The Zeterklippen are a striking
rock formation
A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock (geology), rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock Geological formation, formation ...
or
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 ...
on the 930-metre-high
Renneckenberg mountain, overlooking the
Ilse valley 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 ...
in Germany. The Renneckenberg is an eastern sub-peak of 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, ...
. The rocks themselves lie at a height of about above sea level. They can be reached from the ''
Molkenhausstern'' after about 2.5 km. The track initially runs uphill through dense
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
forest until the view opens out towards the Hohnekamm and down to
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 ...
. Then the route branches off to the right onto a steep, 0.5 km, path and, after about 200 m, a gentler 0.4 km path leads to the ''Große Zeterklippe'' ("Great Zeter Rock"). Immediately below this highest of the rocks is a
mountain hut
A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...
that dates to the time when a
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
had been laid out here as a replacement for the inaccessible
Brockengarten.
The ''Große Zeterklippe'' can be climbed using iron ladders. The climb is rewarded with a wonderful view of the Brocken, the town of Wernigerode below and the North Harz Foreland.
History
The origin of the name ''Zeterklippen'' is not entirely clear. It is not derived from ''Zeter'' or ''Zintar'' or ''Brunnen des Ziu'' ("Thor's Spring"). Also unlikely is the connexion with the
Upper German
Upper German ( ) is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern German-speaking area ().
History
In the Old High German time, only Alemannic and Bairisch are grouped as Upper German. In the Middle High German time, East F ...
word ''zêter'' which is a call for legal or military assistance.
In 1407 the name first appeared as ''de Zetterberg'', in 1592 as ''am Zetterklebe'' and in 1640 as ''Setterklee''.
The ''Große Zeterklippe'' ist checkpoint no. 10 in the Harz Walking Network (''
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 ...
'').
See also
*
List of rock formations in the Harz
This is a list of rock formations in the Harz. They are known as the Harzklippen (literally "Harz crags" or "Harz cliffs") in German, which is the collective name for the, mainly, granite rock outcrops, crags and tors in the Harz moun ...
External links
Klippen und Felsen östlich des Brockens
{{Coord, 51, 48, 33, N, 10, 38, 27, E, type:landmark_region:DE-ST, display=title
Rock formations of the Harz
Rock formations of Saxony-Anhalt