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Eckertal is a hamlet of about 160 inhabitants in Bad Harzburg in Lower Saxony, Germany.
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Eckertal is a hamlet of about 160 inhabitants in Bad Harzburg in Lower Saxony, Germany.
The settlement is situated just north of the Harz mountain range at the entrance of the densely forested Ecker valley, about 8 km (5.0 mi) downstream of the Ecker Dam. Located on the rim of the Bad Harzburg municipal area, about 6 km (3.7 mi) east of the town centre, its direct neighbour is the village of Stapelburg, part of the Ilsenburg municipality in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The parish is part of the Harz Nature Park; from here, the protected area of the Harz National Park stretches up to the Brocken massif in the south.
The Ecker valley above the present-day settlement was the site of the medieval Ahlsburg fortress, an Imperial castle presumably erected in the 12th century. The picturesque vale was linked to public transport with the opening of the Wernigerode–Ilsenburg–Bad Harzburg railway line via Stapelburg and Eckertal on 1 October 1894. Two years later the Jungborn destination spa was founded in the Ecker valley, temporary home of notable guests like Franz Kafka in July 1912.
In the course of the German re-armament, the Luftwaffe forces in 1936 had a vast aircraft munitions depot (Luft-Munitionsanstalt, Muna) built on the railway line in the Schimmerwald forest northwest of the village. It was destroyed in the last days of World War II on 10 April 1945, when retiring German troops blew it up while US Army forces entered the region. The blast left severe damages in the surrounding villages and even destroyed window panes in the Bad Harzburg train station about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) away. On the munitions site, which had an area of 270 ha, there were over 120 bunkers and a large number of bomb craters with a diameter of up to 60 metres (200 ft). [1] The Lower Saxon bomb disposal service continued to work at Eckertal until 2011.
During the period of the post-war division of Germany, Eckertal was the site where the Inner German border along the Ecker interrupted the Bundesstraße 6. Likewise, Eckertal became the terminus for trains from Bad Harzburg and the railway tracks were finally dismantled in the 1970s. A restaurant and an observation post overlooking the border installations were a popular destination for day-trippers.
After the Wall was opened on 9 November 1989 in Berlin, the inner German Border followed suit. On 11 November 1989 around 4.30 pm the highway was re-opened between Eckertal and Stapelburg. From a historic point of view this was the first new border crossing between East and West Germany in the process of reunification. Today a monument commemorates this event. It bears the inscription "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit für das Deutsche Vaterland" from the third stanza of the Deutschlandlied .
The Harz is a 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 name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart, Latinized as Hercynia. The Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz with an elevation of 1,141.1 metres (3,744 ft) above sea level. The Wurmberg is the highest peak located entirely within the state of Lower Saxony.
Harz National Park is a nature reserve in the German federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It comprises portions of the western Harz mountain range, extending from Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg at the southern edge to Bad Harzburg and Ilsenburg on the northern slopes. 95 % of the area is covered with forests, mainly with spruce and beech woods, including several bogs, granite rocks and creeks. The park is part of the Natura 2000 network of the European Union.
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 include the Sonnenberg and the slopes on the Wurmberg.
Bad Harzburg is a spa town in central Germany, in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa and climatic health resort.
Ilsenburg is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilse valley with its little river, the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker, about six 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of the town of Wernigerode. It received town privileges in 1959. Owing to its surrounding of forests and mountains as well as its position on the edge of the Harz National Park, Ilsenburg is a popular tourist resort. Since 2002, it is officially an air spa.
Darlingerode is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. On 1 July 2009, it was incorporated into the town of Ilsenburg.
Stapelburg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the Nordharz municipality.
The Taubenklippe is a rock formation in the Harz mountains in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It lies about halfway between Bad Harzburg and Ilsenburg at a height of 572 m above NN on the eastern slopes of the Ecker valley. From the crag there is a good view over Harz Foreland, the heights near Bad Harzburg and the highest mountain in the Har, the Brocken. The Taubenklippe may be reached from the Ecker valley on a footpath, some 6 km long, that starts in Ilsenburg.
The Muxklippe is a granite rock formation in the Harz National Park in Germany.
Oker is a borough (Stadtteil) of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1952 a mining town in its own right within Wolfenbüttel district, it was incorporated into the Goslar municipality on 1 July 1972.
The Ahlsburg or Alerdestein was an Imperial castle near Stapelburg in the present-day Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Ecker is a 28-kilometre (17 mi), right-hand, southeast tributary of the Oker which runs mainly through the Harz mountains in the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony.
The Rabenklippe is a granite rock formation in the Harz National Park. The name means "Raven Crag" and is very apt as ravens live in the vicinity.
Butterberg is the name of several mountains and hills:
The Halle–Vienenburg railway is a 123 kilometre long non-electrified main line north of the Harz Mountains in central Germany. It is an important connection between the metropolitan area of Halle (Saale) and the northern Harz mountains. It was opened in several sections between 1862 and 1872 by the Magdeburg–Halberstadt Railway Company and is now maintained by DB Netz except for the disused section between Heudeber-Danstedt and Vienenburg. Since 1996, traffic between Heudeber-Danstedt and Vienenburg has used the railway via Wernigerode running further to the south.
The present-day Heudeber-Danstedt–Vienenburg railway is a 32 kilometre long main line, that serves the northern edge of the Harz Mountains in central Germany. Its main role is the handling of tourist traffic in the Harz and the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways there, but it is also worked by goods trains to and from the rolling mills in Ilsenburg.
The Scharfenstein is a mountain, 697.6 m above sea level (NN) high, in the Harz Mountains of Germany, near Ilsenburg in the district of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt. It is part of the Harz National Park.
Bad Harzburg railway station serves the spa town of Bad Harzburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the southern terminus of the Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway, one of the oldest lines in Germany, and the eastern terminus of a branch line to nearby Oker station. Regional rail services are operated by Deutsche Bahn AG and Erixx GmbH.
Bündheim is a village that forms a part (Stadtteil) of Bad Harzburg in the district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. As of 2020, Bündheim had a population of 5,204.
