- 5:00 h
- 19.91 km
- 338 m
- 597 m
- 542 m
- 1,141 m
- 599 m
- Start: Torfhaus
- Destination: Drei Annen Hohne
The 1142-meter-high Brocken summit appears within reach from the starting point Torfhaus. Hexen-Stieg and Goetheweg are one and the same, and we hike toward the most German of all mountains on it. At the signposts of the National Park, the wooden green witch shows us the right way.
Here, along this plate path, once lay the border that divided Germany for over 40 years. That is history. Today, we pass through the most beautiful raised bogs of the Harz in the Harz National Park up to the highest peak in northern Germany, with an incomparable view. Schlungsklippen, Ahrensklint, Trudenstein: above Schierke, the path passes by rustic rocks to our stage destination, directly at the station of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway in Drei Annen Hohne.
Good to know
Pavements
Best to visit
Directions
Arriving at Torfhaus, the landscape opens again with a magnificent view of the highest Harz mountain, the Brocken. It used to lie unreachable between East and West. Today, we cross the former iron curtain, now the Green Belt, on the comfortable “Goetheweg.” From time to time, the steam trains of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways rumble past, bringing those reluctant to hike up the mountain. The fantastic panoramic view from the 1141-meter-high Brocken summit is well worth the climb. But even in fog, which is not uncommon, the mountain is an experience. Alpine plants grow in the Brockengarten, and the Brockenhaus offers interesting information about the mountain and its history. The highest point of the Hexen-Stieg is reached. Now it goes downhill—but only regarding the terrain, as it remains exciting. Or do you already know the impressive “Wollsack weathering” of the Brocken granite, which Goethe already described? At Ahrensklint, the flint cliffs, and the Trudenstein above Schierke, you stand on it!
Schierke, in the “Valley of Witches,” has a long tourist tradition. The “St. Moritz of the North” was and is a popular winter sports resort. Numerous old half-timbered villas exude their charm. The town at the foot of the mountain is one of the most frequent starting points for hiking the Brocken. But we walk down quiet paths because the Hexen-Stieg runs above the town to the hamlet of Drei Annen Hohne.
Directions & Parking facilities
The Altenau district Torfhaus is easily accessible by car via the B4 from the north through Bad Harzburg and from the south through Braunlage.
Drei Annen Hohne is located on the L100 between Wernigerode and Schierke.
There is a paid large parking lot at Torfhaus.
The stage ends directly at the paid large parking lot of Drei Annen Hohne.
The Torhaus is located directly on the Bad Harzburg - Braunlage bus line.
From Drei Annen Hohne, you can reach Wernigerode by the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway (www.hsb-wr.de) or bus line 264 (www.hvb-harz.de).
Literature
Harzer-Hexen-Stieg - official hiking guide
Route description in both directions, 5 stages, 2 alternative routes, elevation profiles, graphics, overview map, food and lodging options, GPS tracks, stamp stations | 80 pages, size 120 x 190 mm | Schmidt-Buch-Verlag
Available at www.harzinfo-shop.de.
License (master data)
Harzer Tourismusverband
Map
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