Schierke is a village and a former municipality in the Harz district, in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

state 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 th ...

. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

. Situated within 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 ...

mountain range in the valley of the river Bode, at the rim of 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 ...

, it is mainly a tourist resort, especially for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and all kinds of

winter sport Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold are ...

Geography

Location

The

and

climatic spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

of Schierke lies in the High Harz mountains, southeast of their highest summit, the

Brocken The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is the highest peak in the Harz mountain range and also the highest peak in Northern Germany; it is near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt between the rivers Weser and El ...

. It is situated in the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park and borders on the

in the north. Situated 600 to 650 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

in the valley of the

Cold 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 ...

, the parish of Schierke has an area of 40.1 km² and a population of 713 (as at 31 December 2007). Today Schierke again is a popular place to start or finish a walk to the

massif via the '' Goetheweg'' or the ''Glashüttenweg''. It has bus service and access to 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 r ...

, whose station is located about 100 metres above the village. A popular attraction in the area is the "Brocken Coaster", a local summer rodelbahn. Schierke is also not far from downhill skiing destinations such as the slope of the Wurmberg mountain, the second highest of the Harz. Another winter activity in the area involves hiring or obtaining a sled and riding it down the "bob bahn" – a local

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada. In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill ...

ing track. Klimadiagramm-deutsch-Schierke (ST)-Deutschland

Climate

The average air temperature in Schierke is 5.3 °C, and it has an annual precipitation of 1,275 millimetres.

History

The field name of Schierke was first mentioned in the records in 1590 as ''Schiriken'' (the

word ''schier'' means, in the Harz area, an utterly, unspoilt wood (''blankes, reines Holz''). Hitherto there had been a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

in 1506, below the site of the subsequent village, in Elend, and a smelting works above the Cold Bode near the moor slags (''Moorschlacken''). A first church at the site was consecrated in 1691. On 20 June 1898 Schierke was connected to

by the

line, today run by the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways, and on 4 October 1898 the line was extended up to the Brocken summit. Thereupon, Schierke became a popular tourist destination and numerous hotels and villas arose. In 1914 and again in 1934 it was the site of the German Skeleton Championships. Schierke became a municipality in its own right in 1924. After World War II, however, due to its location next to the inner German border, Schierke for a long time was not accessible to the public for winter sports. Visits required an extra permission by

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

authorities between 1952 and 1989. Several hotels were converted into public holiday resorts of the

Free German Trade Union Federation The Free German Trade Union Federation (german: Freier Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 and 1990. As a mass organis ...

(FDGB) and of the Stasi ministry. Barracks for the

Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic The Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic (german: Grenztruppen der DDR) was the border guard of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1946 to 1990. The were the primary force guarding the Berlin Wall and the Inner German border ...

stood on the site of the present training centre for engineering and metallurgy. The 7th Border Company of the 20th Border Regiment guarded the stretch of border from the Brocken plateau via former Goetheweg station and the

Dreieckiger Pfahl The ''Dreieckige Pfahl'' ("Triangular Post") is a historic boundary stone, about 1.35 metres high and made of granite, located southwest of the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. The stone, erected before ...

border stone (checkpoint no. 168 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 ...

) to the

Großer Winterberg Großer Winterberg is a mountain of Saxony, southeastern Germany. It is the second highest mountain of the Saxon Switzerland and is located on the border between Germany and the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is ...

. Each troop was stationed for a week at a time in the present-day station building on the peak of the Brocken. After German reunification, tourism again prospered and many villas were restored. On 13 January 2009 Mayor Hans-Jochen Ermisch, and his counterpart from Wernigerode, Peter Gaffert, signed the treaty incorporating Schierke into Wernigerode. This merger came into effect on 1 July 2009.Gebietsänderungen vom 02. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2009
Statistisches Bundesamt Since then, the Wernigerode town council has made comprehensive efforts to develop Schierke as a resort town.

