Harz National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
View from the Brocken summit
Location	Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Coordinates	51°47′0″N 10°34′0″E / 51.783333°N 10.566667°E / 51.783333; 10.566667Coordinates: 51°47′0″N 10°34′0″E / 51.783333°N 10.566667°E / 51.783333; 10.566667
Area	247 km²
Established	1990, 1994, 2006
Governing body	Nationalparkverwaltung Harz Lindenallee 35 38855 Wernigerode

The Harz National Park is a nature reserve in the German federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It comprises large portions of the western Harz mountain range, extending from Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg at the southern edge to Bad Harzburg and Ilsenburg on the northern slopes. 95 % of the area is covered with forests, mainly with spruce and beech woods, including several bogs, granite rocks and creeks. The park is part of the Natura 2000 network of the European Union.

View from Leistenklippe to the Brocken

In its current form, the park was created on January 1, 2006 by the merger of the Harz National Park in Lower Saxony, established in 1994, and the Upper Harz National Park in Saxony-Anhalt, established in 1990. As the former inner German border ran through the Harz, large parts of the range were prohibited areas, that apart from the fortifications had remained completely unaffected for decades. Today the park covers parts of the districts of Goslar, Osterode and Harz.

Rare animals of the Harz National Park include the Dipper, the Black Stork, Peregrine Falcon, the European Wildcat and especially the Eurasian Lynx. The last lynx in the Harz Mountains had been shot in 1818, but in 1999 a project for reintroducing was established. Since 2002 several wild lynxes gave birth. An attempt to return the Capercaillie (Auerhuhn) however did not succeed.

Geography[link]

The 24,700 hectares of the Harz National Park cover about 10 per cent of the total area of the Harz. The park lies in the western part of the Harz (see Upper Harz) and stretches from Wernigerode and Ilsenburg in the north to Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg in the south. Near its perimeter the park terrain is about 230 m above sea level in the north and 270 m above NN in the south and climbs to 1,141.1 m above NN at the summit of the Brocken.^[1]

Several rivers have their sources in the national park, including the Bode, the Oder and the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker. The waters of the Oder, flowing southwards, are collected in the historic Oderteich reservoir, finished in 1722 to supply the mines in Sankt Andreasberg, and feed the Oder Dam on the southeastern edge of the park. Other dams and lakes within or bordering on the national park include the Ecker Dam and the Silberteich. The highest elevations are the Brocken, the Bruchberg and the Achtermann.

History[link]

The present, pan-state Nationalpark Harz was formed on 1 January 2006 from the merger of the old park of the same name in Lower Saxony and the High Harz National Park (Nationalpark Hochharz) in Saxony-Anhalt. Since the merger the head of this major nature conservation area has been Andreas Pusch.

The Upper Harz National Park was established as part of GDR's national park programme on 1 October 1990, two days before the reunification of Germany, on the basis of a ministerial decision by the East German government. The park included large parts of the eastern Harz, roughly from the Ecker Dam and the national park municipality of Ilsenburg in the north and Schierke in the south as well as the Brocken. The region is characterised by a relatively undisturbed plant and animal environment, which is mainly due to its location immediately next to the old Inner German Border. In the German Democratic Republic era, the Brocken was accessible until 1961 with an easily obtained pass. From 13 August 1961 it became an out-of-bounds area, which meant that tourists could no longer visit it. In the mid-1980s the first problems appeared in the Harz, such as bark beetle and fungal infestation. In the wake of the spirit of optimism during the time around reunification it was exactly this that gave impetus for the establishment of the national park. On 1 January 1991 a national park headquarters in Wernigerode was set up under the leadership of Hubertus Hlawatsch. Hlawatsch's successor was Peter Gaffert, who ran the eastern park from 1995 until its merger with the Harz National Park in the western Harz on 1 January 2006.

The Lower Saxon part of the park was opened on 1 January 1994 after four years of preparation. Its founding father was Dr. Wolf-Eberhard Barth. Although a combined national park project was discussed soon after reunification by both states it was another twelve years before the parks were merged.

The Harz National Park belongs to the European umbrella organisation EUROPARC Federation, a federation of national parks, biosphere reserves and nature parks. It concerns itself inter alia with the exchange of information, ustausch, advanced education and public relations. The German section, EUROPARC Deutschland, of this umbrella organisation has also organised the merger of many large conservation areas in Germany.^[2]

In 2005 the national park was included in the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.

Currently the national park employs 188 staff, of which 59 work in the national park head office in Wernigerode or its outpost in Sankt Andreasberg OT Oderhaus. The 40 employees of the national park warden service, who are also known as rangers, conduct guided tours and look after tasks in connexion with environmental training, include the maintenance of information posts and national park buildings. (as at: 31 December 2007) ^[3]

Ecology[link]

Flora[link]

View of the Scharfenstein

The natural forests of the High Harz consist mainly of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia); deciduous trees only dominate below 600 m above sea level. Since the Harz was partly deforested in the 19th century by ore mining, the count's head forester, Hans Dietrich von Zanthier, developed the concept of reforestation with fast-growing spruce trees. This led to the now widespread spruce monocultures. Unlike "Harz Pine", the pines introduced from other regions cope less well with snow and ice conditions in the Harz and are thus more prone to bark beetle infestation.

Currently 82 percent of the forest consists of spruce stands. Only 12 percent of the trees are beeches. The remaining 6 percent are species such as oak, rowan or birch (as at December 2007).

There are various vegetation zones in the Harz National Park. In the sub-alpine area above 1050 metres is the "battle zone" of the spruce tree. Here it is not uncommon to find trees over 250 years old and bent into bizarre shapes by the wind. But predominant here are the dwarf shrub heaths and raised bogs (Hochmoore). The altimontane vegetation zone is found between 750 m above sea level and 1,050 m above NN, dominated by spruce. These areas can be found in the vicinity of Schierke and Torfhaus. Not until the montane zone between 450 m above NN and 750 m above NN and the submontane zone is the vegetation dominated by beech forests. Today's beech stands grow primarily on acidic soil. The most commonly encountered forest type is the Hainsimsen beech forest. At heights above 700 m it is usually adjacent to spruce-beech mixed woodland. But in the national park this area has shrunk to just a few residual stands and has been largely replaced by spruce. In the region of Ilsenburg spruce monoculture occurs even down to 230 m above NN. In these zones the spruce is not native and, as a result of climate change, it has suffered increasingly from bark beetle infestation. Currently the National Park Service is having these areas reforested to encourage the original beech and maple, that used to dominate them, to resettle.^[4][5][6]

The Harz is home to the Brocken anemone (Pulsatilla alpina subsp. alba), which grows in Germany only on the plateau of the Brocken. Its survival has however been especially endangered since German reunification by the onset of tourism. The Brocken Garden, a botanical garden on the summit of the Brocken, deals mainly with the protection fo plant species and restoration of the summit area.^[7]

Especially valuable for nature conservation, are the raised bogs formed by the restoration of former marshland. The conditions are favorable for this, as the bogs in the park are less impacted by human use than the bogs of the Lower Saxony plain. When wood became scarce in the Harz, the locals tried to take advantage of the peat bogs. This proved unprofitable due to the low calorific value of peat and the weather conditions in the High Harz. The bogs in the Harz are of international significance by virtue of their distinctiveness and flora.^[8][9]

Fauna[link]

Lynx Stone of 1818

The lynx – once more in the wild in the Harz

The lynx now lives wild again in the Harz, having been eradicated from the mountains since the early 19th century. The last report of a successful lynx hunt in the Harz dates to 1818. In an eleven-day hunt, in which almost 200 people took part, a male lynx was brought down at Lautenthal. The so-called Lynx Stone recalls the success of that particular hunt. In 1999 it was decided to reintroduce the lynx. Between 2000 and 2004 alone, 19 were released from zoo breeding programmes. Before their release the animals are prepared in a large enclosure in order to acclimatized them to freedom. In addition there is a viewing enclosure near the National Park forest restaurant on the Rabenklippe where the shy cats can also be observed by visitors to the park. Since 2002, there have been several instances of kittens born in the wild. In March, a male lynx was fitted with a GPS transmitter, so precise details can now be obtained about the range of an animal. The project team receives information via SMS from the transmitter.

