The Wormke is a river 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 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 ...

, in the

Harz 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 ...

Mountains. It is a left tributary of the

Kalte Bode The Kalte Bode is the left-hand headstream of the Bode in the High Harz Mountains in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is long. Name The names of the Warme and Kalte Bode ("Warm" and "Cold" Bode) come from their actual temperature differenc ...

, about long.

Course

The Wormke rises north of

Schierke Schierke is a village and a former municipality in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Wernigerode. Situated within the Harz mountain range in the valley of the river Bode, at the rim ...

above the ''Jakobsbruch'' at about above sea level in the

Harz National Park Harz National Park is a nature reserve in the German federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It comprises portions of the western Harz mountain range, extending from Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg at the southern edge to Bad Harzburg and I ...

and flows initially eastwards. After turning towards the southeast, it crosses the ''Glashüttenweg'' footpath on 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 ...

trail, where a

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

diverts almost all its water into the

Wormsgraben The Wormsgraben is a waterway in the Harz Mountains of central Germany in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Location The Wormsgraben is located 1 to 3 km west of Drei Annen Hohne and 1 km south of the Hohneklippen rocks. The River Wormke ...

ditch. Next the Wormke is crossed by the tracks of the

Brocken Railway The Brocken Railway (german: Brockenbahn) is one of three tourist metre gauge railways which together with the Harz Railway and Selke Valley Railway form the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways railway network in the Harz mountain range of Germany. It run ...

, the Hagenstraße (L 100) road, on an embankment, and the tracks of the

Harz Railway The Harz Railway or Trans-Harz Railway (german: Harzquerbahn) was formerly the main line of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or ''HSB'') and runs north to south right across the Harz Mountains from Wernigerode to Nordhaus ...

. Near (a part of

Elend Elend may refer to: * Elend, Saxony-Anhalt Elend is a district of the town of Oberharz am Brocken in the Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies in the Bode valley in the High Harz in central Germany, at a height of . This part of the ...

) the river finally discharges into the

. In its lower reaches was once a pond, the {{ill, Mandelhölzer Teich, de (Wormke Reservoir), until the dam broke on 22 July 1855.

Course

See also