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Harz Travel Guide


Harz Attractions & Activities - The Best Holiday Destinations for 2020

The Harz is a low mountain range in the Northern Uplands of Germany, famous for its historic silver mines that brought prosperity to the region and to the Kingdom of Hanover. The Harz forms part of the federal states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

The Christmas market in Goslar
The Christmas market in Goslar

It lies between the river Elbe and Weser in the region of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It sits in a northwest to southeast positon and is 20 miles in breadth. The sixty miles of terraced plateaus are made from limestone, sandstone and slate and form many narrow deep valleys. The two highest peaks in the area are Brocken (3,747 feet) and Viktorshohe (1909 feet) both of which are granite based. The Northwestern area is known as the Oberharz and the Southeastern extensive area is known as the Unterharz.

The Oberharz plateau at 3300 feet in the west and 1600 feet in the centre suffers from a cold and damp climate even in the summer caused by its susceptibility to northerly winds. The Brocken towers over this area however it is more famous for its inclusion in local folklore and literature. These peaks tend to be bare however the lower slopes are forested and interspersed with moorland and river beds.

The Unterharz has a less harsh climate which is exploited in the agricultural areas. The area supports grain and cattle farming. The area was once abundant with wild game, lynx, bear and wolf, however they have been hunted into extinction. The area is also famous for its animal breeding, especially canaries and deer.

Between the 10th-16th century the area was developed as an area synonymous with mining and metallurgy (lead, silver, iron, zinc and copper). The easy access to water and wood helped the early settlers however dams have been introduced to control the waters to remove the possibility of flooding or shortages in the summer. These dams now create hydroelectric power as wel as drinking water for the area. On an industrial scale quarrying (marble, granite and gypsum) as well as wood processing for paper and cardboard provides sources of income. However the area is also dependant on tourism with water sports and spas being important however it is its forest scenery in the Harz National Park which attracts the majority of the tourists.


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Harz Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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