Schierke is a village and a former municipality in the Harz district, in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

state of

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 ...

. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town

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 ...

. Situated within the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, 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'' der ...

mountain range in the valley of the river Bode, at the rim of 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 ...

, it is mainly a tourist resort, especially for

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and all kinds of winter sports.

Geography

Location

The winter sport and climatic spa of Schierke lies in the High Harz mountains, southeast of their highest summit, the

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

. It is situated in the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park and borders on the

in the north. Situated 600 to 650 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

in the valley of the Cold Bode, the parish of Schierke has an area of 40.1 km² and a population of 713 (as at 31 December 2007). Today Schierke again is a popular place to start or finish a walk to the

massif via the '' Goetheweg'' or the ''Glashüttenweg''. It has bus service and access to the Brocken Railway, whose station is located about 100 metres above the village. A popular attraction in the area is the "Brocken Coaster", a local summer rodelbahn. Schierke is also not far from downhill skiing destinations such as the slope of the Wurmberg mountain, the second highest of the Harz. Another winter activity in the area involves hiring or obtaining a sled and riding it down the "bob bahn" – a local

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation. It is also a traditional form of cargo transport used by the Innu, Cree and Ojibwe of North America, sometimes part of a dog train. It is used on snow to carry one or more people (o ...

ing track.

Climate

The average air temperature in Schierke is 5.3 °C, and it has an annual precipitation of 1,275 millimetres.

History

The field name of Schierke was first mentioned in the records in 1590 as ''Schiriken'' (the

word ''schier'' means, in the Harz area, an utterly, unspoilt wood (''blankes, reines Holz''). Hitherto there had been a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

in 1506, below the site of the subsequent village, in Elend, and a smelting works above the Cold Bode near the moor slags (''Moorschlacken''). A first church at the site was consecrated in 1691. On 20 June 1898 Schierke was connected to

by the Brocken Railway line, today run by the

Harz Narrow Gauge Railways The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (German: ''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or HSB) is a railway company that operates a network in the Harz mountains, in central Germany (formerly East Germany – officially the German Democratic Republic). The compan ...

, and on 4 October 1898 the line was extended up to the Brocken summit. Thereupon, Schierke became a popular tourist destination and numerous hotels and villas arose. In 1914 and again in 1934 it was the site of the German Skeleton Championships. Schierke became a municipality in its own right in 1924. After World War II, however, due to its location next to the

inner German border The inner German border ( or ''deutsch–deutsche Grenze''; initially also , zonal boundary) was the frontier between the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West ...

, Schierke for a long time was not accessible to the public for winter sports. Visits required an extra permission by

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

authorities between 1952 and 1989. Several hotels were converted into public holiday resorts of the

Free German Trade Union Federation The Free German Trade Union Federation ( or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 to 1990. As a mass organisation of the GDR, nominally representing al ...

(FDGB) and of the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

ministry. Barracks for the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic stood on the site of the present training centre for engineering and metallurgy. The 7th Border Company of the 20th Border Regiment guarded the stretch of border from the Brocken plateau via former Goetheweg station and the

Dreieckiger Pfahl The ''Dreieckige Pfahl'' ("Triangular Post") is a historic boundary stone, about 1.35 metres high and made of granite, located southwest of the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. The stone, erected befor ...

border stone (checkpoint no. 168 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 ...

) to the Großer Winterberg. Each troop was stationed for a week at a time in the present-day station building on the peak of the Brocken. After

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, tourism again prospered and many villas were restored. On 13 January 2009 Mayor Hans-Jochen Ermisch, and his counterpart from Wernigerode, Peter Gaffert, signed the treaty incorporating Schierke into Wernigerode. This merger came into effect on 1 July 2009.Gebietsänderungen vom 02. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2009

Statistisches Bundesamt The Federal Statistical Office (, shortened ''Destatis'') is a federal authority of Germany. It reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Office is responsible for collecting, processing, presenting and analysing statistical informati ...

Since then, the Wernigerode town council has made comprehensive efforts to develop Schierke as a

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

Politics

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted to Schierke on 5 May 1939 by the governor (''Oberpräsident'') of the Province of Saxony. Emblazonment: "On a field or, a stag's skull and antlers sable" (''"In gold ein schwarzer Hirsch-Schädel mit Geweih im Visier"''). The stag's antlers epitomize the "King of the Harz Forest", the dominant wild animal in the mountain forests around Schierke. Just as the antlers are the crown of the deer, Schierke, on the Brocken, "crowns" the Harz landscape with its natural beauty and its healing climate. The coat of arms was designed by the head of the Magdeburg state archives, Otto Korn.

Memorials

* Grave site on the village cemetery (''Ortsfriedhof'') for an unknown Rumanian, who was a victim of

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Places of interest

, highest mountain in the Harz, accessible daily on the Brocken Railway * Wurmberg, highest mountain in Lower Saxony * '' Feuersteinklippen'' crags * '' Schnarcherklippen'' crags * "Apotheke zum Roten Fingerhut" – "Red Thimble" chemist's * Schierke Mountain Church (''Schierker Bergkirche'')

Sport and hiking

The area around Schierke is criss-crossed by numerous trails, several leading up to the top of the Brocken. There is a choice of longer or shorter, but usually steeper, walks. The Wurmberg Trail (''Wurmbergstieg'') runs up to the summit of the Wurmberg. From the station, a trail runs directly to the

tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Toronto, Canada ** Toronto Raptors * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor ...

known as the ''Feuersteinklippe''. For winter sports lovers, Schierke has an extensive

cross-country skiing trail A cross-country skiing trail or ''loipe''From or ''Langlaufloipe'', pl. –''n'', ''loipe'' is a loanword in English-language travel guides, referring to cross-country ski trails in Europe. It is a Germanization of the Norwegian language, Norwegia ...

network and a natural ice rink. In the first half of the 20th century Schierke was known for its

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

run, where the German Championships were twice held – in 1914 and 1934. In 1950 the first East German national winter sports championships took place here, being portrayed on one of two special stamps by the East German Deutsche Post. In Schierke there is a summer rodelbahn, the ''Brockencoaster'' with a sun terrace. File:Schierker Bergkirche.JPG, Schierke Mountain Church File:SchierkerBurg.jpg, Schierke Castle at the head of the Elend valley File:Rathaus Schierke 2011.JPG, Schierke village hall

Notable people

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

visited Schierke in 1784. The

Walpurgis Night Walpurgis Night (), an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German language, German ), also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve) and Walpurgisnacht, is the Vigil#Eves of religious celebrations ...

scene in Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy is set in the "District of Schierke and Elend".

Schierker Feuerstein

'' Schierker Feuerstein'' is a herbal

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

and digestif (35% abv), patented in 1924 by the local chemist, Willy Drube. The red-brown beverage is named after the red

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

of the Feuersteinklippe, a tor-like rock formation nearby. After World War II the production at first continued in Bad Lauterberg on the western side of the inner German border, but was also resumed in Schierke from 1972 on as ''

Volkseigener Betrieb The Publicly Owned Enterprise (; abbreviated VEB) was the main legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany. These state-owned enterprise were all publicly owned and were formed after mass nationalisation between 1945 and the early 1960s, ...

''. After reunification the enterprises merged while the ''Feuerstein'' is still bottled at both locations.

References

External links

Schierke tourism
{{Authority control Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Wernigerode