The Rabenklippe is a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

rock formation in the

Harz National Park Harz National Park is a nature reserve in the German federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It comprises portions of the western Harz mountain range, extending from Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg at the southern edge to Bad Harzburg and ...

. The name means "Raven Crag" and is very apt as

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

s live in the vicinity.

Location

The Rabenklippe is located 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 Germany, southeast of

Bad Harzburg Bad Harzburg (; Eastphalian: ''Bad Harzborch'') is a spa town in central Germany, in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa and climatic health resort. Geogra ...

, above the

Ecker The Ecker is a , right-hand, southeast tributary of the Oker which runs mainly through the Harz mountains in the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony. Course From its source to Abbenrode the Ecker is a border river, today running b ...

valley, a few hundred metres away from the border between

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Part of the crag has been made accessible with steps and railings. In good weather there is an excellent view of the

Brocken The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is the highest peak in the Harz mountain range and also the highest peak in Northern Germany; it is near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt between the rivers Weser and Elbe. ...

, the highest mountain in the Harz. There are crags by the

Rappbode Reservoir The Rappbode is a right-hand, southwestern tributary of the River Bode in the Harz mountains in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. In its lower reaches it is impounded by the Rappbode Dam, the largest dam in the Harz. The Rappbode rises east of ...

called the ''Große Rabenklippe'' and ''Kleine Rabenklippe''.

History

The Rabenklippe became a popular walking destination in the 19th century. Immediately next to the crag a refuge hut was erected in 1874, the predecessor to today's forest tavern. In the immediate vicinity of the cafe and the crag is the

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

enclosure built by the Harz National Park authority (see

Hiking

The Rabenklippe is on a hiking trail that can be accessed from

via the

Burgberg Cable Car The Burgberg Cable Car (german: Burgbergseilbahn) is a cable car in Bad Harzburg, Germany. It was built in 1929 by the Bleichert Bleichert, short for Adolf Bleichert & Co., was a German engineering firm founded in 1874 by Adolf Bleichert. T ...

. There is a checkpoint at the restaurant which is no. 170 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 ...

system.

External links

Website of the cafe
{{Coord, 51, 51, 52, N, 10, 36, 17, E, type:landmark_region:DE-NI, display=title Bad Harzburg Rock formations of the Harz Rock formations of Lower Saxony

Location

History

Hiking

See also

External links