Osterode am Harz (, ), often simply called Osterode ( Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

in central

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on the south-western edge of 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 ...

mountains. It was the seat of government of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Osterode. Osterode is located on the

German Timber-Frame Road The German Timber-Frame Road () is a German tourist route leading from the river Elbe in the north to the Black Forest and Lake Constance in the south. Numerous cities and towns each with examples of the vernacular Timber framing, timber-framed ho ...

Geography

Water

The

Söse Söse () is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the river Rhume and long. Geography The Söse rises on the plateau of ''Auf dem Acker'' in the district of Göttingen in the southwestern part of the Harz Mountains in ...

River flows through the town from the reservoir for the

Söse Dam The Söse Dam is a dam in the Lower Saxon part of the Harz mountains near Osterode in the German state of Lower Saxony. It was the first modern dam and reservoir complex (German: ''Talsperre'') to be built in the Harz and was constructed by the ...

about 5 km upstream. The dam was built in 1931 and has a capacity of 25.5 million m³. The

Harzwasserwerke The Harzwasserwerke GmbH (; English: Harz Water Works Limited) is a major German water company and dam operator based in Hildesheim, located within the German federal state of Lower Saxony. History Founded in 1928, the Harzwasserwerke were task ...

water company pipes

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

as far away as

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

Districts

The following districts (mainly surrounding villages) are part of the borough of Osterode am Harz, with populations in brackets (as of 1 July 2012): * Dorste (1,650) * Düna (140) * Förste (2,000) * Freiheit (2,100) * Katzenstein (1,200) * Lasfelde (1,300) * Lerbach (1,000) * Marke (150) * Nienstedt am Harz (440) * Osterode am Harz (11,500) * Petershütte (800) * Riefensbeek-Kamschlacken (350) * Schwiegershausen (1,800) * Ührde (100)

History

Osterode was granted town rights in the early 13th century. Defensive walls were built in the 13th century, and then expanded by 1330. In 1510, it was the site of riots and the townspeople murdered the town's mayor. In response, Duke

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) ( ...

held a court session, after which the leaders of the riots were sentenced, town property was confiscated and municipal privileges were revoked. In 1545, the town suffered a fire. Frequent marches of troops and marauders, looting, high war taxes, epidemics etc. devastated the town during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

of 1618–1648. Since 1665, Osterode belonged to the domain of the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

, which also ruled

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. In 1807 the town became part of the Napoleonic

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...

, in 1813 it passed to the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...

(in union with

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

), in 1866 it was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, and from 1871 it formed part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. In 1905, the town had a population of 7,467. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

caused a collapse of numerous local business, which led to mass unemployment and radicalisation of the people, and in 1933 the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

gained a majority in Osterode. During

World War II 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 ...

, from 1939 to 1941, Osterode was the location of the Oflag XI-A

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

for

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

officers, which was eventually relocated to Włodzimierz in

German-occupied Poland German-occupied Poland can refer to: * General Government * Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany * Occupation of Poland (1939–1945) * Prussian Partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish� ...

, and, from 1944 to 1945, there was also a

subcamp Subcamps were outlying detention centres (''Haftstätten'') that came under the command of a main Nazi concentration camps, concentration camp run by the SS in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Nazis distinguished between the List of N ...

of the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

for men of various nationalities. In April 1945, Osterode was captured by American troops. Following the war, it formed part of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Political

Local council

The Gemeinderat or council of Osterode has 34 members: *

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

: 16 * CDU: 12 * Grüne: 3 * FDP: 3 and one Bürgermeister (mayor). (local

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

on 11 September 2016)

Mayor

Jens Augat (SPD) has been ''Bürgermeister'' (mayor) of Osterode since 1 November 2019.

Culture and attractions

Museums

The ''Museum im Ritterhaus'' displays documents from Osterode's history from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to the recent past, as well as occasional temporary exhibitions. The

Lichtenstein Cave The Lichtenstein Cave, discovered in 1972, is an archaeological cave site near Dorste, Lower Saxony, Germany with a length of . The skeletal remains of 21 female humans and 19 males, dated to the Bronze Age, about 3,000 years ago were discovered. ...

is an archaeological site near Dorste, in the western part of the municipality. Two inhabitants of the village Nienstedt am Harz, 2 km north of the cave, have the same rare DNA pattern as that found in the skeletal material of a man whose bones were found in the Lichtenstein Cave dating to about 1000 BC.

