The Sandlünz is a hill 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. It is and located near Netzkater in the county 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 larg ...

Location

The ''Sandlünz'' lies 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 ...

within the

South Harz Nature Park The South Harz Nature Park (german: Naturpark Südharz) is located in the county of Nordhausen in north Thuringia, Germany. The act designating this nature park in the Harz Mountains came into force on 31 December 2010Thüringer Verordnung ü ...

immediately southeast of Netzkater (ca. ), which belongs to

Ilfeld Ilfeld is a village and a former municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the south foot of the Harz, at the entrance to the Bährethal, north from Nordhausen by the railway to Wernigerode. Since 1 Ja ...

in the municipality of

Harztor Harztor is a municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2012 by the merger of the former municipalities Ilfeld Ilfeld is a village and a former municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in ...

. It rises above the valley of the

Bere Bere may refer to: Places * Bere, Botswana, a village * Béré, Burkina Faso, a city * Bere Department, Burkina Faso * Béré, Chad, a city * Béré Region, Woroba District, Ivory Coast * Bere Bay, Nunavut, Canada * Early name for the village ...

stream, into which the ''Brandesbach'' empties, north of the wooded hill, and the ''Schuppenbach'' to the west of it. The northern and northwestern flanks of the Sandlünz are part of the ''Brandesbachtal''

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 ...

. Towards the southeast, the countryside transitions to the hills of ''Rabenkopf'' (547.4 m) and Poppenberg (600.6 m). To the south is the hill spur of ''Herzberg'' with its rock formation, the

Gänseschnabel The Gänseschnabel is a natural monument north of Ilfeld in 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. ...

("Goose Beak"). Its western neighbour on the far side of the Bere is the Netzberg, where the ''Dühringsklippe'' crags are found (504.8 m).

Dreitälerblick

On the northwest flank of the ''Sandlünz'', above Netzkater, is the

viewing point A scenic viewpoint – also called an observation point, viewpoint, viewing point, vista point, lookout, scenic overlook,These terms are more commonly used in North America. etc. – is an elevated location where people can view scenery (often w ...

known as ''Dreitälerblick'' or "Three Valleys View" (ca. ) that, like the summit of the ''Sandlünz'', is only accessible on woodland paths, for example from the

valley. It is no. 93 in the system of 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 ...

hiking network; the checkpoint box being located just under 50 metres east—southeast of ''Dreitälerblick'' immediately next to a

refuge hut Refuge is a place or state of safety. It may also refer to a more specific meaning: Safety * Area of refuge, a location in a building that may be used by occupants in the event of a fire * Bunker, a defensive fortification designed to protect pe ...

(ca. – ). From the viewing point, there are vistas of the "Cold Valley" (''Kalte Tal'') to the northwest, the Ilfeld Valley running roughly north to south, with the Bere in the north and the Brandesbach valley in the east. The ''Bere'' lies below the ''Dreitälerblick'' at .

Rabensteiner Stollen

On the northwest slopes of the ''Sandlünz'', east of the ''Rabenstein'' ("Raven Rock") and above the Bere stream, is the Rabensteiner Stollen, a former

underground mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

and only

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

in the extensive mining history of the Harz. It operated from 1737 to 1949 and has been a

visitor mine A mine, i.e. an industrial facility for the underground extraction of mineral commodities, has three operating phases: it may be open or running, or closed or it may be a working museum. Most mines are simply closed once they are no longer product ...

since 1981.

References

Sachsen-Anhalt-Viewer
Harzer Wandernadel
Stempelstelle 93 – ''Dreitälerblick (Ilfeld)''
auf harzer-wandernadel.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandlunz Hills of the Harz Nordhausen (district)