Harzer Witch Trail - Total Distance

Short description

The Harzer Hexen-Stieg leads for 94 km from the town of Osterode in Lower Saxony to the town of Thale in Saxony-Anhalt. On the varied route from the edge of the Harz mountains through the wild mountain landscape of the Harz National Park with the Brocken, you will get to know the entire beauty of the Harz.

Description

The best way to get to know the diversity of the Harz is to cross it on the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg.
Since 2005, the Quality Trail Wanderbares Deutschland has connected the towns of Osterode in Lower Saxony and Thale in Saxony-Anhalt. Ninety-four kilometers that lead the hiker through almost all types of landscapes and highlight interesting and noteworthy features of the region:
The historical mining has already been mentioned. The Harz was almost treeless at times. Wood was needed for the expansion of the tunnels, but especially for the production of charcoal - the most important energy source for smelting the ores. Charcoal burners and charcoal burner huts were found everywhere.
Water powered the mining industry, the ditches and ponds accompany the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg for long stretches. But water also plays an important role otherwise. For the Harz itself, but also for its surroundings. Reservoirs collect and secure the vital water, protect against floods, and provide drinking water far into northern Germany.
The legendary mountain wilderness of the Harz National Park, the first and only cross-border national park in Germany, takes you to places where nature is still allowed to be nature - and also acts that way: inspiring for body and mind. This is the home of dwarves, where witches and demons hide behind gnarled tree stumps.
Cross-border is also the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg itself. What is now the inconspicuous border between Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt was a piece of the Iron Curtain until 20 years ago. Relentlessly, it separated East and West, impenetrably it also cut through the Harz. Today, the Green Belt runs along the former inner-German border in its place. A refuge for rare plants and animals.
The Brocken became a symbol of separation. Ever-present but unreachable was its often mist-covered and storm-tossed summit. Only the Stasi and the Russian military had access to the most important listening post to the West. The Brockenhaus on the summit bears witness to the history of this unique mountain.
Once again, nature determines everything: From the Brocken downwards, the Bode river sets the course of the path. Warm and cold Bode springs emerge there in the swamps, unite, meander through dense forests and across open meadows, to then flow towards the grandiose highlight of the hike:
the Bodetal. The deepest rock valley in Central Europe north of the Alps. The rock walls rise hundreds of meters, the water rushes through whirlpools and roars. What began idyllically ends spectacularly.
And here we meet them again. The myths and legends of the Harz. High above the Bodetal, on the Hexentanzplatz or opposite on the Rosstrappe, where the hoofprint of Brunhildes horse fleeing from the knight Bodo is deeply engraved in the rock. She lost her crown when jumping over the Bode Gorge. It still lies at the bottom of the river...

Route description

The main route of the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg runs via Osterode - Buntenbock - Altenau - Torfhaus - Brocken - Drei-Annen-Hohne - Königshütte - Altenbrak - Bodetal - Thale.
Between Königshütte and Altenbrak, 2 alternatives are marked:
a) Hasselfelde - Köhlerhütten - Altenbrak
b) Rübeland - Wendefurth - Altenbrak
If you want to bypass the Brocken, hike from Torfhaus past St. Andreasberg, via Braunlage to Königshütte.

Additional information

The Harzer-Hexen-Stieg is supported by Harz Energie, the Sparkassen am Weg, and Blankenburger Wiesenquell.