Brocken, also attributed as Blocksberg is the peak stationed near Schierke, Germany. It is the top most peak in the Harz Mountains and in the nation of Germany. The peak is reputed for its association with legends and connections with witches and devils and is mentioned in various literary works like Goethe’s legend in the play Faust. The modern Brocken is the member of a national park and exhibits notable botanical garden of about 1,600 mountain plants which was founded and managed by Harz National Park since 1890.
The Brocken Spectre or Brocken bow is the magnificent event of the peak which illustrates a gigantic and magnified shadow of the viewer casting upon the upper surfaces of clouds opposed to the sun. The viewer is surrounded with a look of the glowing halo rings of glory giving an unearthly optical effect in the misty mountain. This weird phenomenon was first noted in 1780 and recorded in literature several times. The mountain traits number of hiking trails, TV and radio broadcasting. The most famous mountain peak happens to have an old TV tower with the observation deck open to people enjoying, learning and understanding the place.
A steam train is used for the tourists from Wernigerode to the railway station which is on the top. If one wants to travel to the summit, then there’s always an en-route from Schierke to the summit by walk or train. While resting on the way from the summit to the small village of Scheirke, it can prove to be the most peaceful and tranquil rest-stop with the gurgling and soothing waves of river Bode flowing through the village. Hiking on such a beautiful, attractive and worth visiting mountain has its perks and qualities.
Location:
The beautiful peak is set on the mountain Harz, and it surges over the Harz National Park of Wernigerode. The chief town is placed near the north-east of the mountain, which is about 12 kilometers away from the original place. The boundary of Wernigerode with Lower Saxony is running through the Brocken in the west which is about 2 kilometers away. And the south-eastern base of the mountain lays the village cum spa resort – Schierke.
To some extent to the north, below the summit of Brocken is repository named Brockenteich, which was put up in 1744. The reservoir contains the waters from rivers Bode, Ecker, Ilse, and the Oder. The place is surrounded with many shrubs, and various alpine mountain plants are spotted here. The sub-peaks of the mountain-Heinrichshone, Konigsberg, and Kleiner Brocken also called Little Brocken surrounds the highest peak-Brocken. The summit stone crosses the benchmark of 1142 meters above the sea level.
Weather:
The climate of Brocken is abysmal due to its peak lying above the natural tree line and thus leading to intolerable environmental conditions. It’s exposed in the north of Germany; the extreme weather conditions lead to more than 300 days of foggy and misty climate. Do you know that the average temperature in summers do not even reach up to 10 degrees Celsius while the winters witness the average temperature up to -15 degrees Celsius. The annual temperature on average is about 2-3 degrees Celsius.
The snow blanket covers almost throughout the year, massive and active storms and low temperatures throughout the year (yes, even in summers) with the lowest temperature recorded -28.4 degrees Celsius, the unusual conditions can even lead to winter landscapes. The intense temperatures are recorded till date gives the unusual figures. The weather department says that the maximum temperature recorded is 29 degrees Celsius while the lowest record gives the figure of -28.4 degrees Celsius! The bone-chilling winter freezes everything which comes its way! The peak also holds the record of having a huge number of misty and foggy days in a lone calendar year of Germany that is 330 days in the year 1958 with recorded 120 days of snowfall every year.
History:
The peak had its history when it was named. The current name ‘Brocken’ didn’t come up in the Middle Ages and was just conveyed as the Harz. The present name of the place dates back to the year 1176 when it was named as broke in the Saxon World. Also known as Brackenberg, this name came up in 1490 with a letter as received from Stolberg by Count Henry. And with this, the trail of references and different names were referred to this mountain peak from 1401 to 1589 and finally was settled for Brocken.
The modern history states that the world’s ever first television tower was built here in 1935 and carried the first TV broadcast of The Olympic Games, the 1936 Summer Games held in Berlin. The uprising of World War II waved the broadcasting away by the authorities at the end of September 1939. Due to bombings ad destructions caused, the Brocken Hotels and weather stations have been fully destroyed. The American forces installed it back and disabled the rebuilt weather station and television tower when they left in 1947.
The 1957 Brocken had made progress with modernized television tower. From the following year, Brocken consisted of the security zone and after the beginning of Berlin wall construction in 1931, the East German force labeled it as a high-grade military safety zone changing it to a fortress. The Stasi or the East German Police were using the television tower for monitoring the area till 1985 when they displaced into a new building which now, is turned into a museum. The whole Brocken plateau was sealed by a concrete wall which was made from 2,318 different segments. Though now, the wall has been dismantled.
The surroundings:
With the harsh climate in the highest peak town of the country, the surroundings consist of thousands of varieties of plants and shrubs of the alpine region. It also makes it living for rare and untouched plants. One can compare both the mountain’s summit to the north Scandinavia and the Alps as they fall in the subalpine zone of the part. The only mountain in the country whose summit is above the tree line is majorly covered with little shrub heathland. The surroundings also include Brocken garden and botanical events are held to exhibit the rare and typical species around the area. The both of these places are cared and nurtured by the people working in Harz National Park and tourists, and guides are often spotted here.
The hawkweeds, Iceland moss, reindeer lichen, crowberry, vernal grasses, etc. are some of the typical species that can be spotted here. The animals that are spotted in this area are more of relics of the ice age just like The Northern Bat, The Alpine Shrew, and Ring Ouzel. The viviparous lizard has a distinctive characteristic which is found here as it is dark colored and variant. The others also include ground beetles, butterflies, etc.
Traveling the area
You can use the narrow gauge steam train that will take the tourists from Wernigerode to the railway station leading to the top of the mountain. One can also follow the number of hiking trails the mountain provides and a lot to explore in between. If one wants to go up to Brocken, only one alternative is to visit Schierke (the highest mountain village) and to stroll and hiking to the summit for two to three hours. The thrill and adventure this place has on offer is truly second to none and you would enjoy each part of it.
Another option is by traveling through bus taking from Wernigerode to Scheirke and from there it’s your choice to go by foot grasping the lovely nature and summit or speedy journey through the trains. You can also drive up a car from Wernigerode and park near the hotel in town.
Why visit?
The primary reason for the tour to the highest peak in Germany is for hiking and skiing in the best place and also enjoying the Brocken specter phenomenon only occurring in this location and experiencing the feeling like never before. Also, one can learn many stories and mountain culture and find out the hidden connection of the site with legends and devils and witches. The legendary tales are the musings of many people like the Indie Rock Band Liars’ album which was named “They Were Wrong, So We Drowned”.
Besides, nature lovers, adventurers and many literary people visit this place at least once in a lifetime to find out the mystery behind those dark shadows and enigmatic aura that makes this peak unique in itself. People following different cultures and eager to learn the mountain culture and want to find tranquility in their lives reside here near the river Bode in Scheirke and forget the chaotic world behind.
Major attractions
Visiting the peak can be enjoyed by both climbing to the peak and finding the major attractions and while getting down too. On the top, a museum is placed which give each and every detail of the peak by taking you back in time. There are various German hotels and restraints on can enjoy while going to the summit and also Brockengarten the botanical garden is present there for nature loving, people. When one reaches the summit, the path ringing the summit has a mind blowing sight to watch from the mountain and the foggy and misty atmosphere will leave you feeling enigmatic! Also, the Heinrich Heine Trail initiate down the mountain leads to the Flensburg is a perfect exploration.
While getting down the peak, you can take a perfectly different path to explore more of it. Leading to the Ilse River, one can spot the train station in ‘Richting (which means direction)Scheirke’ for a shortcut but can be adventurous as it is steep.While following that path, you may come up to Heinrichshohe mountain and also along Brockenstrasse.