The Bielstein Tunnel () is a disused
railway tunnel
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
in
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
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 Central Germany. The tunnel is 465.7 metres long and lies between the
zig zag of
Michaelstein and
Braunesumpf. It belonged to the
Erzstufen Railway and, from 1885, to the
Harz Railway (today the Rübeland Railway).
During the construction of the Harz Railway the tunnel profile was widened and Braunesumpf station laid out. When the Rübeland Railway was electrified from 1960 to 1965 the tunnel profile had to be widened again. In addition the tunnel was found to be in poor condition so that it was abandoned and the line was relaid further east through a cutting. The tunnel is no longer accessible today.
Otto Ebert Bridge and Bielsteinsklippe
About 100 metres east of the northeastern portal to the Bielstein Tunnel is the Otto Ebert Bridge (''Otto-Ebert-Brücke'') (;
), which is a footbridge on the Duke's Way (''Herzogsweg'') footpath over the Rübeland Railway line. It is no. 79
in the system of checkpoints 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.
Some 300 metres southeast of the Otto Ebert Bridge and circa 500 metres southwest of the summit of the ''Bielstein'' lie the rocks of the ''Bielsteinsklippe'' (at ca.
).
References
External links
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Railway tunnels in Germany
{{Germany-rail-transport-stub