The Harz National Park (Nationalpark Harz) was founded in 1990 and includes one of the most popular ski and hiking regions in Northern Germany. The park includes the Brocken mountain and some other parts of the Harz mountain range in Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony.
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| Harz National Park |
The hiking trails along the Goethe ("Goetheweg") and "Hexenstieg" roads will take you through forests, streams with crystal clear water, mysterious raised bogs, where you can see rare plant species and meet representatives of the local fauna. Mount Brocken is the highest point in Northern Germany, at 1142 meters. Very often the top of the mountain is hidden by fog, behind which only its vague silhouette is guessed. This circumstance served as the source of the legends about witches who gather on the mountain. This captured the imagination of the Germans so much that they decided to reproduce the witches' Sabbath in the Walpurgis Night show, which is held here every year.
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| Harz National Park |
The wild and wonderful Harz National Park is a delight for nature lovers looking to explore an untamed and unspoiled part of the world. Similar in some respects to the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, this park was part of the border between East and West Germany, which helped preserve its ecosystem, allowing it to flourish. Covered almost entirely in forest, the park also contains part of the Harz mountain range, which is home to the elusive lynxes and red deer. The strange raccoon dog can also be seen at times at this biodiversity hotspot.