Harz Mountains
Originally built in the 12th century to protect German Kaisers on hunting expeditions, Schloss Wernigerode was enlarged over the years to reflect late…
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Harz Mountains
What the Harz Mountains lack in alpine dramatics, they make up for in atmosphere and accessibility. Some of Germany's oldest, most endearing villages are tucked away in this broad region shared by three states: Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Gorgeous Goslar's crumbling city walls, medieval cobbled streets and teeny-tiny miners' houses complement Quedlinburg's crooked, couldn't-be-cuter, half-timbered architecture. Both towns' welcoming vibes beckon you to linger. But the region's robust all-rounder is shutterbug's-delight Wernigerode, where you can visit a dazzling Disney-esque castle and catch a steam train to the top of the Brocken, the highest peak (1142m) in the Harz.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
KZ-Gedenkstätte Mittelbau Dora
Harz Mountains
A deeply sobering place: at least 20,000 people were worked to death here building the tunnels beneath Mittelbau Dora, and the rockets now decaying within…
Harz Mountains
The performance of American avant-garde composer and musical theorist John Cage's Organ²/ASLSP began in the shell of the former Kirche St Burchardi in…
Rammelsberg Museum & Besucherbergwerk
Harz Mountains
The shafts and buildings of this 1000-year-old mine are now a museum and Unesco World Heritage Site. Admission to the mine includes a German-language tour…
Harz Mountains
Covering a total land mass of 24,700 hectares, Harz National Park is the first national park in Germany to occupy land in two states: Lower Saxony to the…
Harz Mountains
Wernigerode's spectacular towered Rathaus (town hall) began life as a theatre around 1277, only to be given its mostly late-Gothic features, which loom…
Harz Mountains
It takes just over half an hour to walk from town, or a zippy three-minute ride on the Burgberg-Seilbahn, to reach the top of this humble peak (483m),…
Harz Mountains
One of the purest examples of Romanesque architecture from the Ottonian period is this church in Gernrode, 8km south of Quedlinburg. Construction of the…