The Heinrichshöhe is a

subsidiary peak A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

of 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, ...

, and, at , it is the second summit 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 ...

. Today, it may only be visited with permission from the national park authority for the purposes of research or controlling the wildlife population.

Location

The Heinrichshöhe lies in the

Harz National Park Harz National Park is a nature reserve in the Germany, German federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It comprises portions of the western Harz mountain range, extending from Herzberg am Harz, Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg at the southern ...

about 3.2 kilometres north-northwest of the village of Schierke in the southwestern part of the borough of

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the Harz (district), district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the Wernigerode (district), district of Wernigerode. Its population was 32,181 in 2020. Wernigerode is located southwes ...

. The summit rises about 1.4 kilometres southeast of the top of the Brocken and at least 205 metres northeast of near the Brocken Road (''Brockenstraße'' or ''Brockenchaussee'', K 1356) between ''Eckernlochstieg'' and ''Urwaldstieg''. Near the summit on its southern flank is the tor of ''Brockentor'' ("Brocken Gate", 1,039.5 m).''Heinrichshöhe (Gipfel)''
at www.geofinder.ch. Accessed on 9 Dec 2010.

History

The mountain was named after Count Henry Ernest (''Heinrich Ernst'') of Stolberg-Wernigerode, who had a peatworks established on the Heinrichshöhe in 1747. The buildings of the peatworks, including visitors’ accommodation, burnt down in 1799. The Heinrichshöhe Way () is the oldest documented track to the Brocken. It was first mentioned in the records in 1591 and ran roughly parallel to the present day Brocken Road. From the top of the Heinrichshöhe it runs straight to the summit of the Brocken. In the First World War a Ski monument (''Skidenkmal'') was built alongside the track, not far from the Brockenteich. It is number 19 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 ...

hiking system. At the highest point of the mountain there is a roughly 5 m high

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 ...

tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Toronto, Canada ** Toronto Raptors * 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 ...

. In 1936 an inscription was carved in the rock by the ''Brockenschutz'' ("Brocken Guard"). The name Brockentor stems from the 18th century when the first Brocken inn was built immediately next to the tor. The Heinrichshöhe was a popular destination in the Harz until the 1960s. After the wall was built it ended up in the out-of-bounds area. Following the

reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

the Heinrichshöhe Way was closed.

Gallery

File:Heinrichshoehe-schriftzug.jpg, Inscription on the ''Brockentor'' File:Brocken heinrichshoehe.jpg, The Brocken as seen from the Heinrichshöhe (2008). File:torfhuetten.jpg, Ruins of the peat huts File:skidenkmal.jpg, Ski monument (''Skidenkmal'') 600 m northwest of the Heinrichshöhe File:Huetten heinrichshoehe.jpg, Ruins of the peat huts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrichshohe Mountains of the Harz Rock formations of the Harz Mountains and hills of Saxony-Anhalt One-thousanders of Germany Rock formations of Saxony-Anhalt

Location

History

Gallery

See also

References