The ''Ottofels'' ("Otto Rock"), named after Prince Otto of

Stolberg-Wernigerode The County of Stolberg-Wernigerode () was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz region around Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. History The Counts of Wernigerode h ...

, is a

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 ...

and

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

near

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 ...

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 ...

of 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 ...

. The ''Ottofels'' or Ottofelsen lie about 2.5 km southwest of

Hasserode Hasserode has been a quarter in the town of Wernigerode in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt since 1907. Location Hasserode lies at the foot of the Harz Mountains in the valley of the River Holtemme, whose upper reaches include the water cas ...

in the borough of Wernigerode. It can only be reached on foot, either from the

Steinerne Renne The Steinerne Renne is a waterfall and natural monument near the town of Wernigerode in the Harz mountains of central Germany. Location The Steinerne Renne is east of the Harz National Park in the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park. It lies sout ...

halt on the

Harz Railway The Harz Railway or Trans-Harz Railway () was formerly the main line of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways (''Harzer Schmalspurbahnen'' or ''HSB'') and runs north to south right across the Harz Mountains from Wernigerode to Nordhausen, Thuringia, Nord ...

and

Brocken Railway The Brocken Railway () is one of three tourist metre gauge railways which together with the Harz Railway and Selke Valley Railway form the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways railway network in the Harz mountain range of Germany. It runs from the station ...

or from the car park at the junction of the Thumkuhle and Dränge valleys not far from the road to

Drei Annen Hohne Drei Annen Hohne is the name of a small settlement within the municipal area of Wernigerode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The place is located about southwest of the town within the Harz mountains, on the northeastern edge of the Harz National Park ...

. The rocks stand at a height of 584 metres 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 ...

and are 36 metres high. They are made of coarse-grained

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 ...

and have been weathered to form a

. On 27 July 1892 there was a ceremony to mark the completion of public access to the top, which consisted of several iron ladders. These ladders were replaced after the '' Wende'' in 1990. In addition the ''Ottofels'' is used for rock climbing by

mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

. From the summit there is a panoramic view of the mountains and valleys of the Harz as far as its highest peak, 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, ...

, and far over the northern Harz Foreland. The ''Ottofels'' is checkpoint no. 27 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 ...

'' hiking network.

Photographs

File:Ottofelsen2.jpg File:Ottofelsen5.jpg File:Ottofelsen6.jpg File:Ottofelsen7.jpg ''See also'':

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, Cliff, crags and tor (rock format ...

References

''Der Ottofelsen''
auf harzlife.de
auf ausflugsziele-harz.de Harzer Wandernadel
''Stempelstelle 27 / Ottofelsen''
auf harzer-wandernadel.de {{Coord, 51, 47, 49, N, 10, 42, 43, E, type:landmark_region:DE-ST, display=title Rock formations of the Harz Rock formations of Saxony-Anhalt Natural monuments in Saxony-Anhalt