Schierke station (german: Bahnhof Schierke) is the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the village 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 ...

operated by the

Harz Narrow Gauge Railways The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (German: ''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or HSB) is a railway company that operates a network in the Harz mountains, in central Germany (formerly East Germany). The company was formed after the Second World War as a me ...

on 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 ...

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 central Germany. Schierke itself lies as the foot of the highest mountain in the Harz, 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 Elbe. ...

, and is located in the borough of

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 ...

in the federal 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 the ...

History

The station, which is located at a height of 687 metres above sea level, was opened on 20 June 1898 and has been in continuous use as a railway station ever since. On the completion of the line up to the

on 4 October 1898, trains to the highest mountain in North Germany, which were predominantly used by tourists, called at Schierke station. Because

Brocken station Brocken station (german: Bahnhof Brocken) is the Terminal train station, terminus on the summit of the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz in central Germany. It lies in the state of Saxony-Anhalt and is the end point of the Brocken Railway ...

was not served in winter due to heavy snowfalls, trains always terminated in Schierke from 16 October to 29 April. Not until the German Winter Sports Championships in spring 1950 did trains run to the Brocken in winter as well. As a result of the location of the Brocken in the border zone between the

GDR 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 ...

and

FRG FRG may refer to: * Family Readiness Group in the United States Army * Federal Republic of Germany ** West Germany * FMN reductase (NAD(P)H) * Friendship Radiosport Games * Functional renormalization group * Guatemalan Republican Front The Insti ...

the Brocken Railway section between Schierke and Brocken station was closed to the public from 13 August 1961. Railway and station were then only used for military purposes or by the local population. After the '' Wende'' - the political changes in 1989 - the Brocken line was inspected and repaired, and Schierke station used for its original purpose again.

Location and facilities

The station lies just above the village of Schierke on the territory 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 I ...

. Its approach roads are closed to private motor vehicles. Taxis, delivery vehicles and vehicles with special permission, such as e.g. for guests of the Brocken Hotel are excepted, but may not drive right up to the station. In the station building there is a restaurant and a ticket and souvenir shop run by the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways. In the station yard there is a mobile take-away stall. The station is only regularly worked by steam-headed trains of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways. A little to the north is the rock formation 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 ...

''.

References

External links

www.harz-bahnen.de
Photos of Schierke station Wernigerode Transport in the Harz

Buildings and structures in Harz (district) Railway stations in Germany opened in 1898