The Bode Gorge () is a long ravine that forms part of the Bode valley between

Treseburg Treseburg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Thale. Geography Treseburg lies at the confluence of the Luppbode stream with the River Bode in ...

and

Thale Thale () is a town in the Harz (district), Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. Located at the steep northeastern rim of the Harz mountain range, it is known for the scenic Bode Gorge stretching above the town centre. Geography The ...

in the

Harz Mountains The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, 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 nam ...

of central Germany. The German term, ''Bodetal'' (literally "Bode Valley"), is also used in a wider sense to refer to the valleys of the

Warme Warme (also: ''Warmebach'') is a river of Hesse, Germany. It is approximately 33.1 km long. It flows into the Diemel near Liebenau. See also *List of rivers of Hesse This is a list of rivers of Hesse, Germany: A * Aar, tributary of th ...

and

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 ...

rivers that feed the River Bode. At the Bode Gorge, the River Bode, which rises on the highest mountain in the Harz, the

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

, has cut deeply into the hard Ramberg granite rock. The

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

is about 140 m deep at Treseburg and some 280 m deep at Thale where it breaks out into the

Harz Foreland The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, 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'' der ...

. The Bode Gorge was designated a

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, funga, or features of geologic ...

as early as 5 March 1937; its boundaries being subsequently expanded. With an area of, currently , it is one of the largest nature reserves in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

Geology

Apart from intrusions of Ramberg granite, which rose to the surface and solidified 300 million years ago in the

Upper Carboniferous Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found f ...

Period, and their associated

veins Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal c ...

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

, the ravine of the Bode also cuts through

hornfels Hornfels is the group name for a set of Metamorphism#Contact .28thermal.29, contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and hardened by the heat of Intrusive rock, intrusive igneous masses and have been rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in ...

and knotenschiefer (a type of

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

), as well as

argillite Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of Friability, indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and Pelagic sediment, oozes. They contain variable amounts of silt-sized particles. T ...

and

graywacke Greywacke or graywacke ( ) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness (6–7 on Mohs scale), dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or sand-size lithic fragments set i ...

with quartz elements and

diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-gra ...

dikes Dyke or dike may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...

from the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

Period, 400 to 370 million years ago. Ramberg granite predominantly forms the front section of the ravine and characterises its highest rocks. It appears light-coloured due to the high proportion of white

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

. The

lends it a grey shade. The proportion of black

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

(

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron- endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more al ...

) is low and carries no weight in terms of colouring. The light-coloured granite stands out from the dark to black coloured rocks of hornfels and argillite. As a result, the front section of the ravine and the river bed of the Bode in this area appear clearly lighter than the rear section. The argillite at the rear of the gorge shows bands of colour in places that evinces the former strata of the marine

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s. The stratified

was only slightly

metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

Climate

In the area of the Bode Gorge average annual temperatures range from 8 °C down to 6.5 °C and annual precipitation between 600 and 720 mm. But sharp, local differences in the ravine between, for example, the sunny, warm and dry southern slopes and the more shaded, cooler and damper northern slopes and valley floor, modify the local climate considerably.

Soils

The most common soil types are silicate

leptosol A Leptosol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a very shallow soil over continuous rock or a deeper soil that is extremely rich in coarse fragments (gravelly and/or stony). Leptosols cover approximately 1.7 billion hectares o ...

s, that belong to the thin stony soils around areas of rock and scree. In flatter areas with less rearrangement of the soil particles are stony ''Ranker'' leptosols of various thickness. One particular soil type, brown ''Ranker'' occurs above argillite rock.

Podsol Podzols, also known as podosols, spodosols, or espodossolos, are the typical soils of coniferous or Taiga, boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on he ...

ised

brown earth Brown earth is a type of soil. Brown earths are mostly located between 35° and 55° north of the Equator. The largest expanses cover western and central Europe, large areas of western and trans-Uralian Russia, the east coast of America and easte ...

soils are found around the edges of the gorge.

