The Alter Stolberg is a wooded karst plateau, up to , in the

South Harz South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

in Central Germany. It lies in the districts of

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: * Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district **Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city * Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost ...

in the state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

and

Mansfeld-Südharz Mansfeld-Südharz is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is . History The district was established by merging the former districts of Sangerhausen and Mansfelder Land as part of the reform of 2007. In the German parliament, the Bun ...

in the state of

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 th ...

Geographical location

The ridge of the Alter Stolberg is part of the South Harz

Zechstein The Zechstein (German either from ''mine stone'' or ''tough stone'') is a unit of sedimentary rock layers of Middle to Late Permian (Guadalupian to Lopingian) age located in the European Permian Basin which stretches from the east coast of Englan ...

belt and lies mainly in Thuringia; with its eastern foothills dropping into the valley of the Krebsbach stream and

Thyra Thyra, also known as Thorvi or Thyre, was a Danish queen, spouse of King Gorm the Old of Denmark, the first historically recognized King of Denmark, who reigned from to his death .

river. To the north is the Harz; to the south the

Goldene Aue The Goldene Aue (German: "golden lowland", also " ... bottom" or " ... meadow" / " ... pasture", with "Au referring to a low-lying area, often a wetland) is a valley in eastern Germany, in the states Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated betw ...

through which the River Helme flows. The Alter Stolberg lies between the following parishes in clockwise order: Görsbach and Urbach to the south, Leimbach and Steigerthal to the west, Buchholz and Herrmannsacker to northwest, Stempeda and − on the other sides of that − Rodishain to the north (all in Thuringia) and the Saxony-Anhalt villages of

Rottleberode Rottleberode is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Südharz Südharz (literally "South Harz") is a municipality in the Mansfeld-S� ...

and Uftrungen to the east. The highest hill in the Alter Stolberg is the ''Königskopf'' () which rises in the northern part of the ridge. Another prominent hill is the ''Reesberg'' () in the southeastern part.

Points of interest

The northern part of the heavily forested ridge is designated as the Alter Stolberg

Nature Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and large parts of it as the Alter Stolberg

Protected Landscape Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although t ...

. Near the ''Reesberg'' is the plaster cave, known as ''Heimkehle''. In addition, the ridge is home to the ruins of the Grasburg, a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

refuge castle, which legend has it was the family castle of the

Counts of Stolberg The County of Stolberg (german: Grafschaft Stolberg) was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz mountain range in present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. The town of Stolberg was pro ...

.''Die Burgruine Grasburg''
at www.harzlife.de. Accessed on 5 Dec 2010.

References

Harz Nature reserves in Saxony-Anhalt Nature reserves in Thuringia Nordhausen (district) House of Stolberg {{SaxonyAnhalt-geo-stub