On the Goetheweg to the Brocken

Short Description

Scenic tour with opportunity for a break.

Description

At the beginning of your hike, we recommend a visit to the TorfHaus National Park Visitor Center. Here you will learn a lot about the region and the Harz National Park. A tour of the exhibition will show you what to expect on your trip to the Brocken and prepare you for the unique landscape.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe also set out on his first ascent of the Brocken on December 10, 1777, accompanied by the forester Degen from Torfhaus. The hike through rough terrain in deep snow left a lasting impression on the poet. The exact route that Goethe took at the time is no longer reconstructable today.

Route Description

At the beginning of your hike, we recommend a visit to the TorfHaus National Park Visitor Center. Here you will learn a lot about the region and the Harz National Park. A tour of the exhibition will show you what to expect on your trip to the Brocken and prepare you for the unique landscape.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe also set out on his first ascent of the Brocken on December 10, 1777, accompanied by the forester Degen from Torfhaus. The hike through rough terrain in deep snow left a lasting impression on the poet. The exact route that Goethe took at the time is no longer reconstructable today. Today, the trail starts at the TorfHaus National Park Visitor Center, passes the National Park Monument, goes down the toboggan run, and then runs below the Schubenstein to the Kaiserweg. We follow this path to the right until we turn left towards the Brocken after about 1.5 km.

After another short ascent, we reach the Quitschenberg, where many quitschen (rowan trees) still grew in Goethes time. The dead spruces you see here were killed by a bark beetle, the engraver, causing them to die. It is a natural inhabitant of our forests. However, if it appears in large numbers, it can kill weakened spruces in a short time due to environmental influences. At Quitschenberg, the multiplication of the bark beetle was not stopped as usual by chainsaw, peeling iron, and lure trap. Here, nature helps itself naturally. The successes are already visible: Many light-hungry rowan trees are reclaiming the open space. First spruces follow.

Our hike continues through dense spruce forest. We pass the Brockenfeldmoor and later reach the Eckersprung, the source of the Ecker. Here we also cross the Green Belt, the former border strip that now runs as a green lifeline through all of Germany. We now leave the protective forest and begin the actual ascent of the Brocken. The growth of the spruces becomes more compact here, as they find it increasingly difficult to withstand the extremely harsh weather conditions at higher altitudes.

On the newly developed path along the Brocken Railway, we cross the Goethemoor to the Brockenstraße. We are now getting closer to the highest peak of the Harz Mountains. Geologically, it represents a massive granite massif. With an average annual temperature of around 4 °C, about 300 days of fog, and high wind speeds, the climate is extremely harsh and is comparable to that of the Alps at an altitude of 2,000 m. This is why we pass the forest line of the Brocken at around 1,100 m. As the northernmost natural alpine forest line in Central Europe, it is particularly worth protecting. Above the forest line grows a dwarf shrub and grass-rich mountain heath.

Once at the top, we recommend visiting the Brockenhaus, which is open daily as a National Park House. With its numerous presentations, it provides information about the Harz National Park, flora, fauna, and geology, as well as the mountains varied history. You can find more information about the Brocken summit in the brochure The Brocken in the Harz National Park.

The return journey largely follows the same route. After passing the Quitschenberg and reaching the Kaiserweg, we turn left at the next intersection towards Torfhaus. Our path is now accompanied by the artificially created Abbegraben, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Harz Water Management - an extensive system of ditches and ponds that was built between 1536 and 1866 by Harz miners to power the arts of mining.

Shortly before our destination, in the summer months, we are led to the right on a boardwalk path through the Große Torfhausmoor, one of the largest and oldest moors in the Harz Mountains. From here, you get another magnificent view of the arched high moor area towards the Brocken.

In total, on well-developed paths, you will overcome an ascent of approximately 390 meters during this hike.

Additional Information

National Park Visitor Center TorfHaus
Tel. 05320 331790
www.torfhaus.info

Brockenhaus
Tel. 039455 50005
www.nationalpark-brockenhaus.de

Directions

Arrival via the B4 Bad Harzburg - Braunlage

Parking Information

Fee-based parking lot at Torfhaus