The Harz Club (german: Harzklub) is club dedicated to maintaining the traditions of 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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and looking after the walking trails in the Harz. It was founded in 1886 in

Seesen Seesen is a town and municipality in the Goslar (district), district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx. west of Goslar. History The Duchy of Saxony, Saxon settlement ...

and, today, has about 16,000 members in some 90 branches.

History

The Harz Club was founded on 8 August 1886 in Seesen. The railway director, Albert Schneider, was its first chairman. One of the co-founders was Carl Reuß. Its first task was to open up the Harz to walkers and tourists. Later, numerous local history groups were started and it took on the maintenance of Harz traditions. Nature conservation was added to its articles as an important aim in 1907. Before the outbreak of 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 opposin ...

membership stood at almost 20,000 in 120 branches. Following the

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the Harz, the development of the Harz Nature Park became the priority within the western zone. In

East Germany 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 ...

the Harz Club was banned as an organisation, similar functions were entrusted to the subordinate levels of the

Cultural Association of the GDR The Cultural Association of the GDR (german: Kulturbund der DDR, KB) was a federation of local clubs in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It formed part of the Socialist Unity Party-led National Front, and sent representatives to the Volksk ...

. After

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

over 40 branches were founded in the Harz region of the new federal states 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 ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. In 1994 the club's name was changed into the Local History, Walking and Nature Conservation Association (''Heimat-, Wander- und Naturschutzbund''). Its main chairman is Michael Ermrich, chief executive of the district of

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 ...

. The Harz Club maintains an office in

Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The City is the location of the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort ...

and is a member of the Federation of German Mountain and Walking Clubs (''Verband Deutscher Gebirgs- und Wandervereine'').

Tasks

The Harz Club sets itself the following tasks: * Nature conservation and preservation of the countryside * Promotion of walking; guided walks * Publication of walking maps and walking information * Maintenance of outdoor walking facilities (benches, huts, etc.) * Signing of walking trails * Local history: customs, traditional costume, dialects, folk music, yodelling * Youth work * Publication of the local history and members magazine ''Der Harz'' * Promotion of local history research and archiving * Preservation of cultural objects (loca history booths, cultural monuments in the countryside) * Training courses and workshops * Advertising of Harz local history and public relations

Walking hostels

The Harz Club maintains four walking hostels in the Harz with overnight accommodation for families and groups in: *

Wildemann Wildemann () is a town and a former municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has been part of the town Clausthal-Zellerfeld since January 1, 2015. It is situated in the west of the Harz, northwest of Clausthal-Zellerfel ...

Bad Lauterberg Bad Lauterberg is a town in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the southern Harz, approx. 15 km southwest of Braunlage, and 20 km southeast of Osterode am Harz. Bad Lauterberg is known ''inter alia' ...

– Lönsweg 12 *

Torfhaus Torfhaus is a village in the borough of the mining town of Altenau in the Harz mountains of Germany and lies at a height of about . It is the highest settlement in Lower Saxony. This small settlement consists mainly of restaurants, youth hostels, ...

– Goetheweg *

Sonnenberg Sonnenberg is a municipality in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, a ...

External links

Official website

Harzer Försterstieg
{{Authority control Harz Goslar (district) Nordhausen (district) Harz (district) Clubs and societies in Germany Hiking organisations in Germany

History

Tasks

Walking hostels

See also

External links