comparable Alpine/pre-Alpine geography.

Emerging players

• DLRG (Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft): Germany's largest water rescue organization, operating on a comparable volunteer-based model with local chapters, government mandates, and rescue operations; mission differs (water vs mountain) but organizational architecture, funding mix, and youth-pipeline structure are closely analogous.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bergwacht-schwarzwald

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bergwacht Schwarzwald