Romkerhall
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Romkerhall (also frequently called ''Romkerhalle'') is a popular tourist destination on the River Oker 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
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 ...
. There is a public car park here as well as a hotel and restaurant opposite the Romkerhall Waterfall. Romkerhall lies within the unincorporated area of
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 ...
in the Lower Saxon county of
Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...
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 ...
. The hotel and
waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
form a small tourist attraction which is marketed as the "Kingdom of Romkerhall - the smallest kingdom in the world!" (German: ''"Königreich Romkerhall − das kleinste Königreich der Welt!"'')


Location

Romkerhalle lies in the
Upper Harz The Upper Harz (german: Oberharz, ) refers to the northwestern and higher part of the Harz mountain range in Germany. The exact boundaries of this geographical region may be defined differently depending on the context. In its traditional sense, th ...
within the
Harz Nature Park The Harz (Lower Saxony) Nature Park (german: Naturpark Harz (Niedersachsen)) or just Harz Nature Park lies in the districts of Goslar (district), Goslar and Göttingen (district), Göttingen (in the area of the former Osterode am Harz (district), O ...
, around 5 kilometres south of the village of
Oker The Oker is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction. Origin and meaning of the name The ...
in the borough of
Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...
and about 1.5 kilometres (both distances
as the crow flies __NOTOC__ The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliv ...
) northeast of the Oker Reservoir on the B 498 federal road which runs parallel to the River Oker, here at a height of . About 200 metres to the south is the Romkerhalle Hydropower Station, in which electricity is generated from the waters of the reservoir. The inn belongs to the town of
Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...
and the electricity station to the municipality of
Schulenberg im Oberharz Schulenberg im Oberharz () is a village and a former municipality in the district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has been part of the town Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in ...
to the south of Goslar in the collective municipality of
Oberharz The Upper Harz (german: Oberharz, ) refers to the northwestern and higher part of the Harz mountain range in Germany. The exact boundaries of this geographical region may be defined differently depending on the context. In its traditional sense, th ...
. Between the power station and Romkerhalle the ''Große Romke'' and ''Kleine Romke'' streams approach from the east and discharge into the Oker.


History

In order to promote and facilitate traffic, the expansion of the road network in the area began in the early 19th century. In 1817, according to a plan by treasury secretary (''Kammerssekretrie'') von Eschwege, the first road was built in the Oker valley, running along the Ziegenrücken ridge past the Studentenklippe crags and Kästenecke. The extraction of timber was now made easier and timber hauliers could easily reach the Upper Harz. This narrow and romantic road still exists on the eastern side of the valley on its lower slopes and is walkable. It descends to Romkerhalle, where once a large, arched stone bridge crossed the Oker. Under the direction of the chief mining engineer (''Oberbergmeister''), Ahrend, a new, "comfortable road" was driven through the Oker valley to the "birch valleys" (''Birkentäler''). This was built from 1856 to 1861 with great difficulty, requiring the blasting of large quantities of rock down to the river banks and costing a total of 28,945 thalers. In 1865, under the direction of the chief smelting engineer, timber was rafted for the last time on the river and the weir on the Oker below the church, built in 1542, was removed. After that, several wood sanding works were set up in the lower Oker valley. The rocks of the
Romkerhall Waterfall Romkerhall (also frequently called ''Romkerhalle'') is a popular tourist destination on the River Oker in the Harz Mountains of Germany. There is a public car park here as well as a hotel and restaurant opposite the Romkerhall Waterfall. Romkerh ...
had attracted attention even before the waterfall was created. From 1861, the Forestry and Hunting Division in Brunswick leased an area of 40 square rods and two acres from the forest hamlet of Käste No. 3, Oker Mining District, to innkeeper Lüer from Oker for the purpose of establishing an inn. A ceremonial opening by its owner and operator, H. Lüer, took place on 1 May 1863. In 1863, in order to improve the accessibility of the property, the Harzburg Spa Commissar, Hermann Dommes, had a promenade path built from Harzburg across the
Kästeklippen The ''Kästeklippen'', often shortened to ''Käste'', is a rocky tor above the Oker valley in the Upper Harz mountains of central Germany. It lies at a height of . Near the ''Käste'' are other similar granite rock formations such as the ''Hexenkà ...
(''Käste'') to Romkerhalle. The first land registry records were only kept from when the Hulsch family took over the estate in 1890. In 1903, the "Villa Helene" was built as a guesthouse and, in 1928, a large hall was built over the Oker. In the last days of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the Oker bridge of what is now the B 498 was blown up near Waldhaus and immediately south of Romkerhalle. This did not prevent the advance of the US Army, however. In addition, the inn was badly damaged and its reconstruction lasted until 1948. Since 1988, the various managers of the local restaurant have advertised the place as the "Kingdom of Romkerhall". They justify this on the basis that the properties here do not belong to any
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
, but are located within an unincorporated area.


