HARZ MOUNTAINS St Andreasberg Andclausthal-Zellerfeld Willamplyreward the Curioustraveller
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240 Harz Mountains The Harz Mountains, rising up from the north German Plain as an ‘island’ of high, forest-clad hills, straddle the states of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. They are picturesque rather than spectacular, extending about 100km from west to east and widening to only 30km. Here you find excellent hiking trails in Harz National Park, opportunities for mountain-biking or road cycling, and even the chance to downhill or cross-country ski in a good season. Many an illustrious visitor has graced the Harz trails. Goethe was frequently seen striding them and set ‘Walpurgisnacht’, an early chapter of Faust, on the highest Harz mountain, the Brocken; later, satirical poet Heinrich Heine spent a well-oiled night on the mountain, as described in Harzreise (Harz Journey; 1824). History, though, is chequered here. From 1952 until reunification, the region was divided between West and East Germany, a single region straddling the Iron Curtain but following two very different paths. Access to border regions of the east were strictly controlled by checkpoints that prevented East German’s dashing over to the West. Today, the mixed deciduous forests and rugged landscape of the eastern regions are strong attractions in the Harz, and revamped infrastructure means interesting hubs in the east like Wernigerode and Quedlinburg are becoming more popular than their counterparts in the west. Nevertheless, the Western Harz has much to offer, and visiting towns such as Goslar, St Andreasberg and Clausthal-Zellerfeld will amply reward the curious traveller. HIGHLIGHTS Pagan Rituals Trek to the Brocken or party on Hexentanzplatz, Thale, for Walpurgisnacht (p259 ) Evening on the Trail Hike by torchlight through snow outside St Andreasberg for the evening wild deer feeding at the Rehberger Grabenhaus ( p248 ) Views of Past Ages Stroll among 1400 half-timbered houses from six centuries in Quedlinburg before relaxing with a coffee on a hilltop cafe overlooking town ( p255 ) Goslar Clausthal- Zellerfeld Wernigerode Free Wheeling Get on a mountain bike and Quedlinburg Thale pedal the forest trails ( p251 ) behind Werni- Brocken St Andreasberg gerode in the Harz National Park Gernrode Harz Mother Lode Descend rocky shafts into the National Park mining past in Clausthal-Zellerfeld ( p249 ) and explore 1000 years of mining history in Goslar ( p243 ) Mountain Steaming Wind through the spec- tacular wilds of the Selketal from Quedlin- burg or Gernrode on a steam train ( p250 ) HARZ MOUNTAINS lonelyplanet.com HARZ MOUNTAINS •• Information 241 0 20 km HARZ MOUNTAINS 0 12 miles To Hildesheim (25km); To Hanover (55km) Braunschweig (30km) A7 Bockenem A395 B6 SAXONY- LOWER Vienenburg SAXONY B82 ANHALT ὈὈὈὈὈLangelsheim B81 Innerste- B244 Stausee Goslar To Magdeburg Wolfshagen (30km) Bad Oker Gandersheim Granestausee B6 Halberstadt Römkehalle B64 Bad B498 Harzburg Hahnenklee Ilsenburg B79 Einbeck Torfhaus Clausthal- Brocken Wernigerode Oker- (1142m) Zellerfeld Stausee Quedlinburg Bad Schierke B244 B6 B3 Grund B241 Altenau B4 Drei Annen Elbingerode Blankenburg ὈὈὈὈὈHohne Rappbode- B242 Thale To Halle Wurmberg B27 Rübeland Stausee L239 (75km) (971m) Elend Osterode Rosstrappe & Braunlage Harz B185 St Andreasberg Hexentanzplatz National Park Treseburg Gernrode Northeim B243 Hasselfelde Sternhaus L519 B242 Ramberg Selketalbahn A7 B27 Sorge Herzberg Mägdesprung Oderstausee L1037 Stiege Alexisbad B81 Güntersberge Harzgerode Bad Lauterberg Friedrichshöhe ὈὈὈὈὈStrassberg Bad Sachsa Eisfelder Bovenden Talmühle Ilfeld B27 B247 Göttingen B4 B243 Duderstadt THURINGIA Mittelbau Dora Nordhausen A38 B80 ὈὈὈὈὈTo Leipzig (80km) To Kassel B80 To Erfurt (35km) A38 (60km) Information entitles the user to concession-priced tickets The main information centre for the Harz on buses, trains and any other public trans- MountainsὈὈὈὈὈ is the Harzer Verkehrsverband port in the Harz region. A four-day HarzCard (%05321-340 40; www.harzinfo.de; Marktstrasse 45; (adult/child €27/17) gives free admission to h8am-5pm Mon-Thu, to 2pm Fri) in Goslar, but most major museums and includes a return information on the Eastern Harz is best trip on the Brockenbahn to the summit of the picked up in towns there, particularly in Brocken ( p253 ). Wernigerode. For information on camping, ask at any Activities tourist office for the free Der Harz Camping CYCLING brochure (in German), which lists major Anyone seeking a challenge will enjoy cycling camping grounds and facilities that are open or mountain biking in the Harz, especially all year. in quieter eastern areas. Buses will transport The kind of map that you choose will de- your bike when space allows. pend on the type of activity you have planned. Der Harz und Kyffhäuser 1:50,000 map (€5.80) HIKING provides a good overview of trails and major The main attraction in summer is hiking the sites in the entire Harz. integrated trail network in the Harz National HARZ MOUNTAINS A local Kurtaxe (resort tax; ranging from Park. Trail symbols are colour-coded in red, €0.75 to €3 per night) is charged in most green, blue and yellow on a square or trian- towns. Your resort card will give various dis- gular plate. Harzklub (www.harzklub.de, in German) counts on sights and activities. Discount offers hiking association maps also show trail include the HarzTourCard (three days, €18), numbers; the 1:50,000 editions are the best which gives free travel and reduced admis- for hikers. Harzklub offices in mountain sion to attractions, and the HarzMobilCard towns are also good sources of information, (one month, €13), which is transferable and including hiking tips, itineraries and the .