Harz
The
Harz is a
mountain range in northern
Germany. The northernmost mountain chain of Germany, it straddles the border between the states of
Lower Saxony,
Saxony-Anhalt and
Thuringia. The name
Harz derives from a
Middle High German word meaning "forest".
The Harz has a length of 95 km (southeast to northwest) and a width of 35 km. It occupies an area of about 2000 km², and reaches its highest point at the
Brocken (1141 m), situated in Saxony-Anhalt. The
Wurmberg (971 m) is the highest peak in the Lower Saxony part. 600,000 people live in towns and villages of the Harz mountains.
Image:Harzgipfel.jpg|Harz
Image:Bodetal.jpg|Bode Image:Bodetal2.jpg|Bode Valley
The Harz is divided into the
Upper Harz (
Oberharz) in the northwest and the
Lower Harz (
Unterharz) in the southeast. The Upper Harz has a higher elevation and features
fir forests, while the Lower Harz gradually descends towards the surrounding land and has deciduous forests mingled with meadows.
The settlement of the Harz began only 1000 years ago. In ancient times dense forests made the region inaccessible.
968 saw the discovery of
silver deposits near the town of
Goslar, and
mines became established in the following centuries throughout the mountains. The wealth of the region declined after these mines became exhausted in the early
19th century. People abandoned the towns for a short time, but prosperity eventually returned with tourism. Between
1945 and
1990 an international border ran through the Harz, the west belonging to the
FRG and the east to the
GDR. Today the Harz forms a popular tourist destination for summer hiking as well as winter sports.
The
Harz National Park is located in the Harz; it covers the Brocken and surrounding wilderness areas.
Innerste,
Grane,
Oker,
Ilse,
Holtemme,
Bode,
Selke,
Wipper,
Thyra,
Zorge,
Oder,
Söse.
* http://www.harz-travel.de/ - source for travel, accommodation and information about the Harz
* http://www.harz-paradies.de/ - Touristic information about the holiday area Harz, Germany
* http://www.harzsagen.de/ - Lore and tales from the Harz
* http://www.harzregion.de/ - Homepage of the
Regionalverband Harz e.V., the Harz Regional Alliance
* http://www.nationalpark-harz.de/
*
The Harz in 18.000 pictures* http://ch.dmoz.org/World/Deutsch/Regional/Europa/Deutschland/Regionen/Harz/ - About the Harz region
