The Carlshaushöhe (or Karlshaushöhe) is a mountain, 626.3 m, in the
Harz
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 ...
in the German state of
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 ...
.
Geographical location
It is located southwest of
Hasselfelde between
Trautenstein to the north,
Benneckenstein to the west and
Sophienhof in the borough of
Ilfeld in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
to the south.
Carlshaus Tower
On the summit of the Carlshaushöhe, which rises to the west of the
B 81 federal highway, stands the 50 m high Carlshaus Tower (''Carlshausturm''),
or Karlshaus Tower, which was built a few hundred metres west of the Carlshaus on the eastern slope of the mountain. It has an open steel design and its opening was celebrated on 27 July 1998.
The Carlshaus Tower acts as a radio tower for 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 – officially the German Democratic Republic). The compan ...
(HSB), two branches of which pass by the tower a few kilometres to the south and east respectively, as well as an
observation tower
An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...
. It replaced the
Bismarck Tower built in 1901
and demolished by the
Soviet Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...
in 1981.,
The Bismarck Tower was also of open steel construction, was about 20 m high and crowned by a circular observation deck.
From its observation platform, that sits above the tops of the trees at a height of about 30 metres and is accessible via a staircase with 155 steps,
there is an all-round view, for example, over the highlands of the Harz. The highest peak 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, ...
, is visible from here as well as the
Kyffhäuser
The Kyffhäuser (,''Duden - Das Aussprachewörterbuch, 7. Auflage (German)'', Dudenverlag, sometimes also referred to as ''Kyffhäusergebirge'') is a hill range in Central Germany, shared by Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, southeast of the Harz mou ...
.
The Carlshaus Tower has been included in a project by the Harz Transport Federation and the
Harz Club. It is also no. 51 in the system of check points in 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 ...
network of
walking trails.
Transport links
The Carlshaushöhe and the Carlshaus Tower are located between the
B 242 (north), B 81 (east) and
B 4 (south) federal highways, so that it can be reached by walking trails leading from the car parks on these roads or their side-roads.
References
[''Carlshausturm''](_blank)
at ausflugsziele-harz.de (see photograph of the information board on the tower)
[Ehemalige]
(sitef of ''Carlshaushöhe''), at bismarcktuerme.de
[Harzer Wandernadel]
Stempelstelle 51 – ''Carlsturm''
at harzer-wandernadel.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlshaushohe
Mountains and hills of Saxony-Anhalt
Mountains of the Harz
Mountains under 1000 metres