Another reintroduction project was the capercaillie, which died out in the Harz in 1920-1930. Its reintroduction began in 1978. Over the years about 1,000 birds have been reared and set free. In spite of the number of birds the population was not assessed as stable. Due to the lack of success, the project was closed in 2003.^[10]

The Harz is now one of Germany's most important habitats for the wild cat. It is classified in the Federal Republic of Germany as seriously endangered. It is assumed that the wild cat in the Harz has a stable population. It is widespread throughout the region, preferring those areas which are warmer, richer, more varied and better supplied with nutrients (lower lying deciduous forest with greater food availability).

In addition to lynx and wild cat, red deer and roe deer are also important species in the Harz National Park.

The most common invasive species is the raccoon, but occasionally the raccoon dog also occurs. The mouflon, which was in the 1930s located in different districts of the Harz for hunting reasons, is also found in the park.

Ecological problems[link]

Trees damaged by bark beetle

Recently, the Harz National Park has suffered from bark beetle outbreaks as well as acid rain and other environmental problems. The bark beetle is on the rise here due to climate change and global warming. Since 2006, there has been increased bark beetle gradation. Hurricane Kyrill also caused severe damage in the region. Stands of trees, especially spruce, were torn down over wide areas. The National Park management came under fire from the local communities as a result of the bark beetle measures that were subsequently needed. In particular, the National Park community at Ilsenburg criticized the use of technology (e.g. harvesters). Because of the inaccessibility of the terrain there was really no other way to haul the wind blown tree trunks from the affected areas.^[11]

In the so-called natural development zone of the Harz National Park, which surrounds the core area, bark beetle measures are taken where necessary, and plantations are established where in order to encourage the natural development of the forest. To protect these beech and oak groves, national park wildlife management is required. Accusations that private or state hunts had taken place in the park turned out to be unfounded.^[12]

Zoning[link]

Ancient forest in the national park

The Harz National Park is recognised by the IUCN (World Conservation Union) as a national park (a Category II protected area in the IUCN system). To achieve that, according to the rules, at least 75 per cent of the area must be set aside as a natural biodiversity zone (core zone). In this zone nature must be left completely to itself. If this proportion is not achieved the region can be classified as a so-called developing national park, if it is assessed as fulfilling these conditions within 30 years.

The Harz National Park counts as a developing national park. Currently 41 per cent of the area of the park is designated as a natural biodiversity zone. The aim is to cross the 75 per cent threshold by 2020.

58 per cent of the park area is currently still a nature development zone. Here measures in lines with the forest development concept are carried out. The aim is to transfer the largest possible area of this natural development zone into the natural biodiversity zone.

A proportion of the park counts as a utilisation zone. This covers areas that are important for tourism or are historico-culturally significant, such as the Brocken summit or mountain meadows. Here conservation measures will also be applied in future.^[13]

Furthermore within a 500 metre wide strip on the edge of the national park, measures are being put into effect that will protect the adjacent areas.^[14]

References[link]

1. ^ Nationalpark Harz: Wir über uns
2. ^ EUROPARC Deutschland: Verbandsphilosophie, accessed on 31 March 2008
3. ^ Auskunft der Nationalparkverwaltung Fachbereich 1 in March 2008.
4. ^ Auskunft vom Fachbereich 2 Forschung und Wissenschaft der Nationalparkverwaltung im März 2008
5. ^ Nationalpark Harz: Waldentwicklung
6. ^ Nationalpark Harz: Wälder
7. ^ Vgl. Gunter Karste (2006): Der Brockengarten im Nationalpark Harz. In: Sachsen-Anhalt 16 (2006), H. 4, p. 2–4. ISSN 0940-7960
8. ^ Vgl. Sabine Bernsdorf, Nadine Böhlmann, Ralph Meissner, Wolfgang Merbach (2003): Moorforschung im Harz; Entwicklung und Schutz der Moore im Nationalpark Hochharz. In: Scientia Halensis 11 (2003), H. 4, p. 21–22, pdf. ISSN 0945-9529
9. ^ Nationalpark Harz: Moore
10. ^ Vgl. Ralf Siano (2006): Überlebensdauer, Todesursachen und Raumnutzung gezüchteter Auerhühner (Tetrao urogalluns L.), ausgewildert im Nationalpark Harz. In: Vogelwarte 44 (2006), H. 3, p. 145–158. ISSN 0049-6650
11. ^ Gemeinsames Faltblatt von Nationalpark Harz und NABU Sachsen-Anhalt zur Borkenkäferfrage im Nationalpark Harz:[1]
12. ^ Pressemeldung des Nationalparks Harz: Keine „DDR-Staatsjagd unter dem Brocken“
13. ^ Nationalpark Harz: Gebietsgliederung
14. ^ Nationalpark Harz: Waldentwicklung

External links[link]

• Official site
• Lynx project site (German)

v t e National parks of Germany North Germany Hamburg Wadden Sea Jasmund National Park Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park Müritz National Park Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park Central Germany Eifel National Park Hainich National Park Harz National Park Kellerwald-Edersee National Park Lower Oder Valley National Park Saxon Switzerland National Park South Germany Bavarian Forest National Park Berchtesgaden National Park

v t e Nature parks in Lower Saxony Dümmer Elbhöhen-Wendland Elm-Lappwald Harz Lüneburg Heath Münden Solling-Vogler Steinhuder Meer Südheide TERRA.vita Weser Uplands Schaumburg-Hamelin Wildeshausen Geest

Harz
Highest point
Peak	Brocken
Elevation	3,743 ft (1,141 m)
Geography
Country	Germany
States/Provinces	Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia
Geology
Orogeny	Hercynian
Type of rock	Paleozoic sedimentary, metamorphic and magmatic rocks

The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart (mountain forest), Latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz with a height of 1,141.1 metres (3,744 ft) above sea level. The Wurmberg (971 metres (3,186 ft)) is the highest peak located entirely within Lower Saxony.

Geography[link]

Panorama in the Harz Mountains. From left to right: the peaks of the Rehberg, the Achtermannshöhe, the Brocken and the Wurmberg.

Location and extent[link]

Sender Brocken at the summit in winter

The Harz has a length of 110 kilometres (68 mi), stretching from the town of Seesen in the northwest to Eisleben in the east, and a width of 35 kilometres (22 mi). It occupies an area of 2,226 square kilometres (859 sq mi), and is divided into the Upper Harz (Oberharz) in the northwest, which is up to 800 m high, apart from the 1,100 m high Brocken massif, and the Lower Harz (Unterharz) in the east which is up to around 400 m high and whose plateaus are capable of supporting arable farming.

The following districts (Kreise) fall wholly or partly within the Harz: Goslar and Osterode am Harz in the west, Harz and Mansfeld-Südharz in the north and east, and Nordhausen in the south.The districts of the Upper Harz are Goslar and Osterode (both in Lower Saxony), whilst the Lower Harz is on the territory of Harz and Mansfeld-Südharz districts (both in Saxony-Anhalt). The Upper Harz is generally higher and features fir forests, whilst the Lower Harz gradually descends into the surrounding area and has deciduous forests interspersed with meadows.

The dividing line between Upper and Lower Harz follows approximately a line from Ilsenburg to Bad Lauterberg, which roughly separates the catchment areas for the Weser (Upper Harz) and Elbe (Lower Harz). Only on the southeastern perimeter of the Upper Harz, which is also called the High Harz (Hochharz) (Goslar, Osterode and Harz districts), does the mountain range exceed 1,000 m above NN on the Brocken massif. Its highest peak is the Brocken (1,141 m), its subsidiary peaks are the Heinrichshöhe (1,044 m) to the southeast and the Königsberg (1,023 m) to the southwest. Other prominent hills in the Harz are the Acker-Bruchberg ridge (927 m), the Achtermannshöhe (925 m) and the Wurmberg (971 m) near Braunlage. In the far east, the mountains merge into the East Harz foothills (Harz district, Saxony-Anhalt), which are dominated by the Selke Valley. Part of the south Harz lies in the Thuringian district of Nordhausen.

