The Harz Attractions

On the boundary between the two rises the Brocken, a bare round-topped eminence which in German legend was the meeting-place of the witches on Walpurgis Night. Rising to 1142 m/3747ft, it is the highest point of North Germany.

The Oberharz is largely covered by forest, with an economy based on forestry, mining and stock-farming. Narrow rocky valleys like the Okertal and Bodetal, particularly on the north side, cut deep into the hills, to which a series of old-world little towns give a particular charm. The heavy snowfall has promoted the development of important winter sports centers.

In contrast to the Oberharz, which drops steeply down to the lowlands, the Unterharz falls more gradually away. Its tracts of level ground are covered with beech forests or have been brought into cultivation. The eastern Harz foreland, particularly the Magdeburger Börde, is especially fertile thanks to its covering of loess.

The mining of silver, copper, lead, zinc and iron ore was formerly of predominant economic importance, particularly in the Oberharz. A rich vein of silver was discovered near Goslar in the 10th century, and by the 16th century mining had spread to more than thirty towns and villages. This period saw the development of the seven free mining towns of Grund, Wildemann, Lautenthal, Clausthal, Zellerfeld, St Andreasberg and Altenau and of other mining towns. After a period of decline during the Thirty Years War the mining industry revived in the early 18th century; then in 1775 a Mining Academy was founded in Clausthal - still in existence as a faculty of Clausthal University of Technology. In the 19th century the mines began to be worked out.