Altenbrak is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Geography

The village is strung out for about 1.6 kilometres along the River Bode in an east–west valley. It is 3 kilometres from the

Wendefurth Reservoir Wendefurth is a hamlet in central Germany that, since 1 July 2009, has been part of the borough of Thale district of Harz. Previously it belonged to the municipality of Altenbrak which was incorporated into Thale. Geographical location The hamle ...

, which is part of the

Rappbode Reservoir The Rappbode is a right-hand, southwestern tributary of the River Bode in the Harz mountains in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. In its lower reaches it is impounded by the Rappbode Dam, the largest dam in the Harz. The Rappbode rises east of ...

. From its shape and nature, Altenbrak is very much a ''Straßendorf'' or ribbon development. In front of the dam is the hamlet of

Wendefurth Wendefurth is a hamlet in central Germany that, since 1 July 2009, has been part of the borough of Thale district of Harz. Previously it belonged to the municipality of Altenbrak which was incorporated into Thale. Geographical location The hamle ...

that used to belong to this parish. Altenbrak's neighbouring communities are

Allrode Allrode is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Thale. There are two prominent trees - the ''Hohle Eiche'' ("hollow oak") and ''Adlereiche'' ("eagle ...

Blankenburg (Harz) Blankenburg (Harz) is a town and health resort in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, at the north foot of the Harz Mountains, southwest of Halberstadt. It has been in large part rebuilt since a fire in 1836, and possesses a castle ...

Cattenstedt Cattenstedt is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Blankenburg am Harz Blankenburg (Harz) is a town and health resort in the Harz (district), distr ...

Friedrichsbrunn Friedrichsbrunn is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 23 November 2009, it is part of the town Thale. History At the location of Friedrichsbrunn there has been a well and a resting plac ...

Hasselfelde Hasselfelde is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Harz, approximately 17 km south of Wernigerode. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oberharz am Brocken. Hasselfelde has 2,390 ...

Treseburg Treseburg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Thale. Geography Treseburg lies at the confluence of the Luppbode stream with the River Bode in t ...

, Wendefurth and

Wienrode Wienrode is a village and a former municipality in the Harz (district), district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Blankenburg am Harz. Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Blankenburg (Harz) Duc ...

. Within the local area are the forest inn of Todtenrode (''Gasthaus Todtenrode'') and the ''

Jagdschloss Windenhütte A ''Jagdschloss'' is a hunting lodge in German-speaking countries. It is a '' schloss'' set in a wildlife park or a hunting area (such as a forest, field or by a lake) that served primarily as accommodation for a ruler or aristocrat and his ent ...

'' which are also checkpoints 65 and 59 in the

Harzer Wandernadel The Harzer Wandernadel is a system of hiking awards in the Harz mountains in central Germany. The hiker (or mountain biker) can earn awards at different levels of challenge by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and stamping his or ...

hiking network. There is viewing point, ''Aussichtspunkt Schöneburg'', above the village at an elevation of 441 metres above sea level. It is checkpoint 63 on the

hiking network.

History

Altenbrak was first mentioned in 1448 as a

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...

site. The establishment of the village probably goes back further to 1227. After the last

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

was closed in 1867 the population became poverty-stricken. Later, tourism developed, encouraged by the sheltered situation of the village. There has been a private post office (''Postagentur'') in Altenbrak since 1891. Its post agents were Heinrich Fessel (1891–1902); Adolf Schomburg (1907); Fritz Steffen (1908–09); and Georg Hoffmann (1910–16). In 1884

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known toda ...

spent some time in Altenbrak. The ''Gasthaus zum Rodenstein'' and other places he visited during his excursion into the

Bode Gorge The Bode Gorge (german: Bodetal) is a long ravine that forms part of the Bode valley between Treseburg and Thale in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. The German term, ''Bodetal'' (literally "Bode Valley"), is also used in a wider sense to r ...

are mentioned in his novel, Cécile. Since 1949 Altenbrak has been a climatic spa (''Luftkurort''). Since 1 July 2009, it has been part of the borough of

Thale Thale () is a town in the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. Located at the steep northeastern rim of the Harz mountain range, it is known for the scenic Bode Gorge stretching above the town centre. Geography The town is situated ...

Politics

Mayor

The last mayor (''Bürgermeister'') of the parish of Altenbrak was Ralf Trute.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was approved by the county on 10 July 2008.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

: "Divided vertically gold and green, left a green spruce, right a silver half-waterwheel, in the blue wavy base a silver trout" (''Gespalten von Gold und Grün, vorn eine ausgerissene grüne Fichte, hinten ein halbes silbernes Wassermühlrad am Spalt, im blauen Wellenschildfuß eine silberne Forelle."'') Amtsblatt des Landkreis Nr. 8/2008 Seite 12
The colours of the old parish are the colours green and gold (based on the tincture of the coat of arms). The coat of arms was created by the Magdeburg herald, Jörg Mantzsch.

Flag

The flag has two stripes: the left-hand stripe is green and the right is yellow. On horizontal flags the upper striper is green and the lower one yellow. The coat of arms is placed in the centre.

Culture and places of interest

The ''

Harzer Hexenstieg The Harz Witches' Trail (german: Harzer Hexenstieg) is a footpath, just under 100 km long, in Germany that runs from Osterode through the Harz mountains and over its highest peak, the Brocken, to Thale. It is a project by the Harz Transpo ...

'', a hiking trail just under 100 km long, running from Osterode to

passes through Altenbrak. Every year on the first weekend in September the Harz Yodelling Competition takes place in Altenbrak. Plays and concerts take place on the forest stage in Altenbrak in the summer. It has seating for 1300.

Personalities

Born in the village

* Herbert Krebs, born 19 June 1901 in the Todtenrode Forester's House (''Forsthaus Todtenrode''); died 13 November 1980 in

Rechtmehring Rechtmehring is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the lar ...

, forester and hunting author (''Vor und nach der Jägerprüfung'')

References

External links

Altenbrak
{{Authority control Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Thale Duchy of Brunswick