The Harz National Park is located in the Harz; the protected area covers the Brocken and surrounding wilderness area. Approximately 600,000 people live in towns and villages of the Harz mountains.

Rivers and lakes[link]

Reservoir behind the Wendefurth Dam

Bode Gorge

Because of the heavy rainfall in the region the rivers of the Harz Mountains were dammed from an early date. Examples of such masonry dams are the two largest: the Oker Dam and the Rappbode Dam. The clear, cool water of the mountain streams was also dammed by early mountain folk to form the various mountain ponds of the Upper Harz waterways, such as the Oderteich.

The 17 dams in the Harz block a total of twelve rivers. Because the Harz is one of the regions of Germany that experiences the most rainfall, its water power was used from early times. Today the dams are primarily used to generate electricity, to provide drinking water, to prevent flooding and to supply water in times of scarcity. Modern dam-building began in the Harz with the construction of the Söse Valley Dam, that was built between 1928 and 1931. The dams of the Upper Harz lakes are some of the oldest dams in Germany that are still in operation.

→ See List of dams in the Harz

The largest rivers in the Harz are the Innerste, the Oker and the Bode in the north; the Wipper in the east; and the Oder in the south. The Innerste merges into the Leine and its tributaries are the Nette and the Grane. The rivers Radau, Ecker and Ilse all discharge into the Oker. The Hassel, the Selke and the Holtemme (whose main tributary is the Zillierbach) flow into the Bode. The Wipper is fed by the Eine. The Rhume is joined by the Söse and the Oder; the latter being fed by the Sieber. The Zorge, the Wieda and the Uffe all flow into the Helme.

Mountains[link]

→ See List of mountains in the Harz

→ See List of rock formations (crags, tors, etc.) in the Harz

Climate[link]

Climatically a mountain range has lower temperatures and higher levels of precipitation than the surrounding land. The Harz is characterised by regular precipitation throughout the year. Exposed to westerly winds from the Atlantic, heavy with rain, the windward side of the mountains has up to 1,600 mm of rain annually (West Harz, Upper Harz, High Harz); in contrast, the leeward side only receives an average of 600 mm of precipitation per annum (East Harz, Lower Harz, Eastern Harz foothills).

• 

  Brocken (windward)

• 

  Braunlage (windward)

• 

  Mansfeld (leeward)

Geology and pedology[link]

Origins[link]

Geological overview map

Gabbro Quarry near Bad Harzburg

The Harz is the most geologically diverse of the German Central Uplands, although it is overwhelmingly dominated by base-poor rocks. The most common rocks lying on the surface are argillaceous shales, slaty (geschieferte) greywackes and granite intrusions in the shape of two large igneous rock masses or plutons. The Gießen-Harz surface layer of the Rhenohercynian zone, which is widespread in the Harz, consists mainly of flysch. Well-known and economically important are the limestone deposits around Elbingerode and the Gabbro of Bad Harzburg. The landscapes of the Harz are characterised by steep mountain ridges, stone runs, relatively flat plateaus with many raised bogs and long, narrow V-shaped valleys, of which the Bode Gorge, the Oker and Selke valleys are the best known. A representative cross-section of all the Harz rocks is displayed on the Jordanshöhe near Sankt Andreasberg near the car park (see photo).

The formation and geological folding of the Harz mountains began during a prominent phase of the Palaeozoic era, in the course of the Hercynian mountain building of the Carboniferous period, about 350 to 250 million years ago. At that time in the history of the Earth, numerous high mountains appeared in Western Europe, including the Fichtelgebirge and Rhenish Massif. They were, however, heavily eroded due to their height (up to 4 km) and were later covered over by Mesozoic rocks. From the Early Cretaceous and into Late Cretaceous times the Harz was uplifted in a single block by tectonic movements and, particularly during the Tertiary period, the younger overlying strata were eroded and the underlying base rock left standing as low mountains. The most important uplift movements were during the sub-Hercynian phase (83 mya), when the northern edge was steeply tilted. This formed a fault zone on the northern border of the Harz (the Northern Harz Boundary Fault or Harznordrandverwerfung).

The Harz is a fault-block mountain range, that rises abruptly from the surrounding lowlands in the west and northeast and gradually dips towards the south. It is dissected by numerous deep valleys. North of the mountains lie the Cretaceous layers of the sub-Hercynian depression in the rolling hills of the Harz Foreland; south of the Harz, Permian sediments lie flat on southwest-dipping Palaeozoic beds.

As a result of the northern fault zone and the vertical or, sometimes even overfolded, geological strata, the geology of the Harz sometimes changes frequently within a relatively small area of just a few square kilometres. As a consequence of this it is also referred to as the "Classic Geological Square Mile" (Klassischen Quadratmeile der Geologie).

There is a room devoted to geology in the Harz Museum in Wernigerode.

→ See Harz granite

Nature[link]

Bode Gorge

Flora[link]

The vegetation of the Harz mountains is divided into six altitudinal zones:

• Subalpine zone: Brocken summit, over 1,000 m above NN
• Altimontane zone: highest areas (except the Brocken summit) between 850 and 1,000 m above NN
• Mean montane zone: higher areas between 750 and 850 m above NN
• Montane zone: medium height areas between 525 and 750 m above NN
• Submontane zone: lower areas between 300 and 525 m above NN
• Colin zone: areas around the edge of the Harz between 250 and 300 m above NN

Woods[link]

The Bode Gorge with its deciduous woods

Spruce woods in the Harz

Beech woods[link]

From the edge of the Harz to 700 m above sea level beech woods dominate, especially the Wood-Rush beech woods on locations poorly supplied with nutrients where the common beech (Fagus sylvatica) is often the only tree species. In lower, drier locations the English oak (Quercus robur) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea) occur as well. Sycamore trees (Acer pseudoplatanus) may be found growing in wetter places. During times of decay and rejuvenation when there is plenty of light, light-dependent pioneers such as rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), silver birch (Betula pendula) and pussy willow (Salix caprea) play a role. Melic grass beech woods are found in the few places where there is an abundance of nutrients and bases, e. g. over dolerite and gneiss formations, and they have a vegetation layer rich in variety and luxuriant growth. Here, too, the common beech dominates, mixed, for example, with sycamore, ash (Fraxinus excelsior), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and Scots elm (Ulmus glabra). As a result of the increasingly continental climate on the eastern edge of the Harz, the common beech gives way to mixed forests of sessile oak.

Mixed woods[link]

At intermediate heights of between 700 and 800 m above sea level, mixed woods of spruce (Picea abies) and common beech would predominantly be found under natural conditions. Apart from a few remnants, these were however supplanted a long time ago by spruce stands as a result of deliberate forest management. The sycamore also occurs in these woods.

Spruce woods[link]

Spruce woods thrive in the highest locations from about 800 m to the tree line at around 1,000 m above sea level. These woods are also home to some deciduous trees such as rowan, silver and downy birches (Betula pendula and Betula pubescens) and willows (Salix spec.). Conditions of high humidity foster an environment rich in mosses and lichens. In spite of the near-natural habitat there are only a few, indigenous, genetically adapted (autochthone) spruce trees. Wood-reed spruce woods dominate. A well developed ground vegetation thrives on their moderately rocky and fresh, but certainly not wet, soils, characterised in appearance especially by grasses such as shaggy wood-reed (Calamagrostis villosa) and wavy hair-grass (Avenella flexuosa). The soils in the higher regions are, as in most of the Harz, comparatively poor in nutrients and bases, so that only a few herbaceous plants occur here, such as heath bedstraw (Galium saxatile). For that reason it is more the ferns, mosses, lichens and fungi that, in addition to spruce trees, characterise these woods. Boulders and stone runs occur in the areas of weather-resistant rock in the high (alti-)montane and montane zones – these are extreme habitats for vegetation. Due to the lack of soil material, only weak, straggly, very open spruce woods thrive here. They have an especially high variety of trees and allow more room of light-loving species such as silver birch, rowan, sycamore, willow and dwarf bushes such as the blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Mosses and ferns are also common here. One unusual species is the Carpathian birch (Betula carpatica). Bog-spruce woods are found around the raised bogs on marshy and boggy soils. In these sorts of places spruce woods can, in exceptional cases, also form the natural woodland in lower down the mountains. These wet, moorland woods have a high proportion of peat mosses (Sphagnum spec.). The ground vegetation may also have a rich proliferation of low bushes such as cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). Clumps of purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea) are also typical of this type of woodland habitat. The characteristic species of fungi in natural spruce woods are Phellinus viticola and prunes and custard (Tricholomopsis decora). Ravine (Schluchtwald), riparian (Auwald) and river source (Quellwald) woods only occur in small areas. In these places the common beech gives way to hardier deciduous species such as sycamore, large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos), Scots elm or ash. The herbaceous layer is similar to that of the better-nourished beech woods. Notable species amongst the plant communities here include the Alpine blue-sow-thistle (Cicerbita alpina), perennial honesty (Lunaria rediviva), hard shield fern (Polystichum aculeatum) and long beech fern (Phegopteris connectilis).

