Harz Border Route on the Green Belt

90.97 km long
Difficulty: medium
Condition: medium
Great panorama
Walking / hiking
  • 22:30 h
  • 90.97 km
  • 1,633 m
  • 1,480 m
  • 97 m
  • 1,141 m
  • 1,044 m
  • Start: Rhoden Border Tower at Fallstein
  • Destination: Border Museum Tettenborn/Bad Sachsa

Always along the former inner-German border … over nearly 100 impressive kilometers: the Harz Border Route leads directly to the testimonies of the German division. Sometimes on secluded paths, sometimes on the concrete slabs of the patrol road.

The Harz Border Route on the Green Belt, which for the most part runs directly on secluded border paths or the former "patrol road" along the former inner-German border, uniquely connects the nature, culture, and history of the Harz.
It crosses the mountain range on a varied and partly challenging hiking route between the Rhoden border tower (Osterwieck) in the north and the Borderland Museum Tettenborn (Bad Sachsa) in the south.

Along the way, you experience German contemporary history up close. Through the Ecker valley, a border river for many years, the path winds along the Ecker Dam – through the middle of which the border also ran – up to the Brocken. Past the Dreieckiger Pfahl, a historic tripoint marker, it goes below the Wurmberg to the border opening memorial stone between Braunlage and Elend. Relicts of the German division are preserved at the open-air border museum near Sorge. The Ring of Remembrance and the tripoint marker at Jägerfleck near Benneckenstein are contemporary border markers on the way to Walkenried Abbey, which offers a fascinating insight into the significance of the Cistercians for the region's development.

The Harz Club has fully signed the route. Information boards explain the protected biotopes and historical sites along the trail. For those wanting to learn more, specially trained hiking guides offer guided routes. Specialized tour operators also organize luggage-free hikes over various stages along the Harz Border Route.

Good to know

Pavements

Street
Asphalt
Gravel
Trail
Path

Best to visit

suitable
Depends on weather

Directions

From the former Rhoden border tower in the north, the Harz Border Route leads you on a varied and challenging hiking route over the Oker floodplain, through the Ecker valley, directly through the national park, up to the Brocken, past the Wurmberg, through mountain meadows and stream valleys to Walkenried and into the South Harz gypsum karst landscape. It ends at the Borderland Museum in Tettenborn, a district of Bad Sachsa.

Directions & Parking facilities

Parking in the village of Rhoden or at the Borderland Museum

Additional information

For more information, contact
Harzklub e.V., www.harzklub.de

License (master data)

Harzer Tourismusverband
License: Attribution, ShareAlike

Author´s Tip / Recommendation of the author

Packages from "Hiking in the Harz" for the Harz Border Route.

From Ilsenburg on the Harz Border Route - 3 stages - 4 overnight stays from 430,- € per person in a double room

From Bad Harzburg on the Harz Border Route - with or without Brocken overnight stay from 445,- € per person in a double room

Map

Harz Border Route: Fallstein - Brocken - Tettenborn; Scale 1 : 30,000, UTM grid for GPS, contour lines in 20m increments, Harz Club hiking trails, mountain bike information, bicycle paths; format 110 x 220 mm, 990 x 600 mm (open); ISBN 978-3-936185-64-5; price: 4.00 €

Nearby

Contact

Harz Border Route on the Green Belt
38835 Osterwieck OT Osterode am Fallstein