Romkerhall Waterfall


Geography

Near Romkerhalle, on the rocky eastern flanks of the Oker valley below a spur of the Huthberg, the ''Kleiner Romke'' (), the Romkerhall Waterfall (''Romkerhaller Wasserfall'') tumbles through a height of about 64 metres over the Romke Klippe crags (contemporaneously also known as the ''Rohmkerklippe'' or ''Marmorklippe''). Its height makes it the highest artificial waterfall in the Harz Mountains. To create the waterfall, some of the waters of the Oker tributary, the ''Kleine Romke'', are diverted along a roughly 350-metre-long ditch.


History

The present location name of Romkerhalle (initially ''Rohmker-Halle'') was first used when Lüer's "board and lodging house" (''Restauration und Logirhaus von H. Lüer'' was opened in 1863. In order to enhance the appeal of newly opened inn, in the same year the artificial waterfall was laid out.H. Schucht: ''Chronik und Heimatskunde des Hüttenortes Oker'', Harzburg, 1888, p. 150. This was initially only operated in the afternoons and formed a cascade which resembled the
Staubbach Fall Staubbach Falls (german: Staubbachfall (sing.), lit.: dust creek fall) is a waterfall in Switzerland, located just west of Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Highlands. The waterfall drops from a hanging valley that ends in overhanging cliffs above t ...
in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
's
Lauterbrunnen , neighboring_municipalities= Aeschi bei Spiez, Blatten (Lötschen) (VS), Fieschertal (VS), Grindelwald, Gündlischwand, Kandersteg, Lütschental, Reichenbach im Kandertal, Saxeten, Wilderswil , twintowns = } Lauterbrunnen is a village ...
valley in the
Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...
, which attracted thousands of visitors.


Geology

The rocks of the Romerkhall Waterfall consist mainly of limestones. In the
Upper Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, wher ...
, about 370 million years ago, the area was covered by a sea. It was divided into basins and ridges. Limes were deposited on the ridges, which were closer to the surface of the water (carbonatic threshold
facies In geology, a facies ( , ; same pronunciation and spelling in the plural) is a body of rock with specified characteristics, which can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or condition of formatio ...
of the Upper Harz Upper Devonian). About 300 million years ago, the rocks were folded, sunk, metamorphosed by intruding granites, later uplifted again, and then exposed by erosion. That is how this old limestone comes to form the rocks over which the waterfall drops as well as the ''Rabenklippe'' crags to the west. In the intervening Oker valley is argillaceous Kulm slate. There is a path up to the top of the waterfall on the hillside north of the rocks. At its foot, a few metres of dark slate-hornfels rocks of the
Lower Carboniferous Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...
have been exposed. The waterfall rocks at the lookout platform consists of upper Devonian limestones, which are tectonically heavily deformed. About 290 million years ago, the molten Oker granite nearby hardened and overprinted all the nearby rocks in a process known as
contact metamorphism Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of chem ...
.