Raised bogs[link]

Torfhaus Moor

The Harz moors or bogs are some of the best preserved in central Europe. They were formed at the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago. A significant proportion of the vegetation on these raised bogs is made up of peat mosses (Sphagnum spec.). The wetter areas (Schlenken) and the higher-lying, drier areas (Bulten) are home to different species of flora. In the Schlenken, for example, Sphagnum cuspidatum is found, whereas the Bulten are preferred by Sphagnum magellanicum. The blanket of peat moss is penetrated by dwarf bushes such as cowberry and blueberry. Bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) is a relict of the ice age. Other such ice age plants include the dwarf birch (Betula nana) and few-flowered sedge (Carex pauciflora). Cranberries (Vaccinium oxicoccus) bloom from May to June. The black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) may also be seen amongst those bearing black fruit. Common heather (Calluna vulgaris) grows on the drier Bulten and occasionally the cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) may be found. Typical grasses are the sheathed cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), known for its bright, white clusters of fruit and deergrass (Scirpus cespitosus), which is rust-red in the autumn. One fascinating moorland plant is the round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). Bog or northern bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) grows on the drier bog perimeters.

Fauna[link]

The lynx – once again found living wild in the Harz

A multitude of wild animals live in the beech forests of the Harz mountains. Over 5,000 species, most of them insects, have their home in these woods. They include many species that help to decompose leaves and work them into the soil and ground cover, including springtails, oribatid mites, woodlice, roundworms, millipedes, earthworms and snails. Characteristic breeding birds in the beech woods, with their abundance of dead wood, are the black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) and stock dove (Columba oenas). An indication of the natural state of the beech woods in the Harz is the return of the black stork (Ciconia nigra). This shy and susceptible resident of richly diverse deciduous and mixed forest has become very rare in central Europe due to increasing disturbance of its habitat (caused by a lack of old trees and natural brooks). Through improvements to its habitat, including the renaturalisation of waterways and the creation of relatively undisturbed peaceful areas, the black stork population has now recovered. A typical mammal of such deciduous woods is the wild cat (Felis felis), that has established a stable population in the Harz. It prefers the diverse wooded areas, which offer a rich variety of food. The animal kingdom of the mixed beech and spruce woods is also diverse. Species that thrive in mixed forest are especially at home. For example, the mixed mountain forest is the natural habitat of the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). The Tengmalm's owl (Aegolius funereus) may also be found here. It breeds almost exclusively in black woodpecker holes in old beeches, and needs, unlike the spruce woods, more open beech forest with its higher population of small mammals in its search for food. For cover, however, it prefers the darker, denser spruce trees.

A large number of the animals that live in natural spruce forest are suited to the special conditions of life in the higher parts of the Harz. Typical residents amongst the bird population include the crested tit (Parus cristatus), goldcrest and Firecrest (Regulus regulus und Regulus ignicapillus), siskin (Carduelis spinus), treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), coal tit (Parus ater) and crossbill (Loxia curvirostra). Special mention should be made here of the pygmy owl (Glaucidium passerinum) which is threatened with extinction and which lives in the submontane to subalpine zones within mixed and pine forests interspersed with open areas. They prefer spruce woods for breeding, but feed in more open stands of trees or on open moorland. Like the black stork, the pygmy owl had long since disappeared from the Harz, but returned in the 1980s of its own volition, as its ancestral homeland once again became more natural, so that there was sufficient food to support it (insects, small mammals and small birds) as well as standing dead wood (spruce trees with woodpecker holes).

In addition to the many species of birds, there is a range of large butterflies in the various spruce woods that, outside of the Harz, are seriously endangered or simply non-existent. Two species will be mentioned here as examples. Gnophos sordarius occurs in old, open wood-reed spruce forest, sometimes in connection with stone runs or bog spruce forests; Enthephria caesiata is a native of the bilberry-rich bog spruce woods.

Only a few animals are able to survive the extreme conditions of the raised bogs. Examples of these are the Alpine emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora alpestris), which only occurs in Lower Saxony in the Harz, and is endangered in Germany, and the Subarctic darner (Aeshna subarctica), a damselfly which is threatened with extinction.

Rocks and stone runs are important habitat components for the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus). The peregrine, which is threatened with extinction here, needs steep rock outcrops with little vegetation. After its population had died out in the Harz, a breeding pair was re-established in the region. A crucial contribution has been made by extensive efforts to promote quiet areas in the ancestral breeding grounds of this shy species. Since 1980, a breeding pair has settled in the eastern Harz as the result of a wildlife reintroduction project. The ring ouzel prefers semi-open stone runs and lightly wooded transition zones between treeless raised bogs and forests. The Harz is home to one of its few, isolated breeding areas in central Europe. Its main distribution area extends across northwest Europe, including large parts of England and Scotland, as well as the high mountains of southern and eastern Europe.

The waterways, with their distinct mountain stream character, play an important role right across the Harz. In comparison with the other natural regions of Lower Saxony, they are still very natural and varied, and the water is very clean. As a result of the high water velocity of the Harz streams, flowers rarely gain a foothold in the water. Even the animals in these streams need to be well suited to high velocities. Only a few species, such as fish, swim actively against the stream. The most common species are brown trout (Salmon trutta forma fario) and bullhead (Cottus gobio). Much richer in variety, by contrast, is the range of species in the system of crevices under the streambed. In addition to the insects and fish hatchlings that thrive here, may be found protozoons, flatworms (Turbellaria) and water mites (Hygrobatoidea). Other species of animals cling fast to the stones, e. g. caddis fly larvae (Trichoptera) and snails, or can only live in the reduced water velocities on the bed of the stream or on stones by having flat body shapes, e. g. stonefly larvae. In the calmer parts of the stream, behind stones or in blankets of moss, there are also water beetles (Hydrophilidae) and small shrimp-like amphipods.

Occasionally the golden-ringed dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltoni) and Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo), a type of damselfly, can be seen by streams in the Harz.

The dipper (Cinclus cinclus), which is found everywhere on Harz streams, occurs almost exclusively in the highlands. Its habitat is very fast-flowing, clear mountain streams with wooded banks. It can dive and run under water along the stream bed. It turns stones over in its search for food. The grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) also uses the rich food supplies of the mountain brooks.

In 2000, the lynx was successfully reintroduced by the Harz National Park, and it has since fitted well into the ecology of the region.^[1] Through specific conservation measures in past years, the retreat of the bat population in the Harz has been halted. Amongst the mammals that may be hunted are the red deer, roe deer, wild boar and mouflon.

History[link]

The Harz was first mentioned as Hartingowe in an 814 deed by the Carolingian King Louis the Pious. Settlement within the mountains began only 1000 years ago, as in ancient times dense forests made the region almost inaccessible. The suffix -rode (from German: roden, to stub) denotes a place where woodland had been cleared to develop a settlement.

