The Großer Knollen (also the Groß Knollen; colloquially referred to as the Knollen, historically the ''Grosze Knolle'') is a mountain in the southwestern part of the

Harz 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 w ...

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Geography

The Großer Knollen is located northeast of Herzberg am Harz and

Scharzfeld Scharzfeld is a village in the borough of Herzberg am Harz in the district of Göttingen in South Lower Saxony, Germany. Scharzfeld lies at a height of about 220 m above sea level and has 1,765 inhabitants (as at 1 October 2006). Th ...

, northwest of Bad Lauterberg im Harz and south of the hamlet of Sieber. It is surrounded by several other mountains and hills that range in height between 550 and 650 m above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value ( magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

. Just under 1 km away to the southwest the

Kleiner Knollen The Kleiner Knollen is a 631 metre high mountain in the southwestern part of the Harz in the German state of Lower Saxony. Geography The Kleiner Knollen is located east of Herzberg am Harz, northeast of Scharzfeld, northwest of Bad Laut ...

rises to a height of 631 m.

Geology

The Großer Knollen is a

porphyritic Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning a ...

volcano. When climbing the mountain walkers can see to the side of the path in places the reddish colouring in the rock that is due to the volcanic rock, porphyry. About 800 metres east of the Großer Knollen is the ''Knollengrube'' ("Knollen Pit"), in which iron ore was mined in 1925.

Observation tower

From the roughly 20 m high

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and ...

, which stands next to the

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

on the summit of the Großer Knollen, there is a view not only over the mountain peaks of the Harz, but also southwards to the Rotenberg and

Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; English: ''Oak-field'') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called "Untereichsfeld" = lower Eichsfeld) and northwest of the state of Thuringia ("Obereichsfeld" = upper Eichsfeld) in th ...

. In good conditions visitors can even see as far as the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side ...

to the south.

Walking

Numerous

walking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

radiate from the summit, including paths to Bad Lauterberg, Herzberg, Scharzfeld, Sieber and

Sankt Andreasberg Sankt Andreasberg is a former town in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2011, it is part of the town Braunlage. It is situated in the Harz, approximately 7 km west of Braunlage proper, and 20 km east ...

. The roughly 12 km long path to Sankt Andreasberg runs over a crest over 600 m high with many wonderful views. The Großer Knollen is checkpoint no. 150 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 ...

walking trail network.

Forest

Today the lower flanks of the Großer Knollen are mainly covered by beech, but some spruce also grows in higher areas. In 1596 it was entirely covered in beech woods, in 1630 there were also some sycamores.Ina Begemann: ''Palynologische Untersuchungen zur Geschichte von Umwelt und Besiedlung im südwestlichen Harzvorland (unter Einbeziehung geochemischer Befunde)'', Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultäten der Georg-August-Universität zu Göttingen, Göttingen 2003, p. 46
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Sources

* Topographic map 1:25,000 series, No. 4328 Bad Lauterberg im Harz * Topographic map 1:25,000 series, No. 4228 Riefensbeek (to determine the isolation and prominence)

References

External links

Information about the Großer Knollen

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knollen, Grosser Mountains of Lower Saxony Mountains of the Harz Osterode (district)