Torfhaus is a village in the borough of the

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendig ...

Altenau Altenau () is a town and a former municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the town Clausthal-Zellerfeld. It is situated in the middle of the Harz mountains, between Clausthal-Zellerf ...

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 ...

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 ...

and lies at a height of about . It is the highest settlement in

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 ...

. This small settlement consists mainly of restaurants, youth hostels, ski huts and large car parks. A resort area with hotel and cabins was built in 2012/2013. The B 4 federal road, which is a major traffic route, runs from Brunswick to the north via Torfhaus to

Braunlage Braunlage () is a town and health resort in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony in Germany. Situated within the Harz mountain range, south of the Brocken massif, Braunlage's main business is tourism, particularly skiing. Nearby ski resorts inclu ...

and on into the South and East Harz. Today Torfhaus is a popular start point for walks along the

Goethe Way Goethe Way () is the name given to a number of footpaths or trails that run through various regions in Germany and the Alps (e.g. through the Harz mountains, Thuringian Forest, Alps) as well as a railway station ( Goetheweg station) on the Brocken R ...

to the Brocken, but also to the historic

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 ...

boundary stone and on over the mountains of the

Wurmberg Wurmberg is a municipality in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Wurmberg is located on the so-called Platte, a Karst mountain range in the northern Black Forest (Schwarzwald). Municipality The municipality Wur ...

Achtermannshöhe At , the Achtermannshöhe (also just called the Achtermann) in the Harz National Park is the third highest mountain in Lower Saxony and the fourth highest in the Harz, Harz mountains. It lies in the unincorporated area of Harz (Landkreis Goslar), ...

to Braunlage.

Geography

Torfhaus lies about 7 km east of Altenau and roughly 9 km south of

Bad Harzburg Bad Harzburg (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Bad Harzborch'') is a spa town in central Germany, in the Goslar (district), Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa ...

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 ...

. The river

Radau Radau is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is right tributary of the Oker. It rises in the Harz range, leaves the mountains at Bad Harzburg, and discharges into the Oker near Vienenburg. Course The river rises at around in the Upper Harz re ...

rises east of Torfhaus on the Torfhaus Moor (also called ''Radauborn Moor'').

Tourism and sport

Torfhaus lies at the heart 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 ...

and has ''inter alia'' a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

visitor centre, opened in 2009, as well as a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

run by the

German Youth Hostel Association The German Youth Hostel Association () or DJH is a non-profit registered organization (''eingetragener Verein''). It was founded in 1919 to provide affordable and safe accommodation for travellers, especially schools, youth groups and individua ...

. Numerous

hiking trail 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. " ...

s, such as the

, that runs to 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 is part of the

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

, and

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

trails run through Torfhaus.

Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

and

touring cyclists Touring may refer to: Travel Vehicles * Touring cars, an open car * "Touring", the estate/wagon version of Ford cars * Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, Italian automobile coachbuilder Tourism * Bicycle touring, self-contained cycling trips ...

generally prefer to cycle to Torfhaus via the ''

Landstraße Landstraße (; ; "Country Road") is the 3rd municipal district of Vienna, Austria (). It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with many workers and residential homes. ...

504'' from

, which is also called the "Steep Face" (''Steile Wand''); The ''

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...

4'', with its heavy motor traffic, is only used for round trips as an unavoidable route section. The cafe ''Brockenblick'' ("Brocken view") is a popular meeting point for

motorcyclist Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small-displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous co ...

s. In winter, Torfhaus has various

cross country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

routes as well as hiking trails. There is also a

toboggan run 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 (of ...

with a lift and a

ski slope Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

with a

drag lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for mountain sports in which skiers, snowboarders, or mountain bikers remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-c ...

. The Goethe Way runs along the Torfhausmoor (a

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombro ...

). It is accessible on a board walk installed by the national park and enables as good view of the

References

{{Authority control Goslar (district) Villages in the Harz