The year 968 saw the discovery of silver deposits near the town of Goslar, and mines became established in the following centuries throughout the mountains. During the Middle Ages, ore from this region was exported along trade routes to far-flung places, such as Mesopotamia. The wealth of the region declined after these mines became exhausted in the early 19th century. People abandoned the towns for a short time, but prosperity eventually returned with tourism. Between 1945 and 1990, the inner German border ran through the Harz, the west belonging to the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the east to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Today the Harz forms a popular tourist destination for summer hiking as well as winter sports.

Pre-history and early history[link]

About 700,000 to 350,000 years ago Homo erectus hunted in and around the Harz near Bilzingsleben (Thuringia), Hildesheim and Schöningen (Lower Saxony). The Neanderthals entered the stage about 250,000 years ago and hunted aurochs, bison, brown bear and cave bear, mammoths, rhinos, horses, reindeer, forest elephants and other animals in the Harz region. Tools used by Neanderthals were discovered inter alia in the Einhorn Cave in the southern Harz (100,000 years ago) and in the Rübeland Caves. Finds of birch pitch near Aschersleben on the northern edge of the Harz point to the use of this prehistoric adhesive by Neanderthals about 50,000 years ago. The Upper Palaeolithic Revolution, about 40,000 years ago, saw Homo sapiens move from Africa into Europe, including to the Harz region, where they appear to have ousted the Neanderthals and subsequently settled here.

Many discoveries in the Harz, such as the bronze club of Thale, which was found by the Roßtrappe, could indicate an earlier Celtic occupation of the Harz.^[2]

Middle Ages[link]

Harz 1852

The Harzgau itself was first mentioned in a deed by the Emperor, Louis the Pious, from the year 814, in which it was referred to by its High German form, Hartingowe. According to the Fulda annals of 852, the Harzgau was occupied by the Harudes and after whom the Harudengau (Harudorum pagus) was named. Harud, from which Hard, Hart and Harz are derived, means forest or forested mountains, and the Harudes were the residents or dwellers in the Harud.

Of more recent origin are settlements whose names end in –rode, a suffix that is first discernable in the Harzgau from the mid-9th century. Where the founders of these villages came from is unknown.

Charlemagne declared the Harz a restricted imperial forest or Reichsbannwald. The Saxon Mirror (Sachsenspiegel), the oldest German law book (Rechtsbuch), probably published around 1220/30 at Falkenstein Castle in the Selke valley, later made the imperial restriction clear: "Whoever rides through the Harz Forest, must unstring his bow and crossbow and keep dogs on a line – only crowned royalty (gekrönte Häupter) are allowed to hunt here". Eike von Repkow's Sachsenspiegel which, for centuries, formed the basis on which German law was administered, described the Harz as a place where wild animals are guaranteed protection in the king's restricted forests. There were three restricted forests, so described, in the state of Saxony, where there was no longer unfettled access for everyone.

This ban did not last forever. Mining, ironworks, water management, increasing settlement, woodland clearances, cattle driving, agriculture and, later, tourism, all undermined this imperial protection over the centuries.

As early as 1224, monks who had settled in Walkenried bought extensive tracts of forest in the western Harz, to secure economically the one quarter of the Rammelsberg ore profits promised to them by Frederick Barbarossa in 1129. From that it can be deduced that there was already a shortage of wood then. From the 12th to the 14th centuries, large parts of the Harz were managed economically by the Cistercian Abbey of Walkenried. As well as agriculture and fishing, they also controlled the silver mining indusry in the Upper Harz and in Goslar.

In the middle of the 14th century, the settlements in the Harz became heavily depopulated as a result of the Black Death, and a systematic resettlement of mining villages in the Upper Harz did not take place until the first half of the 16th century.

Modern era up to World War II[link]

In 1588, the Nordhausen doctor, Johannes Thal, published the first book on regional flora in the world, Silva hercynia, in which he described the flowers specific to the Harz.

In 1668, Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg granted the first conservation order for Baumann's Cave. The ducal decree stated, inter alia, that the cave should be permanently preserved by all those responsible as a special, natural wonder. It also stated that nothing should be spoiled or destroyed, and that groups of ordinary strangers should not be allowed to enter without prior arrangement. A resident mine worker was entrusted to oversee the natural monument. Until the issue of this conservation order, there had only been an order for the protection of the forest, which had been issued by the ruling princes for real, practical considerations. But for the first time the 1668 cave order took ethical-aesthetic considerations into account. The year 1668 was the birth of classic nature conservation in the Harz. The order had been precipitated by the earlier, serious destruction of the cave's features by vandals. The first Harz 'rangers' were formed.

In 1705, the last bear was killed in the Harz, on the Brocken.

The steadily increasing consumption of wood by the pits and smelting works led to overexploitation of the forests and, from about 1700, to their outright destruction. There were no less than 30,000 charcoal piles in the Harz. In 1707, an order by Count Ernst of Stolberg forbade Brocken guides to take strangers or local folk to the Brocken without special permission, and the lighting of fires was forbidden. The first attempts at forest conservation in the Harz were centred on the Brocken, and began with a far-sighted nature conservation act over 275 years ago. In 1718, Count Christian Ernest of the House of Stolberg issued an ordinance in which destruction or damage to the forest on the Brocken would be severely punished. In 1736, Christian Ernest also built the Wolkenhäuschen ("Little House in the Clouds") on the Brocken.

As a young man, the famous German poet, Goethe visited the Harz several times and had a number of important lifetime experiences. These included his walks on the Brocken and his visit to the mines in Rammelsberg. Later, his observations of the rocks on the Brocken led to his geological research. His first visit to the Harz awakened in him a keen interest in science (see Goethes: Wahrheit und Dichtung). In 1777, Goethe climbed the Brocken, departing from Torfhaus. At that time, there was still no mass tourism on the Brocken; in the year 1779 only 421 walkers were recorded. Goethe described his feelings on the summit later, as follows: So lonely, I say to myself, while looking down at this peak, will it feel to the person, who only wants to open his soul to the oldest, first, deepest feelings of truth.

On 23 March 1798, the last wolf was killed in the Harz near the Plessenburg.

The count's guest house on the Heinrichshöhe had become too small and suffered from overcrowding; in 1799 it burned down. In 1800, a new guest house was built on the Brocken to replace it.

Around 1800, large swathes of the Harz were deforested. The less resistant spruce monoculture, that arose as a consequence of the mining industry in the Upper Harz, was largely destroyed by a bark beetle outbreak and a storm of hurricane proportions in November 1800. This largest known bark beetle infestation in the Harz was known as the Große Wurmtrocknis, and destroyed about 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of spruce forest and lasted about for 20 years. The woods were largely reforested with spruce. Continuous problems with bark beetle and storms were the negative side effects of mining in the Harz mountains.

In 1818, a mounted forester, Spellerberg, from Lautenthal, killed the last lynx in the Harz on the Teufelsberg.

At the start of the 19th century, the increasing changes to the natural landscape wrought by the man and the extinction of large mammals like the bear, wolf and lynx raised awareness of the threat to nature.

In 1852, the district administrator of Quedlinburg placed the Teufelsmauer, "a rock outcrop famous as an object of folklore and as a rare natural curiosity", near Thale under protection, because the inhabitants of neighbouring districts were using the rocks as a quarry. This protection order survived in spite of all protests from the local villages. Thus, a valuable natural monument was saved from destruction, and it is of note that the authorities felt that the 'romantic' reasons for its preservation were entirely justified.

Professor Dr. Albert Peter laid out the Brocken Garden in 1890. This was the first Alpine flower garden to be established on German soil. And, in terms of its scientific concept and scope, the Brocken Garden was the first of its type worldwide.

The Brocken Railway began service in 1899, against the already strong concerns of conservationists. For example, the botanist, Bley, wanted to prevent trains from climbing the Brocken, because it he felt it would threaten the Brocken's flora.

In 1907, Hermann Löns uttered his famous cry "More Protection for the Brocken" (Mehr Schutz für den Brocken) in light of the mass tourism that was beginning to affect the Brocken. By 1912, he effectively pressed for the establishment of a Harz National Park, without calling it such, in Der Harzer Heimatspark (Verlag E. Appelhans u. Co., Braunschweig 1912), a brochure that has remained relatively unknown. The Harz played a special role in the life of the famous regional poet, naturalist and local patriot, undoubtedly not least because his second wife, Lisa Hausmann, came from Barbis in the South Harz.

