Its distribution area is bounded by the edges of the Bavarian and Upper Palatine Forests. The boundary of the associated cultural-historical region has been complicated by recent history. Until the Second World War the area of the lower Bavarian Forest, the Mühlviertel in Austria and the southern Bohemian Forest in present-day Czech Republic, formed one large unit. This means there is also a difficulty in determining its boundary with the Bohemian Forest house (Böhmerwaldhaus), which occurs in the Czech Republic and in the Šumava, the Czech part of the Bohemian Forest.