Architecture

In the environs of Osterode there are several

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

, and Lichtenstein Castle between Dorste and Förste. The town

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

built between 1719 and 1722 is one of the most imposing buildings, built to supply the mining villages in the

Upper Harz The Upper Harz (, ) is the northwestern and higher part of the Harz mountain range in Germany. The exact boundaries of this geographical region may be defined differently depending on the context. In its traditional sense, the term Upper Harz cover ...

with grain. Today after a comprehensive renovation it has become the town hall. It is decorated with a bas-relief featuring the 18th-century coat of arms of Great Britain.

Recreation

Osterode is the starting point of the 100 km long

Harzer Hexenstieg The Harz Witches' Trail () is a footpath, just under 100 km long, in Germany that runs from Osterode through the Harz mountains and over its highest peak, the Brocken, to Thale. It is a project by the Harz Transport Association and Harz ...

, a

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 ...

trail to

Thale Thale () is a town in the Harz (district), Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany. Located at the steep northeastern rim of the Harz mountain range, it is known for the scenic Bode Gorge stretching above the town centre. Geography The ...

Transport

The B 243 federal route, built as a divided highway, is the main western link between the northern and southern

area. B 241 and B 498 link

Solling The Solling () is a range of hills up to high in the Weser Uplands in the German state of Lower Saxony, whose extreme southerly foothills extend into Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. Inside Lower Saxony it is the second largest range of hill ...

to the eastern Harz. Osterode lies on the Herzberg–

Seesen Seesen () is a town and municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx. west of Goslar. History The Saxon settlement of ''Sehusa'' was first mentio ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, with services to Brunswick. In November 2004 the town gained two new stations at a cost of about 1 million

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

, replacing two previous halts and providing a more central access to

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

Educational institutions

* Tilman-Riemenschneider-Gymnasium (high school), Osterode am Harz * Berufsbildende Schulen I des Landkreises Osterode am Harz * Berufsbildende Schulen II * Realschule Osterode * Hauptschule Neustädter Tor

Twin towns – sister cities

Osterode am Harz is twinned with: *

Armentières Armentières (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fi� ...

, France; one of the bridges over the Söse is called "Armentieres Bridge" *

Ostróda Ostróda (; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Austrāti'') is a town in northern Poland, in the historic region of Masuria. It is the seat of the Ostróda County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and has approximately 33,191 inhabitant ...

, Poland *

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, United Kingdom

Notable people

Tilman Riemenschneider Tilman Riemenschneider ( 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German wood carving, woodcarver and sculptor active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between the Gothic art, Late Gothi ...

(1460–1531), sculptor and artist, brought up locally. * Andreas Cludius, (DE Wiki) (1555–1624), legal scholar, professor * George William Alberti (1723–1758), essayist and theologian. * Friedrich (Fritz) Jorns, (DE Wiki) (1837–1910), Reichstag delegate (1893–1907), owner of the Osteroder Kupferhammer, died locally *

Paul Homeyer Paul Homeyer (26 October 1853 – 27 July 1908) was a German organist who had an active international concert career during the late 19th century and early 20th century. His repertoire encompassed works from a variety of musical periods from an ...

(1853–1908), concert organist * Friedrich Rinne (1863–1933),

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

, crystallographer and

petrographer Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The classi ...

. *

Otto Wernicke Otto Karl Robert Wernicke (30 September 1893, Osterode am Harz – 7 November 1965) was a Germans, German actor. He is best known for his role as police inspector Karl Lohmann in the two Fritz Lang films ''M (1931 film), M'' and ''The Testament of ...

(1893–1965), actor from 1923 to 1959. * Jochen Ulrich (1944–2012), choreographer and dancer. * Renate Krößner (1945–2020), actress, with roles in films and television. * Petra Emmerich-Kopatsch, (DE Wiki) (born 1960), politician (SPD) *

Marco Bode Marco Bode (born 23 July 1969) is a German former professional footballer. A one club man, Bode spent his entire professional career at Werder Bremen. He played as a left winger and forward. Club career Bode played his first football with home ...

(born 1969), footballer, played 421 games for

SV Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

and 40 for

* Nico Lauenstein (born 1986), a football goalkeeper who has played over 280 games

References

External links

*
Town history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osterode Am Harz Towns in the Harz Göttingen (district) Populated riverside places in Germany