Around 1920, the capercaillie population in the Harz died out.

The Wernigerode rector, W. Voigt, wrote, in 1926, in his famous Brockenbuch: In America it has long become the business of the people, to create a sacrosanct haven for the native flora and fauna of the regions in national parks. North and South Germany have their heath and alpine parks. May the joint efforts of the royal authorities, the local police, the Wernigerode Nature Conservation Society and individual friends of the Brocken also succeed now in central Germany, through caring nurture across the board, in establishing and preserving the Brocken too, as a small, but unique, nature reserve for the German people.

In the 1930s, national park planning in Germany became specific again. There were concrete plans for the national parks of the Lüneburg Heath, Bavarian - Bohemian Forest, High Tauern, Höllengebirge, Neusiedler See and Kurische Nehrung. The Second World War prevented these national park plans from being taken forward; nevertheless, in 1937, an Upper Harz Nature Reserve (Naturschutzgebietes Oberharz) was designated.

During the Nazi era, the Harz became an important area for the armaments industry. Many factories, important to the war effort, were located here and, as the war neared its conclusion, they were increasingly staffed with forced labour. As a result, the Harz was the location of several hundred forced labour camps and KZs at that time. KZ Dora near Nordhausen in the South Harz became particularly well-known.

In the last weeks of the Second World War, the so-called Harz Fortress (Harzfestung) is worth mentioning. In February/March 1945 the SS Reichsführer, Heinrich Himmler, established the Harz Fortress to defend central Germany from the western allies. Its headquarters was at Blankenburg. Amongst the formations mobilised were divisions belonging to the 11th Army, divisions of the Waffen SS and the Volkssturm. When the 1st U.S. Army reached Nordhausen in the southern Harz, and went to advance northwards, it met with resistance, especially in the hills around the towns of Ilfeld and Ellrich. Not until 7 May 1945 did the last formations of the 11th Army and Waffen SS surrender in the mountains of the Harz. Several units of Volkssturm troops fought on against the Americans during May. Seen objectively, the Harz was, however, at the end of the Second World War not a strategic location militarily; the western allies bypassed the Harz relatively effortlessly on their way to Berlin.

Former Inner German Border[link]

Until 1990, the Inner German Border ran through the western third of the Harz. The Brocken plateau and other peaks near the border were part of a large military out-of-bounds area, which demonstrating walkers first entered on 3 December 1989. Tourism on the Brocken has since then become very intense – about 1.3 million people visit the summit of the Brocken annually. The former out-of-bounds area today has many habitats worth protecting and, as a result, it is being turned into a green belt.

Economy[link]

Mining archive in Clausthal-Zellerfeld

Historic mining industry[link]

The mining industry in the Harz has its origins about 3,000 years ago during the Bronze Age. The seven Upper Harz mining towns - Clausthal, Zellerfeld, Bad Grund, Sankt Andreasberg, Lautenthal, Altenau and Wildemann - and around 30 other villages within and on the edge of the Harz can thank the Upper Harz mining and smelting industries for their boom. The former imperial town of Goslar, too, whose splendour depended on the ore treasures of the Rammelsberg, mined argentiferous lead ore for centuries. Mining heavily dominated the economic life of the Harz as well as its scenery. Miners created the famous engineering system for the management of water in the Upper Harz, the Upper Harz Water Regale, of which 70 kilometres of ditch and 68 'ponds' (with a volume of 8 million cubic metres) are still used today. Without using their considerable hydropower output, silver mining in the Harz would never have been able to attain its major economic significance.

In the eastern Harz Foreland (Mansfelder Land and Sangerhäuser Mulde) copper schist was mined until 1990. The early beginnings of this industry were first mentioned in 1199, and it was considered in its heyday, at the end of the 15th century, as the most important in Europe. In addition, at Ilfeld is the only stone coal mine in the Harz, the former Rabenstein Gallery Mine (Bergwerk Rabensteiner Stollen). In the North Thuringian mining area, there were numerous potash mines and, in the vicinity of Röblingen, geological waxes were extracted by a mining concern.

The last mine in the Upper Harz – the Wolkenhügel Pit in Bad Lauterberg – closed its operations in June 2007 for economic reasons. Having formerly had 1,000 workers, the mine employed just 14 people towards the end, using the most modern technology to extract barite. With the closure of this facility, mining operations that had begun in the Middle Ages and had continued unbroken since the 16th century, extracting silver, lead and zinc, came to an end. Bearing witness to the industry are cultural monuments as well as the negative consequences of mining for the environment such as e. g. pollution of the ecosystem with heavy metals.^[3]

Economy today[link]

The booming mining industry of bygone centuries in the Harz region – especially for silver, iron, copper, lead and zinc – has declined markedly. However, the heavy metal residues in the soils of the Upper Harz, which in some cases are significant, represent a serious environmental hazard today.

Copper workings are still important today in the area of Mansfeld. The last centres of mining were the Rammelsberg near Goslar (closed 1988) and the Hilfe Gottes Pit near Bad Grund (closed 1992). In Bad Lauterberg, barite - used today primarily for the manufacture of paint and in sound insulation - was extracted until July 2007 at the Wolkenhügel Pit, the last mine in the entire Harz. Furthermore, limestone is still mined at Elbingerode in three large open pits (Werk Rübeland, Werk Kaltes Tal and Werk Hornberg). Another important employer is the Clausthal University of Technology. In addition to the classical disciplines of mining and metallurgy, many engineering and science subjects, as well as business studies courses, are taught and researched.

The extensive woods of the Harz mean that forestry plays an important economic role, as do the associated wood-working industries. In the first millennium AD, hardwood trees (mainly common beech) were predominant on the higher ground - typical of a natural highland forest. Hence one spoke of going in die Harten ("into the hardwood forest"), a term which gave the Harz its name. Today, however, the commercially managed areas are mainly monocultures of Norway spruce. A cause of this development was the mining history in the Harz region, with its high demand for wood and the consequent overuse and devastation of the stands of forest. In addition, there were the climatic changes of the so-called Little Ice Age. The reforestation with relatively easily managed and undemanding spruce trees since the middle of the 18th century was mainly due to the proposals of the Senior Forester and Master Hunter, Johann Georg von Langen.

Tourism[link]

Tourism is very important to the Harz. There are many spa towns, and almost every village in the Harz and Harz Foreland caters to tourists. Well-known destinations are the Harz National Park and the Brocken, as well as the historic towns on the edge of the Harz. Concepts like the Western town, Pullman City Harz, or the rock operas on the Brocken are intended to be particularly attractive to foreign tourists. The Harzer Verkehrsverband (HVV) is responsible for the marketing of the Harz to tourists.

Winter sports[link]

View of the Upper Harz

Although winter sport in the Harz does not have the significance of other mountain areas, such as the Thuringian Forest, Ore Mountains, Black Forest or even the Alps, there are plenty of winter sport facilities. Of particular note are the villages and towns of Altenau (including Torfhaus), Benneckenstein, Braunlage (including Hohegeiß), Goslar-Hahnenklee, Hasselfelde, Sankt Andreasberg (including Sonnenberg and Oderbrück) and Schierke. Due to the high altitude and length of their runs, Nordic skiing is very popular. International winter sport competitions take place on the Wurmberg ski jump near Braunlage and the biathlon facility at Sonnenberg.

Also worth mentioning are the many cross-country skiing runs (Loipen) in the Harz. Their quality and features are ensured by the land owners, particularly in the Harz National Park, where snow is still relatively guaranteed during the winter months, and also by individual communities and societies. The Förderverein Loipenverbund Harz, for example, is particularly well known in this regard. It was founded in 1996 on the initiative of the Harz National Park, Harz winter sport parishes, the cable car and lift operators, hotels and transport companies, and has the aim of promoting ski tourism in the Harz and looking after the interests of nature conservation.