Tourism

Romkerhall is both a departure point for several hiking trails as well as a waypoint on others. Downstream a path runs along the Oker, which is surrounded by high rocks that are used, mainly at weekends, by rock climbers. There are also many large boulders in the river which, in places, have formed small islands, including Betrothal Island (''Verlobungsinsel''), which is checkpoint no. 116 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 system. From Romkerhall several steep paths lead up to the crags of the ''
Treppenstein The ''Treppenstein'' is a rock formation in the Oker valley in the Harz mountains of central Germany. It lies on the trail from the Romkerhall Waterfall to the '' Kästeklippen''. The rocks consist of granite and have clearly undergone so-called " ...
'', the ''Ahrendsberger Klippen'' to the south, the ''Mausefalle'' on the ''Huthberg'' hill to the north and from there to the ''
Kästeklippen The ''Kästeklippen'', often shortened to ''Käste'', is a rocky tor above the Oker valley in the Upper Harz mountains of central Germany. It lies at a height of . Near the ''Käste'' are other similar granite rock formations such as the ''Hexenkà ...
''. From the ''Ahrendsberger Klippen'' there is a clear view of Romkerhall and the waterfall. The ''Hallesche Hütte'' hut near the crags is the location of checkpoint no. 119 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 ...
.


References

''Königreich Romkerhall − das kleinste Königreich der Welt!''
auf koenigreich-romkerhall.eu (Titel in Startseite)
Topographische Kart

at natur-erleben.niedersachsen.de
K. B. Fischer: ''Chronik des Amtes Harzburg…'', 1912 R. Wieries: ''Geschichte des Amtes Harzburg nach seinen Forst-, Flur- und Straßennamen'', 1937 A. Saft: ''Oker. Eine Chronik 1883–2007…'', 2008 H. Schucht: ''Chronik und Heimatskunde des Hüttenortes Oker'', 1888
at koenigreich-romkerhall.eu
F. Behme: ''Geologischer Harzführer…'', 1922 H.-J. Franzke & I. Joss: ''Granitfelsen und Romkerhaller Wasserfall im Okertal…'', ohne Jahr H.-J. Franzke & R. Müller: ''Exkursion in einem geologischen Profil durch den West- und Mittelharz'', 2012
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 ...

''Stempelstelle 116 / Verlobungsinsel in der Oker''
at harzer-wandernadel.de Retrieved 29 Oct 2016.
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 ...

''Stempelstelle 119 / Hallesche Hütte (an den Ahrendsberger Klippen)''
at harzer-wandernadel.de. Retrieved 29 Oct 2016.


Literature

* Hans Joachim Franzke & Irene Joss
''Granitfelsen und Romkerhaller Wasserfall im Okertal''
Clausthal University of Technology, at dgg.de (pdf; 362.4 KB) * Hans-Joachim Franzke & Rainer Müller: ''Exkursion in einem geologischen Profil durch den West- und Mittelharz''. In: Heinz-Gerd Röhling, Publ.: GeoHannover 2012 – GeoRohstoffe für das 21. Jahrhundert. Exkursionsführer und Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften 248, Hanover, 2012 * ''Das Okertal im Harz mit Hotel Romkerhalle. Offizieller Führer des Vereins zur Hebung des Fremdenverkehrs im Okertal, Sitz Romkerhalle, Mitglied des Harzer Verkehrs-Verbandes, Verein zur Hebung des Fremdenverkehrs im Okertal'', Romkerhalle bei Oker: Hulsch, a. 1932


External links


Hotel Website

''Granitfelsen und Romkerhaller Wasserfall im Okertal''
Description by the State Office of Lower Saxony for Mining, Energy, and Geology {{Coord, 51, 51, 34, N, 10, 28, 17, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NI, display=title Buildings and structures in the Harz Goslar (district) Waterfalls of Germany