Harz 2024
The Harz National Park consists of approximately 24,700 ha. It is part of the European nature conservation network. National park website.
In and around the national park are picturesque historical villages/towns/cities and many interesting mines and caves to explore.
Unfortunately, the Forsthaus Schluft, which Mum remembered from her childhood holidays, was completely destroyed in the 1970's, so we couldn't visit it. Mum remembers walking to the top of the Brocken, but the forests around the Brocken have been devastated by Bark Beastie and are changing from pure pine forests to a more diverse resilient ecosystem, with more deciduous trees. Also, all the buildings at the top are more recent, so it was all very different from when she was last here. Mum also visited Goslar in her youth. Although Goslar has been developed a lot, many of the buildings are centuries old, so much is unchanged: Mum remembered the elaborately carved woodwork, but not many details.
In fact, Mum's most vivid memeories, refreshed by her holiday diaries, are of Hannover and Lüneburg, so maybe they should be the destinations of our next trip....
Animals
Some of the animals resident in the Harz national park:
- Red deer (Cervus elaphus),
- roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) wild boar (Sus scrofa) the lynx (Lynx lynx) has returned!
- wildcat's (Felis silvestris) seventeen bat species
- pregrine falcon
- owls, storks,
- 6 woodpecker species
Forests, Rocks & Cliffs
During a hiking trip in the Park, you will encounter many different forest types:
- Beech
- Sprice
- Ravine (ash, acer,..)
- Mixed (Beech, Spruce,...)
Rough cliffs, towering rock figures, rock blocks that are wildly spread, the variety and wildness of these rocky areas is characteristic for Harz National Park
Itinary
Sunday 12th May: Baldham - Pegnitz - Thale in Bodetal (559km - 7 hours)
Monday 13th May: Hexentanzplatz
Tuesday 14th May: Teufelsmauer, Quedlinburg
Wednesday 15th May: Wernigerode-Brocken (Harzer Smallspur Bahn)
Thursday 15th May: Kloster Wendhusen
Friday 16th May: Thale - Goslar - Eisenleben - Sangerhausen
Saturday 17th May: Rosarium - Baldham
Thale - Hexentanzplatz
We'd intended to spend the first night at the Iberger Tropfsteinhöhlen, but on the way up (Sunday), we discovered it was closed on Mondays, so decided to head straight for Thale, and stayed on the Wohnmobilstellplatz am Bodetal. The following 4 nights we spent at Klostercamping, Thale.
Teufelsmauer & Quedlinburg
Remains of the Teufelsmauer are visible at multiple points over a distance of 20 kilometresbetween Ballenstadt and Blankenburg: there's a good view of parts of it 15 minutes walk from the Klostercamping campsite. I saw other parts when cycling to Blankenburg and around Thale.
Quedlinburg was a 1o minutes train ride from Thale: we arrived after 18:00, by which time allcafe's were closed, but we managed to find a nice Erdbeerbecher at a restaurant on the market square.
Wernigerode & Brocken
We parked the camper on the P&R parking lot and took the Harzer Schmallspur Bshn Steam-train up to the Brocken, the highest point in the Harz.
Kloster Wendhusen
Right next to Klostercamping is the Kloster Wendhusen, which originates from the 11th century, and is open every day from 14:00 to 17:00.
Goslar
Goslar is over a thousand year old, and was surrounded by a 10 metre high wall, with 4 main gate-houses. Within the city walls lived 10,000 people. The city was not damaged by bombing in the 2nd world war, so is remarkably well-preserved, and, together with the Rammelsberg mine (which was als oactively mined for 1000 years), is a UNESCO world-heritage site.
Eisleben - Martin Luthers Birthplace
In Eisleben, Martin Luther was born and baptised, held his last sermon and died.
Sangerhausen & Rosarium
We stopped in Sanderhausen only because the womo parking lots in Eisleben got bad reviews, and Sanderhausen had the closest highly-rated one, and as it was right next to the Rosarium, we took a look round before heading home.
Forstaus Schluft
Built in the 2nd half of the 17th century, the forsthaus Schluft provided accomodation during the week for foresters who lived in Sieber.
The forstaus was closed in the 1970's, as it was no longer used and needed renovating. The Forest authorities refused to sell or lease it.
Tragically, it was used for taining the fire-brigade, and completely destroyed in May 1974.
Several years later, the entire Siebertal was closed to traffic and incorporated into the National Park.
Today only a few supporting walls and grass-covered foundations remain.
The nearby stone bridge over the Schluft/Sieber also became unsafe, and has been superceded by a wooden bridge for walkers, which is also part of walking tours & a mountain-bike tour
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