Politics

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted to Schierke on 5 May 1939 by the governor (''Oberpräsident'') of the Province of Saxony.

Emblazonment A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...

: "On a field or, a stag's skull and antlers sable" (''"In gold ein schwarzer Hirsch-Schädel mit Geweih im Visier"''). The stag's antlers epitomize the "King of the Harz Forest", the dominant wild animal in the mountain forests around Schierke. Just as the antlers are the crown of the deer, Schierke, on the Brocken, "crowns" the Harz landscape with its natural beauty and its healing climate. The coat of arms was designed by the head of the Magdeburg state archives, Otto Korn.

Memorials

* Grave site on the village cemetery (''Ortsfriedhof'') for an unknown Rumanian, who was a victim of forced labour during 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 opposi ...

Places of interest

, highest mountain in the Harz, accessible daily on the

* Wurmberg, highest mountain in Lower Saxony * '' Feuersteinklippen'' crags * ''

Schnarcherklippen Schnarcherklippen is the name of a rock formation (up to 671 m above sea level) south of the village of Schierke in the High Harz mountains of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. The name translates roughly to "snoring crags" or "sno ...

'' crags * "Apotheke zum Roten Fingerhut" – "Red Thimble" chemist's * Schierke Mountain Church (''Schierker Bergkirche'')

Sport and hiking

The area around Schierke is criss-crossed by numerous trails, several leading up to the top of the Brocken. There is a choice of longer or shorter, but usually steeper, walks. The Wurmberg Trail (''Wurmbergstieg'') runs up to the summit of the Wurmberg. From the station, a trail runs directly to the

tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...

known as the ''Feuersteinklippe''. For winter sports lovers, Schierke has an extensive

cross-country skiing trail A cross-country skiing trail or ''loipe''From german: Loipe or ''Langlaufloipe'', pl. –''n'', ''loipe'' is a loanword in English-language travel guides, referring to cross-country ski trails in Europe. It is a Germanization of the Norwegian word, ...

network and a natural ice rink. In the first half of the 20th century Schierke was known for its skeleton run, where the German Championships were twice held – in 1914 and 1934. In 1950 the first East German national winter sports championships took place here, being portrayed on one of two special stamps by the East German Deutsche Post. In Schierke there is a summer rodelbahn, the ''Brockencoaster'' with a sun terrace. File:Schierker Bergkirche.JPG, Schierke Mountain Church File:SchierkerBurg.jpg, Schierke Castle at the head of the Elend valley File:Rathaus Schierke 2011.JPG, Schierke village hall

Notable people

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

visited Schierke in 1784. The

Walpurgis Night Walpurgis Night (), an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German ), also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve), is the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess ...

scene in Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy is set in the "District of Schierke and Elend".

Schierker Feuerstein

Schierker Feuerstein Schierker Feuerstein is a German herbal liqueur, a half-bitters at a strength of 35% alcohol by volume (Alcohol proof, 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof), originally produced in the village of Schierke, located in the Harz, Upper Harz region of Sax ...

'' is a herbal liqueur and digestif (35%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

), patented in 1924 by the local chemist, Willy Drube. The red-brown beverage is named after the red

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

of the

Feuersteinklippe The Feuersteinklippe is a rock formation in the Harz National Park in central Germany and the landmark of the nearby village of Schierke. The Feuersteinklippe is a butte made of granite, not flint (Feuerstein = "firestone" or flint) as the name ...

, a tor-like rock formation nearby. After World War II the production at first continued in Bad Lauterberg on the western side of the inner German border, but was also resumed in Schierke from 1972 on as ''

Volkseigener Betrieb The Publicly Owned Enterprise (german: Volkseigener Betrieb; abbreviated VEB) was the main legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany. They were all publicly owned and were formed after mass nationalisation between 1945 and the early 1960 ...

''. After

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...

the enterprises merged while the ''Feuerstein'' is still bottled at both locations.

References

External links

Schierke tourism
{{Authority control Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Wernigerode