The Galgenberg is a 506.1-metre-high hill east of

Elbingerode (Harz) Elbingerode is an ''Ortsteil'' of Oberharz am Brocken in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The former town was incorporated into the newly established municipality on 1 January 2010. Geography It is situated in the eastern ...

in the

Harz Mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

of central

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 ...

. It marks the highest point on the row of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

crags found there. The old Trock Way (''Trockweg''), which ran from

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

to the imperial stronghold of

Bodfeld Bodfeld was a small royal palace or lodge (german: Königspfalz) that was primarily established for hunting purposes and, when the town of Elbingerode emerged, for the administration of ore mining in the central Harz that underpinned the power of ...

, probably ran past the Galgenberg immediately to the north. East of the hill lies the

abandoned village An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages have been deserted for a variety of causes. Abandonment of villages is often related to epidemic, f ...

of Erdfelde that was closely linked to Bodfeld.

History

As the name of the hill suggests, this spot is the old execution site of the town of Elbingerode, on which the

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

stood where many

thieves Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

were hanged.

Walking

The Galgenberg is No. 38 in the network of hiking checkpoints 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 ...

.Harzer Wandernadel
Stempelstelle 38 – ''Galgenberg''
at harzer-wandernadel.de

References

Oberharz am Brocken Mountains and hills of Saxony-Anhalt {{Harz-geo-stub