Auf dem Acker (commonly called the ''Acker'') is a mountain ridge up to high, which is located in the southwestern part of 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 ...
in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
(
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
).
Geography

The ridge begins south of the
Bruchberg
At , the Bruchberg in the Upper Harz is the second highest mountain in Lower Saxony and the third highest in the Harz mountains in North Germany. It lies between Altenau and Torfhaus in the middle of the Harz National Park. The Bruchberg is more ...
near ''Stieglitzecke'' (on the
B 242) and runs from there for about towards the southwest. For the first its
crest is continuously higher than 800 metres. Its southwestern foothills transition to the Harz Foreland at
Osterode am Harz
Osterode am Harz (, ), often simply called Osterode (Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern Lower Saxony in central Germany on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It was the seat of government of the ...
. Together with the Bruchberg, the Acker forms the ''Acker-Bruchberg Massif''. Northwest of the ridge lies the valley of the
River Söse and 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 ...
, as well as the villages of
Riefensbeek and
Kamschlacken. South of the ridge lie the villages of
Lonau
Lonau is a small village with a population of about 345 situated at an elevation of about 400m in the Harz Mountains of Northern Germany. Besides the clean air and lush forests, it is famous for the capercaillie.
It belongs to the city of Herzberg ...
and
Sieber. The
Hanskühnenburg lies roughly in the middle of the ridge at a height of 811 metres.
National Park and environment
Large sections of the ridge lie within 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 ...
and may therefore only be entered on designated trails. Between the ''Hanskühnenburg'' and ''Stieglitzecke'' parts of the area around the crest consist of
raised bog
Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombro ...
. The
ridgeway running through the moor was closed in the mid-1990s, shortly after the establishment of national park in order to protect the environment.
Tors and crags
There are a large number of tors and crags on Auf dem Acker:
* Sösestein
Coordinates:
* Hammersteinklippen
Coordinates:
* Mönchskappenklippe
Coordinates:
* Goldenkerklippe
Coordinates:
* Stollenklippe
Coordinates:
* Hanskühnenburgklippe (on the crest, roughly 818 m high, see
Hanskühnenburg)
Coordinates:
* Hanskühnenburgfelsen (on the crest directly in front of the Hanskühnenburg, roughly 815 m high, see
Hanskühnenburg)
Coordinates:
* Kanapeeklippe
Coordinates:
* Seilerklippe (on the crest, roughly 760 m high)
Coordinates:
* Sophienklippe
Coordinates:
* Spießerklippe
Coordinates:
Walking
At the northeastern end of the ridge near ''Stieglitzecke'' is the Magdeburg Hut (''Magdeburger Hütte''), a refuge hut, and a large car park. From here two trails lead up the ''Acker''; they are described in more detail in the article on the
Hanskühnenburg. From the ''Hanskühnenburg'' the ridgeway, known as the Wet Way (''Nasser Weg'') runs in a southwesterly direction along the crest towards Osterode. Because the ridge here is only lightly vegetated with bilberry and low pines, there are many viewing points with good views over the Harz and into the Harz Foreland. On or by the ''Acker'' are several refuge huts that have checkpoints as part of 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:
* ''
Morgenbrodtshütte am Großen Wehr''—no. 146.
* ''
Waidmannsruhe'' hut no. 148.
*
Hanskühnenburg—no. 144.
* ''
Köte am Schindelkopf'' hut no. 143
A stage of the ''
Harzer Baudensteig
Harzer cheese is a German sour milk cheese made from low fat curd cheese, which originates in the Harz mountain region south of Braunschweig.
Harzer is often small and round, in which case it is called ''Handkäse'' or ''Taler (cheese), Taler'' ...
'' trail runs from Lerbach over the Acker to Sieber.
Geology
The ridge is largely composed of Acker-Bruchberg Quartzite.
Origin of the name
In various sources it is maintained that the name ''Acker'' is derived from the Middle High German word ''Agger'' which means "crest" or "embankment".
However, there is no definite source for this theory. On the other hand, ''Agger'' is a Latin word and means "earth embankment", see
Agger (ancient Rome)
An agger (Latin) is an ancient Roman linear mound or embankment. The word is sometimes applied to fortifications, such as the Agger Servianus, a part of the Servian Wall of Rome, which protected the city on its most vulnerable side, the Campus E ...
.
References
Sources
* Topographische Karte 1:25000, Nr. 4228 Riefensbeek (enthält den größten Teil des Bergrückens)
* Topographische Karte 1:25000, Nr. 4227 Osterode am Harz (enthält die südwestlichen Ausläufer)
External links
''Auf dem Acker''at harzlife.de
at harz-seite.de
Morgenbrodtshütte am Großen WehrDescription of the Hammerstein Cragsby the Lower Saxon State Office for Soil Research (pdf, 383kB)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acker, Auf dem
Landforms of Lower Saxony
Mountains of the Harz
Mountains under 1000 metres
Osterode (district)
Ridges of Europe