Rivers and streams

In the area of the ravine the Bode has a width of 7 to 25 metres and descends 100 metres in 17 kilometres. Its river course and bed are very much in their natural state inside the ravine. Kettle-holes,

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

and scouring in the rock alternate with islands of gravel and flat river banks. The most notable rapids on the Bode, the ''Bodekessel'', not far southwest of the Königsruhe tavern, is shrouded in legend. It was a low

waterfall A waterfall is any 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 seve ...

before its explosive demolition in 1798. Stones and boulders occupy the river bed. Slow-moving stretches of water occur, especially in the area of the

Hornfels Hornfels is the group name for a set of Metamorphism#Contact .28thermal.29, contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and hardened by the heat of Intrusive rock, intrusive igneous masses and have been rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in ...

(''Zahme Bode''); rapids (''Wilde Bode'') are found particularly in the lower part of the ravine and formed by the incision of the river into the blocks of Ramberg

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

. The water regime inside the ravine is affected, however, by the dams owned by the ''Bodewerk'' in the upper reaches of the river. The discharge can vary sharply: during the devastating New Year floods of 1925 a discharge of 350 m³/s was recorded; in the summer of 1926 the Bode almost ran dry (0.,35 m³/s). Other major floods occurred in 1667, 1730 and in April 1984. There was a plan to impound the Bode in the ravine as well in 1891 with a 150 m high dam at the ''Bodekessel''. The plan was scrapped. Only a few streams enter the Bode, on the right-hand side of the ravine. The Luppbode is a lively, bubbling brook coming from the direction of Allrode which joins the Bode near Treseburg. Another tributary stream is the Dambach, which empties into the Bode from a side ravine below the Rabenstein.

Flora and fauna

Vegetation

There is a rapid succession of habitats in the Bode Gorge that produces a tightly woven mosaic of vegetation, characterised by an especially rich variety of plant species. * On the steeper slopes, small clumps of ravine and scree forest (''Blockschutt'') alternate with dry broad-leaved woods, scree slopes, silicate rock outcrops with rock vegetation, crags and xerothermous grass. * Meadows of cheddar pink and

Alpine aster ''Aster alpinus'', the alpine aster or blue alpine daisy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the mountains of Europe (including the Alps), with a subspecies native to Canada and the United States. This herbaceous ...

and

Anthericum ''Anthericum'' is a genus of about 65 species, rhizomatous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. It was formerly placed in its own family, Anthericaceae. The species have rhizomatous or tuberous roots, long narrow lea ...

heath in the Bode Gorge have been classified as rock meadows. * The most widespread dry forests are the birch-oak woods and the catchfly-sessile oak woods. * In places, extensive and very near-natural lime-sycamore ravine woods and scree woods have developed on the lower mountainsides (''Tilio-Acerion'') on shaded slopes. * On small areas of the lower slopes on acidophilous soil, copper beech woods occur (''Luzulo-Fageten''). * The banks of the Bode, in places where the water velocity is slow, have favoured the formation of reed beds of

reed canary grass ''Phalaris arundinacea'', or reed canary grass, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern ...

(''Phalaridetum arundinaceae'') and ground elder-

butterbur ''Petasites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, that are commonly referred to as butterburs and coltsfoots.sessile oak ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Welsh oak, Cornish oak, Irish oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unof ...

(''Quercus petraea''),

large-leaved lime ''Tilia platyphyllos'', the large-leaved lime or large-leaved linden, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae (Tiliaceae). It is a deciduous tree, native to much of continental Europe as well as southwestern Great Britain, growing ...

(''Tilia platyphyllos''),

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

(''Acer pseudoplatanus''),

silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

(''Betula pendula'') and

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...

(''Sorbus aucuparia''). Also worth mentioning is the

common yew ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe, as well as Northwest Africa, and parts of Southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe'' ...