The mountain rescue service on the cross-country routes, the toboggan slopes, footpaths, alpine ski pistes and rough terrain is provided by the Bergwacht Harz.

Summer sports[link]

The Oker with white water. A footpath is on the right bank.

Former climbing areas on the Roßtrappe

In summer, the main activity in the Harz, by far, is walking. In recent years Nordic walking has become increasingly popular.

On several reservoirs in the Harz, a variety of water sports is permitted and, on a number of rivers originating in the Harz, there are opportunities for canoeing and other sports on white water sections. International canoe and kayak competitions take place on the Oker below the Oker Dam. The white water on this stretch of river is partly a result of the raised levels of discharge from the Oker Reservoir and so is largely independent of the weather.

Several mountains provide a good base for airborne activities, such as gliding and hang-gliding, notably the Rammelsberg near Goslar.

The Harz offers a range of climbing areas like, the Oker valley, with its rock outcrops (Klippen); the Adlerklippen being especially popular.

The Harz has also developed in recent years into a very good mountain bike region, with 62 signed mountain bike routes and four bike parks with lift facilities in Braunlage, Hahnenklee, Schulenberg and Thale. The bike parks offer freeride, downhill and fourcross routes. Both the signed cycle paths and the bike parks are suitable for every level of cyclist.

Roads in the Harz are used by racing bikes and touring bikes, despite their sometimes heavy use by lorries, because in the whole of North Germany there is no other region with such long, and in places very steep, routes. In addition, there are a large number of railway connections on the edge of the Harz which allow bicycles to be taken on trains.

The Harz Mountain Rescue (Bergwacht Harz) service also operates in summer, rescuing people involved in accidents on difficult terrain.

Walking and climbing[link]

The mountains of the Harz were used in former times for long walks (e. g. by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Heinrich Heine and Hans Christian Andersen). An extensive network of footpaths is maintained today, especially by the Harz Club. In addition, there are several long distance paths (the Harzer Hexenstieg, Kaiserweg, Karstwanderweg and Selketalstieg), as well as a trans-regional project, the Harzer Wandernadel, with 222 checkpoints and a range of walking badges that may be earned for various levels of achievement.

By the Oker Valley and Roßtrappe near Thale, there are rocks on the Hohneklippen (the Höllenklippe or the Feuerstein near Schierke, among several) that are used by climbers.

Dialects of the Harz[link]

The main dialects of the Harz region are Eastphalian and Thuringian.

A feature of the Upper Harz is, or was, the Upper Harz dialect (Oberharzer Mundart). Unlike the Lower Saxon, Eastphalian and Thuringian dialects of the surrounding region, this was an Ore Mountain dialect from Saxony and Bohemia, that went back to the settlement of mining folk from that area in the 16th century.

The Upper Harz dialect was used only in a few places. The most well-known are Altenau, Sankt Andreasberg, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Lautenthal and Hahnenklee. Today the dialect is heard only rarely in the Upper Harz in everyday life and it is mainly members of the older generations that still use it, so occasional articles in the local papers are printed in "Upper Harz" which helps to preserve it.

By way of illustration here is the refrain from a St. Andreasberg folk song:

Eb de Sunne scheint, ebs stewert, schtarmt, ebs schneit,
bei Tag un Nacht ohmds oder frieh
wie hämisch klingst de doch
du ewerharzer Sproch
O Annerschbarrich wie bist de schien.

...which in high German is

Ob die Sonne scheint, ob es regnet, stürmt, ob es schneit,
bei Tag und Nacht, abends oder früh,
wie heimisch klingst du doch,
du Oberharzer Sprache,
O Andreasberg wie bist du schön.

... which translates as:

Whether the sun shines, whether it rains, storms or snows,
By day and night, evening or morn,
How homely you still sound,
The Upper Harz language,
O Andreasberg how beautiful you are.

Tourist attractions[link]

Mines and caves[link]

Rammelsberg Mining Museum

Geomorphological processes have led to the formation of caves in the gypsum, dolomite and limestone layers of the Harz. These dripstone caves include Baumann's Cave, the Unicorn Cave, Hermann's Cave, the Iberg Dripstone Cave and, on the southern edge of the Harz, the Heimkehle. Because the older formations contained many mineral deposits, they were explored very early on by the mining industry. The mines have often been turned into show mines. For example, the Samson Pit was for a long time the deepest mine in the world. Other show mines are the Büchenberg, Drei Kronen & Ehrt, the Röhrigschacht show mine, the Lange Wand show mine in Ilfeld and the Rabensteiner Stollen show mine in Netzkater. Others have been turned into mining museums, like the Upper Harz Mining Museum in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, the Lautenthal Mining Museum with its pit railway or the Rammelsberg Mining Museum near Goslar, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Roter Bär Pit in St. Andreasberg also served as a training mine until the 20th century and is today, preserved true to the original, as a visitor mine.

Towns and villages[link]

Stolberg

The following towns and villages are found in or around the Harz region:

Towns in the Harz Foreland[link]

Carlshaus Tower on the Carlshaushöhe (626 m above NN)

• Lower Saxony: Bad Gandersheim, Bockenem, Duderstadt, Einbeck, Göttingen, Hildesheim, Northeim, Salzgitter, Vienenburg and Wolfenbüttel.
• Saxony-Anhalt: Aschersleben, Derenburg, Eisleben, Halberstadt, Hettstedt, Oschersleben, Osterwieck, Quedlinburg, Sangerhausen and Staßfurt.
• Thuringia: Bleicherode, Heringen/Helme, Nordhausen and Sondershausen.

Abbeys and churches[link]

The medieval abbeys of Drübeck, Ilsenburg, Michaelstein and Walkenried are found mainly on the edge of the Harz. In Hahnenklee is a wooden stave church, the Gustav Adolf Stave Church which was consecrated in 1908.

Towers, palaces and castles[link]

The high elevation of many places in the Harz has been used to advantage to erect transmission or observation towers. These include the Carlshaushöhe near Trautenstein, the observation tower on the Großer Knollen or the Josephskreuz. In historical times, high ridges and spurs were used as sites for fortified castles (Burgen). In the Harz these include Falkenstein Castle, where Eike von Repkow probably drew up the Sachsenspiegel, the most important legal code of the German Middle Ages, Hohnstein Castle near Neustadt/Harz, Lauenburg Castle near Stecklenberg, Plessenburg and Stecklenburg, as well as the ruined castles of Harzburg, Anhalt, Königsburg, Scharzfels. In addition to these defensive structures, palatial castles (Schlösser) were also built, such as Herzberg Castle, Blankenburg Castle, Stolberg Castle and Wernigerode Castle.

Transportation[link]

Rail[link]

Narrow gauge railway

The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways, an old fashioned, steam and diesel-powered railway network is a very popular mode of transport, especially with tourists. The railways link Wernigerode, Nordhausen, Quedlinburg and the Brocken. Prior to the closure of the Inner German Border the network was joined at Braunlage to the South Harz Railway Company.

Main line railways serve the major towns around the Harz including Halberstadt, Wernigerode, Thale, Quedlinburg and Nordhausen. The Harz used to be served by a number of branch lines, some of which are still open. Those operating regular passenger services are the Halberstadt–Blankenburg, Quedlinburg–Thale, Klostermansfeld–Wippra and Berga-Kelbra–Stolberg lines. All the branch line in Lower Saxony (the Innerste Valley Railway and Oder Valley Railway) have been closed. The Rübeland Railway is only used by goods traffic at present, but there are plans to run it as a heritage railway.

Around the Harz a number of railway lines form a ring. They are, clockwise from the north, the Heudeber–Danstedt–Vienenburg, the Halberstadt–Vienenburg railway, the Halle–Halberstadt railway, the Berlin-Blankenheim Railway, the Halle-Kassel Railway, the South Harz Line, the Herzberg–Seesen railway, the Goslar–Seesen railway and the Vienenburg–Goslar railway.

