Harz and the city of Quedlinburg - world heritage site in Germany

Germany - Quedlinburg

~ UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Harz Mountains ~
sights and interesting facts

Bremen

Wernigerode

Leipzig

Dresden

Meissen

Bavaria /Mittenw.

Munich

The Harz Mountains

Slideshow

The Harz is located in central Germany and is the highest mountain range in the northern part of the country. Large portions of it (24,700 hectares) belong to a nature reserve, the Harz National Park. 95 % of the area is covered with forests, mainly with spruce and beech woods, including several bogs, granite rocks and creeks. The park is part of the Natura 2000 network of the EU.
Also some rivers have their sources in the Harz and large reservoirs can be found, best known is the Rappbode Dam, the highest in Germany. The highest point and a very popular as well as legendary place is the "Brocken" with a height of 1142 m. The legend tells, that in the "Walpurgis night" (the night before May 1st) many witches on their brooms ride to the Brocken. Thus every year a great spectacle takes place for which people from all over the country come in high spirits to have fun on this mysterious place that night.

A very special feature and tourist attraction of this region is the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3?8 in), which connects the most interesting cities and towns with about 140 kilometres of track. The most popular destination however is the Brocken. It is quite romantic when the train leisurely winds on scenic roads offering picturesque views and after all puffing and panting climbs the mountain up to its top, . The small railway stations still have offices to sell the tickets and the guard whistling raises the signalling disk to give green light.

The city of Quedlinburg

The Harz is a scenic region for excursions and holidays. Beyond this it hosts a multitude of historic places and charming old towns with interesting and beautiful cultural historical monuments. Most famous are the mediaeval cities Wernigerode and Quedlinburg with thousands of half-timbered houses from the 16th and 17th century as well as monuments of the Romanesque and Renaissance. The Collegiate Church St. Servatius, the Castle and the old town of Quedlinburg belong to the world heritage and we were happy to see the amazing progress in the reconstruction, due to the UNESCO's help since we visited the place for the last time more than 14 years ago. Also Goslar with its royal palace and the charming downtown is a fascinating city.


History of Quedlinburg goes back up to the 10th century! It was the capital of the East Franconian German Empire at the time of the Saxonian-Ottonian ruling dynasty and has been a prosperous trading town since the Middle Ages. Most of the buildings were scrupulously restored to their original condition and beauty thus the cities convey a vivid impression of the flair and half timber architecture of a medieval European town. It is truly a pleasure to walk through the narrow alleys and streets and to see all the colourful painted old houses with their tiny rooms and windows, rich decorated with flower boxes For our overnight stay we found a free attic room in a private home, which was built in 1606 - what a pleasure! The old lady who owns the house gave a rustic breakfast in her kitchen and told us a lot about Quedlinburg and the conditions for restoring a house which is listed as a historic monument. Nothing is allowed to be changed at the facade and even the colour of the walls is determined by the computer.