(Redirected from Harz Mountains)The 'Harz' is a mountain range in northern Germany. The northernmost mountain chain of Germany, it straddles the border between the states of
Lower Saxony,
Saxony-Anhalt and
Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from a Middle High German word meaning "mountain (forest)".
Geography
The Harz has a length of 95 km (southeast to northwest) and a width of 35 km. It occupies an area of about 2000 km², and reaches its highest point at the
Brocken (1141 m), situated in Saxony-Anhalt. The Wurmberg (971 m) is the highest peak in the portion located in the state of
Lower Saxony. Approximately 600,000 people live in towns and villages of the Harz mountains.
The Harz is divided into the 'Upper Harz' (''Oberharz'') in the northwest and the 'Lower Harz' (''Unterharz'') in the southeast.
The Upper Harz has a higher elevation and features
fir forests, while the Lower Harz gradually descends towards the surrounding land and has deciduous forests mingled with meadows.
The
Harz National Park is located in the Harz; it covers the
Brocken and surrounding wilderness areas.
History
The settlement of the Harz began only 1000 years ago. In ancient times dense forests made the region inaccessible.
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 an international 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.
Towns in the Harz and near the Harz
Transport in the Harz
The Harz Narrow Gauge Railway (German:
Harzer Schmalspurbahnen) is a very popular mode of transport, especially with tourists. Many people come to the Harz mountains just for this old fashioned
steam train. Many cities around the Harz are also served by standard-gauge rail, including
Halberstadt,
Wernigerode,
Thale, and
Quedlinburg.
Aside from that, the Harz is connected to the rest of Germany by motorway A7 from
Hamburg,
Hannover or
Kassel to
Seesen/Rhüden and
Lautenthal, A395 from
Braunschweig to
Bad Harzburg, the national roads B6, B 27, B 234 and many others. The motorway A 38 south of the Harz mountains connecting
Leipzig and
Göttingen is currently partly finished, partly under construction.
Rivers originating in the Harz
Bode,
Grane,
Holtemme,
Ilse,
Innerste,
Laute,
Oder,
Oker,
Rhume,
Selke,
Söse,
Thyra,
Wipper,
Zorge.
External links
★ http://www.harz-paradies.de/ - Touristic information about the holiday area Harz, Germany
★ http://www.harz-travel.de/ - Information and Accommodation in the Harz Mountains
★ http://www.harzsagen.de/ - Lore and tales from the Harz
★ http://www.harzregion.de/ - Homepage of the ''Regionalverband Harz e.V.'', the Harz Regional Alliance
★ http://www.harzsuche.de/ - Basic information about the Harz
★ http://www.nationalpark-harz.de/ -
★
The Harz in 18,000 pictures (in German or French)
★
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