(''Taxus baccata''). Dominating the ground cover are plants like the wood bluegrass (''Poa nemoralis''), wavy hair-grass (''Avenella flexuosa''; especially in dry oak woods), white wood-rush (''Luzula luzuloides''), male fern (''Dryopteris filix-mas''), limestone oak fern (''Gymnocarpium robertianum''), wall hawkweed (''Hieracium murorum''), baneberry (''Actaea spicata''), small balsam (''Impatiens parviflora''), Herb Robert (''Geranium robertianum''),

dog's mercury ''Mercurialis perennis'', commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.granite rocks. Plants such as the snowy mespilus (''Amelanchier ovalis''),

dyer’s greenweed ''Genista tinctoria'', the dyer's greenweed or dyer's broom, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. Its other common names include dyer's whin, waxen woad and waxen wood. The Latin specific epithet ''tinctoria'' means "used as a ...

(''Genista tinctoria''),

browntop bent ''Agrostis capillaris'', the common bent, colonial bent, or browntop, is a rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial in the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Eurasia and has been widely introduced in many parts of the world. Colonial bent ...

(''Agrostis capillaris''), sticky catchfly (''Lychnis viscaria''), blue stonecrop (''Sedum reflexum'') are particularly common. The scenery in spring is graced by wood anemones (''Anemone nemorosa'') and yellow anemones (''Anemone ranunculoides''), hollowroot (''Corydalis cava''), spring vetchling (''Lathyrus vernus''), kidneywort (''Hepatica nobilis'') and alternate-leaved golden saxifrage (''Chrysosplenium alternifolium''), which grows on stream banks, but also covers scree slopes like a carpet. Common toothwort (''Lathraea squamaria'') and spring snowflake (''Leucojum vernum'') also occur here and there. Perennial honesty (''Lunaria rediviva'') and large white buttercup (''Ranunculus platanifolius'') may be found in places in the woods.

Species

The Bode Gorge ist also a

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

and refuge for many types of rare animal. Such rarities include the

wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

Bechstein's bat Bechstein's bat (''Myotis bechsteinii'') is a species of vesper bat found in Europe and western Asia, living in extensive areas of woodland. Description Bechstein's bat is a medium-sized and relatively long-eared bat. The adult has a long, fluf ...

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...

middle spotted woodpecker The middle spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocoptes medius'') is a European woodpecker belonging to the genus ''Dendrocoptes''. Taxonomy The middle spotted woodpecker was Species description, formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeu ...

. The insect fauna is particularly varied. The

white-throated dipper The white-throated dipper (''Cinclus cinclus''), also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies ...

and

grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail (disambiguation), yellow wagtail but has the yello ...

can be observed hunting for insects on the stream beds.

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

breed here and there in the reed beds or on remote gravel beds. In spring

fire salamander The fire salamander (''Salamandra salamandra'') is a common species of salamander found in Europe. It is black with yellow spots or stripes to a varying degree; some specimens can be nearly completely black while on others the yellow is dominant ...

s can be seen splashing about in the Bode Gorge during the spawning season. Care must be taken when walking not to disturb them. Where it flows through the gorge, the Bode, is characterised by fast-flowing, clean, shady stretches of river. In addition to

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

it ish also home to

loach Loaches are ray-finned fishes of the suborder Cobitoidei. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and North Africa, northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the ...

, bullhead,

three-spined stickleback The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...

and

minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genus, genera of the family Cyprinidae and in particular the subfamily Leuciscinae. They are also known in Ireland as wikt:pinkeen, pinkeens. While ...

. Rare visitors include

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

dace A dace is a small fish that can be one of many different species. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the common dace (''Leuciscus leuciscus''). This, like most fish called "daces", belongs to the family Leuciscidae, mostly in subfami ...

and

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

have been introduced by anglers.

Tourism

The Bode Gorge may only be passed through on foot. A cycle path or bridleway is not feasible due to the narrowness of the ravine. Climbing and walking off the path, mountain biking, canyoning, water walking and whitewater canoeing or

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

are banned in order to protect the wildlife and

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of flora (plants), plants and fauna (animals), animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term habitat (ecology), "habitat", which ...

