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 over the town square, in the 16th century. The artisan who carved its 33 wooden figures is said to have fallen foul of the authorities. If you peer closely you can see a few of his mocking touches (hint: look for the positioning of the hands).
Rathaus
Harz Mountains
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.48 MILES
Originally built in the 12th century to protect German Kaisers on hunting expeditions, Schloss Wernigerode was enlarged over the years to reflect late…
KZ-Gedenkstätte Mittelbau Dora
20.72 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…
12.01 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
15.94 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…
15.46 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…
25.34 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…
9.65 MILES
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),…
16.85 MILES
One of the purest examples of Romanesque architecture from the Ottonian period is this church in Gernrode, 8km south of Quedlinburg. Construction of the…
Nearby Harz Mountains attractions
0.03 MILES
Wernigerode's magnificent Marktplatz is presided over by its towering Rathaus. In the middle of the square, a neo-Gothic fountain (1848) was dedicated to…
0.04 MILES
Wernigerode's main thoroughfare, Breite Strasse, accommodates the pretty Cafe Wien building (1583) at No. 4, today a dignified cafe and worthwhile…
0.05 MILES
This delightfully crooked little local-history museum has a neat collection of exhibits on geology, town history and half-timbered houses.
0.06 MILES
Oberpfarrkirchhof surrounds the Gothic- and later, neo-Gothic–styled Sylvestrikirche. Here you’ll also find the Gadenstedtsches Haus (1582) with its…
0.48 MILES
Originally built in the 12th century to protect German Kaisers on hunting expeditions, Schloss Wernigerode was enlarged over the years to reflect late…
7.6 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…
9.65 MILES
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),…
11.84 MILES
Lovely views await at the top of Rosstrappe peak, which takes its name from what is supposedly a horse’s hoof print, visible in stone on the cliff, left…