Road[link]

The B 4/B 242 Harz high road near Braunlage

The Harz is grazed by the A 7 motorway in the west and the A 38 in the south. A four-lane motor road, the B 243 runs along the southwestern perimeter of the Harz via Osterode to Bad Lauterberg. In addition there is a good federal road (the B 6, B 4) from Goslar to Braunlage. The North Harz Foreland benefits from the newly-built B 6n. Both the B 4 and the B 6n have been upgraded almost to motorway standard. The B 4 crosses the Harz from Bad Harzburg on a north-south axis running through Torfhaus and Braunlage as far as Ilfeld on the edge of the South Harz. The rest of the Harz is also well served by federal roads. Important ones include the Harz high road (Harzhochstraße, the B 242), which crosses the Harz in an east-west direction (from Seesen to Mansfeld) and the B 241, which runs from Goslar in the north over the Upper Harz (Clausthal-Zellerfeld) as far as Osterode in the south.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Harz

• Britannica
• Homepage of the Regionalverband Harz e.V. (Alliance of the Harz districts) (German)
• Official Tourist Homepage
• Harz National Park
• Harz at the Open Directory Project

Coordinates: 51°45′N 10°38′E / 51.75°N 10.633°E / 51.75; 10.633

v t e Central Uplands of Germany Arnsberg Forest Bavarian Forest Black Forest Bohemian Forest Ebbegebirge Eggegebirge Eifel Elbe Sandstone Mountains Elstergebirge Fichtelgebirge Franconian Jura Franconian Forest Gladenbach Uplands Habichtswald Harz Hoher Meißner Hunsrück Kaiserstuhl Kellerwald Kaufungen Forest Knüll Kyffhäuser Lusatian Mountains Lennegebirge Lippe Uplands North Palatine Uplands Odenwald Ore Mountains Palatine Forest Rhön Rothaargebirge Saalhausen Hills Swabian Jura Siebengebirge Solling Spessart Taunus Teutoburg Forest Thuringian Highland Thuringian Forest Upper Palatine Forest Vogelsberg Weser Uplands Wesergebirge Westerwald Wiehen Hills Zittau Hills

v t e Regions and landscapes of Lower Saxony Altes Land Ammerland Brunswick Land Calenberg Land Eichsfeld Elbe-Weser Emsland County of Bentheim Land Hadeln Land Wursten Harz Hildesheim Börde Hümmling Kehdingen Leine Uplands Lüneburg Heath Middle Weser Oldenburg Land Oldenburg Münsterland Osnabrück Land Eastphalia East Frisia Schaumburg Land Solling South Lower Saxony Wendland Weser Uplands Wümme Depression

v t e Regions of Saxony-Anhalt Altmark Anhalt-Wittenberg Chemical Triangle Elbe-Börde Heath Harz Eastphalia Mansfelder Land Saale-Unstrut Region

An elephant safari through the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal, India

The Teide National Park in Tenerife (Spain).

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently (for example, see Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in the United States^[1]), an international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined National Parks as its category II type of protected areas. While ideas for this type of national park had been suggested previously, the United States established the first such one, Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. The largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974. According to the IUCN, there were 6,555 national parks worldwide in 2006 that meet its criteria.^[2]

Definitions[link]

Landsat 7 image of Kavir National Park, Iran.

In 1969 the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) declared a national park to be a relatively large area with particular defining characteristics.^[3] A national park was deemed to be a place

• with one or several ecosystems not materially altered by human exploitation and occupation, where plant and animal species, geomorphological sites and habitats are of special scientific, educative and recreative interest or which contain a natural landscape of great beauty.
• the highest competent authority of the country has taken steps to prevent or eliminate exploitation or occupation as soon as possible in the whole area and to effectively enforce the respect of ecological, geomorphological, or aesthetic features which have led to its establishment.
• visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions, for inspirational, educative, cultural, and recreative purposes.

In 1971 these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. These include:

• a minimum size of 1,000 hectares within zones in which protection of nature takes precedence
• statutory legal protection
• a budget and staff sufficient to provide sufficient effective protection
• prohibition of exploitation of natural resources (including the development of dams) qualified by such activities as sport, fishing, the need for management, facilities, etc.

While national parks are generally understood to be administered by national governments (hence the name), in Australia national parks are run by state governments and predate the Federation of Australia.

History[link]

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

In 1835, the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a^[4]

sort of national property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy.

The painter George Catlin, in his travels through the American West, wrote during the 1830s that the Native Americans in the United States might be preserved^[5]

(by some great protecting policy of government) ...in a magnificent park ...A nation's Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!

The first effort by any government to set aside such protected lands was in the United States, on April 20, 1832, when President Andrew Jackson signed legislation that the 22nd United States Congress had enacted to set aside four sections of land around what is now Hot Springs, Arkansas to protect the natural, thermal springs and adjoining mountainsides for the future disposal of the US government.^[6][7] It was known as the Hot Springs Reservation. However no legal authority was established and federal control of the area was not clearly established until 1877.^[6]

The next effort by any government to set aside such protected lands was, again, in the United States, when President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on June 30, 1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (later becoming the Yosemite National Park) to the state of California:^[8]

.... the said State shall accept this grant upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation; shall be inalienable for all time; .... — 38th United States Congress, Session 1, 1864

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first truly national park.^[9] When news of the natural wonders of the Yellowstone were first promulgated, the land was part of a federally governed territory. Unlike Yosemite, there was no state government that could assume stewardship of the land, so the federal government took on direct responsibility for the park, the official first national park of the United States. It took the combined effort and interest of conservationists, politicians and especially businesses—namely, the Northern Pacific Railroad, whose route through Montana would greatly benefit by the creation of this new tourist attraction—to ensure the passage of that landmark enabling legislation by the United States Congress to create Yellowstone National Park. Theodore Roosevelt, already an active campaigner and so influential as good stump speakers were highly necessary in the pre-telecommunications era, was highly influential in convincing fellow Republicans and big business to back the bill.

The United States in 1872. When Yellowstone was established, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho were territories, not states. For this reason, the federal government had to assume responsibility for the land, hence the creation of the national park.

American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wallace Stegner, has written:^[10]

National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.

Even with the creation of Yellowstone, Yosemite, and nearly 37 other national parks and monuments, another 44 years passed before an agency was created in the United States to administer these units in a comprehensive way — the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). Businessman Stephen Mather and his journalist partner Robert Sterling Yard pushed hardest for the creation of the NPS, writing then-Secretary of the Interior Franklin Knight Lane about such a need and spearheading a large publicity campaign for their movement. Lane invited Mather to come to Washington, DC to work with him to draft and see passage of the National Park Service Organic Act, which the 64th United States Congress enacted and which President Woodrow Wilson signed into law on August 25, 1916. Of the 397 sites managed by the National Park Service of the United States, only 58 carry the designation of National Park.

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA Yellowstone was the first national park in the world.

Following the idea established in Yellowstone there soon followed parks in other nations. In Australia, the Royal National Park was established just south of Sydney in 1879, becoming the world's second official national park. Rocky Mountain National Park became Canada's first national park in 1885. New Zealand established Tongariro National Park in 1887. In Europe the first national parks were a set of nine parks in Sweden in 1909; Europe has some 359 national parks as of 2010.^{[citation needed]} Africa's first national park was established in 1925 when Albert I of Belgium designated an area of what is now Democratic Republic of Congo centred around the Virunga Mountains as the Albert National Park (since renamed Virunga National Park). In 1973, Mount Kilimanjaro was classified as a National Park and was opened to public access in 1977.^[11] In 1926, the government of South Africa designated Kruger National Park as the nation's first national park. After World War II, national parks were founded all over the world. The Vanoise National Park in the Alps was the first French national park, created in 1963 after public mobilization against a touristic project.

See also[link]

	Environment portal
	Ecology portal
	Earth sciences portal
	Sustainable development portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: National parks

• Protected Planet – World Database of Protected Areas
• UNESCO — Man and the Biosphere Programme (Biosphere Reserves)
• World Heritage Sites
• A-Z of Areas of Biodiversity Importance: National Parks
• UN Protected Areas database
• EUROPARC Federation — Europe's protected areas
• European National Parks Centre (ENPC)
• National Park of China
• National Parks Worldwide
• Vietnam National Parks
• Pictures of European national parks