ETR // Stage 33 // Goslar - Mühlhausen

Goslar - Mühlhausen
51°54'21.5"N 10°25'45.0"E
51.905963, 10.429178
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Distance

Goslar - Mühlhausen
Radius 100 km
134 km

Highlights

Goslar Medieval Town
Naturpark Südharz
Zechstein Belt
Großer Ehrenberg
German Green Belt
The Iron Curtain
Inner German Border
Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park
South Harz Karst Landscape Biosphere Reserve

Explore Goslar on foot

Do yourself the favour of taking a long morning in Goslar before you hit the road. There are plenty of good museums and galleries to float around, and café's and restaurants to sample the local gastronomy - you might even find that you need to stay an extra day or two to soak in this magnificent medieval environment, while you're here.

Get back out into the nature

When you've taken in as much as you can digest, enjoy a nice ride south through the beautiful South Harz Nature Park, a region well-known for its scenic mountain views, hiking trails, geology and steam train tours, which are worth trying if you want to relax and see more of the nature.

Naturpark Südharz

Located in the county of Nordhausen in north Thuringia, Naturpark Südharz covers an area of 267 km making it the 5th largest natural park in the region. In fact, the entire Har region is a designated as a 'major nature reserve' (Großschutzgebiet) in which the Harz National Park is also located. The nature park covers parts of the southern foothills of the Lower Harz, the gypsum karst landscape of the adjacent Zechstein Belt and the transition region with the North Thuringian bunter sandstone country.

View from the top of Großer Ehrenberg

The highest point in the South Harz Nature Park is the Großer Ehrenberg at 635.5 m above sea level. From there, you can get a good feel for the surrounding geography and landscape. In the south, the park is bounded by the valley of the River Helme, to the north, the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park and to the northwest, the Harz Nature Park (in Lower Saxony). There is a lot to see and do in the area, so take your time here.

Look over towards Saxony-Anhalt just to the east and you'll find the South Harz Karst Landscape Biosphere Reserve, and the western boundary of Naturpark Südharz is part of the German Green Belt. Naturpark Südharz is also home to the wildcat and lynx, and you can come across many different species of bat including the Barbastelle which thrive in the beech woods around here.

Overlooking The Iron Curtain

Großer Ehrenberg rests on The Iron Curtain where the convoy track ran right over the summit of the mountain. On the one hand, the Iron Curtain was a separating barrier between the power blocs during The Cold War while the other hand, original cultural, ethnic or linguistic areas were preserved and natural biotypes were formed here as the European Green Belt shows us, today.

The German Green Belt

These days, the German Green Belt runs over Großer Ehrenberg. Similarly, The old Inner German Border used to run along the valleys of the Großer Kunzenbach and Kleiner Kunzenbach to the north and west of Großer Ehrenberg. To the northeast of the peak on the former Inner German Border you'll find the Dreiländerstein, situated at the tripoint of the three states. A really interesting region with a lot of layers of history to uncover, if you take the time to do so.

Photos

Dave O'Byrne
European Touring Route AS

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Highlights

Dreiländerstein
Heilbad Heiligenstadt
Iberg Car Race
Theodor Storm Literature Museum
Eichsfeld Local History Museum
Mainz Palace
Klausmühle
Vitalpark Spa
Mühlhausen Old Town

Heilbad Heiligenstadt

Heilbad Heiligenstadt is over 1,000 years old and is the traditional capital of the Eichsfeld region. The Iberg (453.2 m above sea level) in the city forest is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Heiligenstadt, and every year on the last weekend in June, thousands of visitors from all over Germany come up here to watch the traditional Iberg Race with touring and racing cars. Maybe you can time it so that you arrive there around then?

Culture-loving visitors should explore the center of Heiligenstadt where you'll find the Theodor Storm literature museum, the Eichsfeld local history museum, the baroque Mainz palace on Friedensplatz or the Klausmühle.

Tourism in Heiligenstadt is developed around hiking and cycling, with a well-developed network of hiking and cycling trails so you can explore the city and the surrounding area without your machine, and experience the beautiful nature of the middle of Germany, up close.

As a spa town, Heiligenstadt offers the tired and weary traveller numerous recreational opportunities. Vitalpark has six different swimming and bathing areas, seven saunas and steam baths, various different wellness concepts for visitors and spa guests. Take some downtime to recharge your batteries in these relaxing and rejuvenating surroundings.

Mühlhausen in The Middle Ages

Mühlhausen, in the north-west of Thuringia is Germany's geographical center. It was first mentioned in 967 AD and became one of the most important cities in the central region in the late Middle Ages. With eleven Gothic churches and well-preserved fortifications, Mühlhausen has a great variety of historical buildings, with one of the largest medieval city centres remaining in Germany, today. The engineer of The Brooklyn Bridge, John A. Roebling, and the influential architect Friedrich August Stüler were born in Mühlhausen. Johann Sebastian Bach worked as the municipal organist from 1707 to 1708. A couple of days in Mühlhausen is a good investment in your cultural and historical understanding of Central Europe.