The Große Auerberg is a hill, high, in the eastern

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, 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'' der ...

in the district of

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 Bu ...

in the German state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

. It is a so-called double peak with summits that are 580.4 metres high (''Großer Auerberg'') and 580.3 metres high (''Josephshöhe''), which are about 470 metres apart.

Location

The Große Auerberg rises within the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park between Straßberg to the northeast, Hayn to the southeast, Schwenda to the south, Stolberg to the southwest and Breitenstein to the northwest. East of the hill is the source of the

Thyra Thyra or Thyri (Old Norse: Þyri or Þyre) was the wife of King Gorm the Old of Denmark, and one of the first queens of Denmark believed by scholars to be historical rather than legendary. She is presented in medieval sources as a wise and power ...

tributary, the ''Krummschlachtbach'', west of the Thyra headstream, the ''Kleine Wilde''.

Geology

The Auerberg is made of

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

( quartz porphyry), a

volcanic rock Volcanic rocks (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) are rocks formed from lava erupted from a volcano. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic rock is artificial, and in nature volcanic rocks grade into hypabyssal and me ...

. In the fine crystalline matrix (''Grundmasse'') are deposits of "Stolberg Diamonds" (''Stolberger Diamanten''), up to 13 mm thick, crystallised-out

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

and

orthoclase Orthoclase, or orthoclase feldspar ( endmember formula K Al Si3 O8), is an important tectosilicate mineral which forms igneous rock. The name is from the Ancient Greek for "straight fracture", because its two cleavage planes are at right angles ...

grains.Landmarke 10 - Auerberg
, harzregion.de, accessed on 19 März 2012

Joseph's Cross

On the slightly lower peak, the so-called ''Josephshöhe'' ("Joseph's Height"), the 38 metre high '' Josephskreuz'' ("Joseph's Cross") was built in 1896. This is a steel lattice observation tower in the shape of a double cross. It is also checkpoint no. 215 in the

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

Transport and walking

The ''

Landesstraße ''Landesstraßen'' (singular: ''Landesstraße'' ) are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are road ...

'' 236 runs past the Großer Auerberg to the north and east. Formerly known as the ''Harzschützenstraße'', it forms the border between Thuringia and Saxony. The summit may be reached in about 15 minutes walk from the car park near the hamlet of ''Auerberg'' or from the car park of the nature resort of ''Schindelbruch''. The footpath from the ''Schindelbruch'' to the Cross is called the ''Straße der Lieder'' ("Road of Songs"). Along the path are 16 boards with the text of

German folk songs German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auerberg, Grosser Mountains and hills of Saxony-Anhalt Hills of the Harz Mansfeld-Südharz