. Tourist facilities, restaurants and overnight accommodation are located at Thale by the entrance to the Bode Gorge. A ten kilometre long footpath runs through the Bode Gorge between Thale and Treseburg. At pinch points the path is routed in steep zigzags and walkways over the rocks. From them there are superb views into the ravine. Paths lead down into the gorge from the observation rocks at '' Rosstrappe'' and the '' Hexentanzplatz'' ("Witches' Dance Floor"). From the latter there is also a ridgeway to Treseburg. The Bode Gorge receives hundreds of thousands of visitors per year and is one of the leading tourist destinations in Saxony-Anhalt.

Places of interest

The following places of interest are listed in the order they occur along the Bode Gorge from Thale to Treseburg. * ''Katersteg'': a bridge by the

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

(a former hotel dating to 1845) and the Waldkater Café.

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

has it that this was the spot where a hunter spared a wine adulterer who had been turned into a tomcat by a spell. As a reward he received a hoard of treasure which he used to build the inn. * ''Schallhöhle'': in 1760 a walkway, roughly 20 metres long, was hewn out of the rock and the local innkeeper amused his guests by firing gun salutes into it to create echoes. Spring water from the cave was sold as ''Lebenswasser''. Today it is sealed by a grille. A memorial plaque next to the old entrance commemorates Heinrich Reckleben, who owned the inn for many years and eventually lost his hearing as a result of the firing. He died when he was run over by a beer coach. * ''Siebenbrüder'' or ''Goethefelsen'' (Seven Brothers or Goethe Rocks): a granite rock formation with a number of pinnacles. According to legend, seven brothers from the

Bohemian Forest The Bohemian Forest, known in Czech as () and in German as , is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and the South Bohemian Region in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germ ...

had been spurned by a woman, so they wanted to rape her on this spot at the entrance to the gorge. As a punishment they were turned into the seven-headed rock formation. The rocks were renamed the Goethe Rocks on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birthday of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

on 28 August 1949. During his visit to the Bode Gorge, Goethe had studied the jointing of the rock on a granite block in the river below the rock formation. * ''Kronensumpf'': a

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, or pothole) is a depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating ...

in the Bode. According to the '' Rosstrappe'' legend this is the spot where the hound, Bodo, guards the crown of Princess Brunhilde. * ''Jungfrau'', or ''Großer Kurfürst'', and ''Mönch'' (Virgin, or Great Elector, and Monk): rock formations in front of the Jungfern Bridge. According to the ''Rosstrappe'' legend, a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

turned to

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

in fright when he saw Bodo fall into the ravine. * Jungfern Bridge: a stone bridge by the ''Gasthof Königsruhe''. A legend maintains that only

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

s may cross it so that it does not collapse. Later the publican had a bell ring whenever a virgin crossed the bridge. *

Königsruhe Königsruhe (also ''Gut Königsruhe'' i.e. Königsruhe Estate) is a small settlement in the Bode Gorge in the Harz Mountains of Germany, south of the town of Thale in Saxony-Anhalt. Location Königsruhe lies in the ''Hirschgrund'' ("Stag Bott ...

: a pub with beer garden and guesthouse in the ''Hirschgrund'' in the middle of the Bode ravine. This is where the Jungfern Trail (''Jungfernstieg'') crosses the Bode and where the narrow section of the gorge begins. There is a view of the Bode rushing over the rocks from the terrace. The group of houses includes the Harz Mountain Rescue hut which is occupied during peak visitor periods. Refreshments were being sold in the Hirschgrund as early as 1820. In 1860 a stone building was erected that initially housed a

Konditorei A is a business that typically offers a wide variety of Pastry, pastries and typically also serves as a café#In Europe, café. (plural) are found in many countries including but not limited to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmar ...

or cake shop. The Hirschgrund is No. 178 the

Harzer Wandernadel The Harzer Wandernadel is a system of hiking awards in the Harz mountains in central Germany. Hikers (or mountain bikers) can earn awards at different levels of challenge by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and stamping their ...

hiking network. * ''Steinerne Kirche'': the "Stone Church", a rock formation above the Hirschgrund in the shape of a church tower with adjoining nave. A cross has been erected on the top of the rocks. * ''

Schurre The Schurre (pronounced "shoorer") is a stone run in the Bode Gorge in the Lower Harz near Thale in Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Low ...

