Harz Circular Trail

Short description

The Harz circular route connects the states of Lower Saxony, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt over a total distance of 350 km. It passes through extensive mixed forests and river valleys. The signage is sometimes incomplete. In the northern Harz area, the Harz circular route and the European cycle route R1 largely run on the same track.

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Description

Within Saxony-Anhalt, 220 km must be covered between Gernrode and Rottleberode. The tour offers rather gentle inclines in a beautiful landscape. For those interested, more challenging tours to places like the Brocken or the Hexentanzplatz can be undertaken. It is also possible to switch to the Harz Railway, the Brocken Railway, or the cable car to the Hexentanzplatz with a bicycle.

Route description

The Harz circular route connects Lower Saxony, Thuringia, and Saxony-Anhalt over a total distance of 350 km. The 220 km long Saxony-Anhalt section of the Harz circular route seems to be more suitable for experienced cyclists, judging by its name. However, it offers rather gentle inclines in a beautiful landscape.
For those interested, more challenging tours can be undertaken. For example, the tour to the Brocken or the tour to the Hexentanzplatz. It is also possible to switch to the Harz Railway, the Brocken Railway, or the cable car.
In any case, the Harz circular route leads through one of the most beautiful landscapes with extensive, dense mixed forests, secluded river valleys, and sights of mystical, fairy-tale, and historical significance. The Harz circular route in Saxony-Anhalt runs from Ilsenburg to Drübeck, Wernigerode, Blankenburg, Thale, Gernrode, Ballenstedt, Ermsleben, Burg Falkenstein, Wippra to Rottleberode passing by the garden dreams of Saxony-Anhalt and along the Romanesque Road.

The Harz circular route passes through the following stations in Saxony-Anhalt:

Thale - Neinstedt - (Detour to Quedlinburg) - Bad Suderode - Gernrode - Rieder - Ballenstedt - Opperode - Meisdorf - (Detour to the ruins of Konradsburg) - Ermsleben - Endorf - Neuplatendorf - Wiesenrode - Ulzingerode - Alterode - Stangerode - Rammelburg - Friesdorf - Wippra - Obersdorf - Wettelrode - (Detour to Sangerhausen) - Morungen - Groß Leinungen - Questenberg - Agnesdorf - Breitungen - Uftrungen - Schauhöhle Heimkehle - Rottleberode - (Detour to Stolberg) - Stempeda

Additional information

The Harz is a low mountain range and the highest mountain range in Northern Germany. The range is 110 km long and 30 to 40 km wide, covering an area of 2,226 km² within the Lower Saxon districts of Goslar and Osterode, the districts of Harz and Mansfeld-Südharz in Saxony-Anhalt, and the Thuringian district of Nordhausen to the south. The range is divided into the lower Unterharz with heights up to 400 m and the largely wooded Oberharz with heights up to 800 m. The Brocken at 1,141 m above sea level is the highest mountain in the Harz. Other significant elevations in the Harz include the Heinrichshöhe (1,044 m), the Königsberg (1,023 m), the Acker-Bruchberg ridge (927 m), the Achtermannshöhe (925 m), and the Wurmberg (971 m). The extensive Harz Foreland surrounds the range.