The Schindelkopf () 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 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 ...

is a southwestern outlier of the mountain ridge known as

Auf dem Acker Auf dem Acker (commonly called the ''Acker'') is a mountain ridge up to 865.1 metres high, which is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains in Lower Saxony (Germany). Geography The ridge begins south of the Bruchberg near ' ...

(865.1 m). It is located near the town of

Osterode am Harz Osterode am Harz, often simply called Osterode (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern Lower Saxony, Niedersachsen on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It was the seat of government of the Landkr ...

within the

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

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 ...

which is in the district of

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

in the state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Location

The Schindelkopf lies in the

Upper Harz The Upper Harz (german: Oberharz, ) refers to the northwestern and higher part of the Harz mountain range in Germany. The exact boundaries of this geographical region may be defined differently depending on the context. In its traditional sense, th ...

within the

Harz Nature Park The Harz (Lower Saxony) Nature Park (german: Naturpark Harz (Niedersachsen)) or just Harz Nature Park lies in the districts of Goslar and Göttingen (in the area of the former Osterode am Harz district) in South Lower Saxony. The nature park in th ...

. It rises between the southwestern end of the main ''Acker'' crest in the east and the town of

in the west. Towards the north-northeast the countryside falls away through the valley of ''Schachttal'' to the eastern end of the

Söse Reservoir Söse is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the river Rhume and long. Geography The Söse rises on the plateau of '' Auf dem Acker'' in the district of Göttingen in the southwestern part of the Harz Mountains in Ge ...

with its pre-basin. To the south-southwest it descends through the valley of the

Kleine Steinau Kleine Steinau is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a tributary of the Sieber (river), Sieber, north of Herzberg am Harz in the Göttingen (district), district of Göttingen. The Kleine Steina rises at about between the ''Schindelkopf'' m ...

, which has its source on the mountains, to the Sieber valley, and, to the west-northwest, it descends along the

Eipenke The Eipenke is a left tributary of the River Söse near Osterode in the Harz Mountains in the German state of Lower Saxony. Course The Eipenke rises south of the Söse Reservoir and flows below the hill known as the ''Sösenkopf'' (423 ...

, which also rises on the mountainside, into the valley of the

Söse Söse is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the river Rhume and long. Geography The Söse rises on the plateau of ''Auf dem Acker'' in the district of Göttingen in the southwestern part of the Harz Mountains in Ger ...

. The Große Schweimke rises a little southwest of the mountain; it is fed by the Kleine Schweimke and is a tributary of the ''Kleiner Steinau''.

Hiking

The Schindelkopf can only be reached on forest tracks. On its northwestern flank stands a

Köte A ''Köte'' (also ''Köthe'') is the term used in the Harz Mountains of central Germany for a charcoal burner's hut (''Köhlerhütte''). A ''Köte'' was occupied by a charcoal burner in order to look after a nearby wood pile (''Kohlenmeiler''). Th ...

(ca. ;Harzer Wandernadel
Checkpoint 143 – ''Köte Schindelkopf''
at harzer-wandernadel.de {{Coord, 51, 43, 22.97, N, 10, 20, 10.95, E, type:landmark_dim:25_region:DE-NI, name=Lage: Schutzhütte am Schindelkopf), which is checkpoint no. 143 in the

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

hiking system.

References

Mountains of Lower Saxony Mountains of the Harz Mountains under 1000 metres Göttingen (district)