The Mönchsbuche is an old beech tree 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 ...

of Germany that has been designated as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

due to its age and the stories surrounding it. It stands on a ridge near

Hasserode Hasserode has been a quarter in the town of Wernigerode in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt since 1907. Location Hasserode lies at the foot of the Harz Mountains in the valley of the River Holtemme, whose upper reaches include the water cas ...

in 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 ...

, on an old way between the abbeys of Himmelpforten and

Ilsenburg Ilsenburg () is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilse valley with its little river, the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker, about six nort ...

and is reputedly where the monks used to stop and rest. In March 2011 the top of the old tree, that is over 100 years old, was removed in order to save it from breaking apart.''Das Naturdenkmal "Mönchsbuche" verliert Baumkrone''
at www.kreis-hz.de. Accessed on 6 Nov 2011. The Mönchsbuche is a landmark and also checkpoint no. 26 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 network. Below the Mönchsbuche is the well known as the ''Wernigeröder Bürgerbrunnen''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monchsbuche Wernigerode Natural monuments in Saxony-Anhalt Individual trees in Germany Individual beech trees