'': a former hunting path that was expanded in 1850, and climbs steeply through 18 hairpin bends up a

stone run A stone run (called also ''stone river'', ''stone stream'' or ''stone sea''diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-gra ...

to the ''Rosstrappe''. * ''Teufelskanzel'': "Devil's Pulpit". Rocks above the Bode gorge by the ''Teufelsbrücke'' ("Devil's Bridge") above the ''Blauer Sumpf'', the narrowest part of the Bode Gorge. It was from here, according to legend, the

devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

spoke to

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

es. * ''Bodekessel'': a

in the Bode by the ''Teufelsbrücke''. Legend has it that it was formed as follows: the Germanic god, Wasur (eternal circulation of the waters), broke through the rock wall that once linked the ''Hexentanzplatz'' and the ''Rosstrappe'', in order to save

Wotan (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compos ...

from the wrath of his father, Hodir. He paved the way for the Bode and created the ''Bodekessel''. Wotan was consequently placed on the throne of the gods. In fact the kettle hole had been scoured out by a low waterfall that was explosively demolished in 1784 to enable timber rafts to use the Bode. * ''Langer Hals'': "Long Neck". A river loop on the Bode that extends some distance to the north. The ''Langer Hals'' takes the Bode around a hard rock mass made of hornfels and diabase. In the knotenschiefer region the valley widens again. Bodetal 2

* ''Prinzensicht'': "Prince's View", a rock formation with a stone run above the Bode Gorge, that can only be reached along the plateau trail. The viewing point is No. 70 in the

. * ''La Vieres Höhe'': A viewing point near the ''Hexentanzplatz'' and zoo (''Tierpark'') that is No. 72 in the

. * ''Gewitterklippen'': a rock outcrop of hard, lime silicate hornfels and diabase, which forces the Bode to describe a further loop. * ''Bodegang'': several

quartz-porphyry Quartz-porphyry, in layman's terms, is a type of volcanic (igneous) rock containing large porphyritic crystals of quartz. These rocks are classified as ''hemi-crystalline acid rocks''. Structure The quartz crystals exist in a fine-grained matrix ...

lodes 3 to 8 metres wide cross the valley in various places. First described by the

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

, K. A. Lossen. * ''Kästental'': ("Box Valley") A small

side valley Side valleys and tributary valleys are valleys whose brooks or rivers flow into greater ones. Upstream, the valleys can be classified in an increasing order which is equivalent to the usual orographic order: the tributaries are ordered from ...

of the Bode with a little waterfall that was named after the old yew trees (Old High German: ''Kästen'' ~ "boxes") that occur there. * Pfeil Monument: near the ''Dambachhaus'', not far from the Bode Gorge, is a monument that commemorates the forestry scientist,

Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Pfeil Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Pfeil (28 March 1783 – 4 September 1859) was a German forester. Pfeil was born in Friesdorf, Rammelburg. From 1801 onward, he trained and worked as a forester at several sites in the Harz region, Canton of Neuchâte ...

. The monument is No. 68 in the

Notable visitors

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known works are the epic poem ''Der Messias'' ("The Messiah") and the poem ''Die Auferstehung'' ("The Resurrection"), with the latter set to text in the ...

(1771) *

(1784) *

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

(1790) * Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, named "Novalis" (1797) *

Joseph von Eichendorff Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

(1805) *

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language Literary realism, realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he i ...

(1848 and 1868)

Notes

Sources

* Kirsch, Falko: ''Führer durch das Bodetal. Geschichte, Geologie, Sagen, Flora, Fauna.'' Thale * Oelsner, Manfred: ''Bodetal.'' 5. Auflage. Tourist-Verlag, Berlin 1991,

External links

The wild, romantic Bode Gorge
{{Authority control Harz Nature reserves in Saxony-Anhalt Canyons and gorges of Germany Landforms of Saxony-Anhalt Thale