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Tour tip Harz
Tour tip Harz
Resin greetings
The Harz offers Germany’s northernmost opportunity to get tired of curves. But between the mine and the half-timbered, the breaks are also worthwhile.
Nicolas Streblow
05/07/1997
Hardly any other area is as easy to find on the map as the Harz Mountains. Halfway between Hanover and Kassel, a little to the right, pardon me, to the east, a green blob clearly framed by roads and the boundaries of the Harz Nature Park stands out from the surrounding area. Only towards the east, so to speak, does the Lower Harz fray a little. The transition to the flat country is not as abrupt there as in the west. The Brocken, at 1,140 meters the highest mountain in the Harz, once formed the border between East and West Germany and was a restricted area. Even today you can only approach it from the west as far as the well-known Torfhaus motorcycle meeting point on the B4 between Braunlage and Bad Harzburg. From the east, on the other hand, you can climb the summit – but only steaming and panting on the Harz mountain railway. There is no shortage of passengers, probably not only because of its mythological significance as a witch’s dance place, but also because the road to the Brocken is closed to motor vehicles – nature reserve. Closed roads are not infrequent when driving into the blue off the main routes in the Harz Mountains. If you have the ACTION TEAM Tourentip 20 »Harz« in your tank bag, you are in a good position to navigate a complete circuit through the mountains. If you have enough of the turning, you can, for example, follow the traces of local mining in the western Upper Harz. A number of show mines, for example in the mining town of Lautental or in St. Andreasberg, as well as mining museums such as in Clausthal-Zellerfeld are reminiscent of the great times of the mines. Silver and iron ore were mined, but also lead and copper ores. The deposits are exhausted or no longer worthwhile. You can still see huge spoil heaps, which are slowly growing over, and the numerous reservoirs in the Harz are also human work. Deeply cut river valleys, high precipitation winters and low settlement resulted in an impressive density of dams. Where the rivers Oder or Bode still flow freely, they pass deep, shady valleys. The beautiful half-timbered towns are absolutely worth seeing, even if some of the town centers in the eastern Harz are still at the construction site. Shopping in Goslar, a photo in front of the Oberbergamt in Clausthal, drinking coffee in Wernigerode or in Stolberg – half-timbered everywhere in all variations. And if you stop every now and then and look at the sky, you might see one of the legendary witches on their way from the Brocken to the Hexentanzplatz. You just have to take a little time.
Info
The best way to get to Osterode is via the A7. Coming from the south, exit Northeim-Nord or Echte, then via the B241 to Osterode; from the north, take the Seesen / Harz exit, then the B243 to Osterode. Spend the night in the nicely managed hotel “Gluck Auf”, family Lier, Friedrich-Ebert-Strabe 38, 37520 Osterode, district Lerbach, phone and fax 05522/76387 The Hotel Sauerbrey in the same district, Friedrich-Ebert-Strabe 129, offers a high standard with comfort rooms including indoor swimming pool, sauna, fitness room and bike rental at a price of 105 marks per person in a single room and 75 to 90 marks in a double room; Telephone 05522 / 5093-0, Fax 5093-50; At the other end of the Harz in 06499 Aschersleben is the Pension Backermuhle, Franz Wieshammer, An der Backermuhle 6, Telephone 03473/807736, B&B from 40 marks per person through the interesting inner cities of Goslar, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Wernigerode or Stolberg, to name but a few. A must for steam train fans, but worth a detour for the spectacle alone, the Harzbergbahn am Brocken in “Drei Armen Hohne” If you are interested in the history of mining in the Harz, we recommend the show mine in Lautenthal. The Samson mine in St. Andreasberg offers old mine technology in action, as is the Norwegian-style wooden church in Hahnenklee (no access possible at lunchtime). If you want to do more than just drive, you should definitely take at least two days. Activities If you don’t want to be chauffeured up the Brocken by steam train, you can take the opportunity to go on a hike. The reservoirs also offer opportunities for exercise, be it boating or swimming. Information and brochures about the region are available from the Harzer Verkehrsverband e.V., Marktstrabe 45, 38640 Goslar, phone 05321/34040, fax 340466; The Harz narrow-gauge railways can be reached at Forlestrabe 7, 38855 Wernigerode, phone 03943/558143, fax 32107. Maps The Harz lies at the intersection of general maps 9, 4 and 6 (large-scale edition sheet XX) on a scale of 1: 200,000 from Mairs Geographisches Verlag, from ARAL you need sheets 10 and 11 in the same scale.
The distance
380 kilometers; 2 days; refueling: no problem, east of the former border a few, but large and often continuously open gas stations; route profile: mostly winding low mountain roads, occasionally following river valleys; No problem even for beginners; Coffee breaks: the most stylish, of course, between half-timbered houses, or at one of the many reservoirs. Swimming: At the various lakes, partly natural, partly dammed, there are always opportunities to swim. Worth seeing: show mines, some with a museum, steam trains and picturesque half-timbered towns are well worth a stop;
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