Brocken
At 1,141 meters, the highest peak in northern Germany. It is the gathering place of witches in Goethe's Faust and has a national park museum and garden at the summit.
The Brocken is the highest point in the Harz and in northern Germany. Legend says witches gather here every April 30, and Goethe made this the setting of the famous 'Walpurgis Night' in Faust. During the Cold War, the summit was a restricted zone for Soviet forces and East German authorities. Today the Brocken House has become a national park exhibition center, where you can learn about high-mountain moorland ecology and Cold War history. The summit also has the Brocken Garden and a circular trail. The peak is shrouded in fog about 300 days a year, and temperatures are 5–8 °C lower than in the valleys, so bring a windproof jacket. You can take the Brocken Railway to the top, or hike to the summit from Schierke (about 6 km), Torfhaus (Goethe Trail, about 8 km), or Ilsenburg (Heinrich Heine Trail, about 11 km).
Opening hours
All day (Brocken House exhibition approx. 09:30–17:00)
Nearby sights
- Wurmberg (Braunlage)
- Ilse Valley & Heinrich Heine Trail
- Wernigerode Old Town & Town Hall
- Harz Narrow Gauge Railways – Brocken Line
- Wernigerode Castle
- Rübeland Caves (Baumann's Cave & Hermann's Cave)
- Titan-RT Suspension Bridge & Rappbode Dam
- Blankenburg Castle & Baroque Gardens