Grosser Burgberg

Harz Mountains

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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), which boasts the ruins of an 11th-century fortress built by Heinrich IV. Once at the top you can stroll around the fortress ruins or set out on longer hikes or mountain-bike rides.

Year-round, avid hikers can elect to pick up the Kaiserweg trail from the fortress ruins, and continue onwards to Torfhaus and the Brocken. If snow conditions are good, it’s possible to ski cross-country to/from Torfhaus, where there are numerous equipment-hire facilities.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Historic Wernigerode Castle surrounded by an autumn landscape.

    Schloss Wernigerode

    10.13 MILES

    Originally built in the 12th century to protect German Kaisers on hunting expeditions, Schloss Wernigerode was enlarged over the years to reflect late…

  • Concentration camp KZ Mittelbau Dora.

    KZ-Gedenkstätte Mittelbau Dora

    24.59 MILES

    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…

  • Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum

    Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum

    27.16 MILES

    One of Europe's oldest museums, the Anton Ulrich has a world-class art collection, with about 1400 paintings, several hundred bronze and stone sculptures,…

  • John Cage Orgel Kunst Projekt

    John Cage Orgel Kunst Projekt

    20.42 MILES

    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

    Rammelsberg Museum & Besucherbergwerk

    6.3 MILES

    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…

  • National Park Harz.

    Harz National Park

    11.53 MILES

    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…

  • Rathaus

    Rathaus

    9.65 MILES

    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…

  • Herzog August Bibliothek

    Herzog August Bibliothek

    20.32 MILES

    This hushed building is one of the world’s best reference libraries for 17th-century books. Its exhibition spaces feature two changing curated exhibits of…

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Nearby Harz Mountains attractions

1. Brockenhaus

5.38 MILES

The Brockenhaus, at the summit of the Brocken, has a cafe, interactive displays and a viewing platform. From May to October, rangers conduct one-hour…

2. Museum im Zwinger

6.17 MILES

A 16th-century tower holding a collection of such late-medieval delights as torture implements, coats of armour and weapons used during the Peasant Wars.

3. Rammelsberg Museum & Besucherbergwerk

6.3 MILES

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…

4. Goslarer Museum

6.34 MILES

This museum offers a good overview of the natural and cultural history of Goslar and the Harz. One room contains the treasures from the former Goslar Dom …

5. Zinnfiguren-Museum

6.37 MILES

This beautifully presented little museum boasts a colourful collection of painted pewter figures and depicts scenes of daily life in Goslar from the…

6. Domvorhalle

6.38 MILES

The Domvorhalle is all that remains of the once-magnificent St Simon and St Jude Cathedral. Within it you can see the 11th-century Kaiserstuhl, the throne…

7. Rathaus

6.43 MILES

The impressive late-Gothic Rathaus is most beautiful at night, when light shining through its stained-glass windows illuminates the stone-patterned town…