The Ilsestein (formerly also called Ilsenstein) is a prominent granite rock formation near the town of Ilsenburg in the Harz mountains of central Germany. Offering a scenic view over the Ilse valley to the Brocken massif, the highest mountain of the range, it is today a popular tourist destination.
The Ilsestein is located in the Oberharz inside the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park within the Harz National Park, the park boundary running along the forest track immediately east of the rock formation. Its summit is 473.2 m above sea level (NHN) [1] and rises about 130 to 150 metres above the Ilse river. It is located about 2 km (1.2 mi) south-southwest of the centre of Ilsenburg. From toporgraphical maps it can be seen that there is a fork in the track to the northeast and just below the rocks at 315.5 m above NN [2] and a waypoint on the same track next to the Gasthaus Ilsestein at 465.6 m above NN. [2]
Around 1000 AD, a small counter-castle was erected on the Ilsestein immediately after the conversion of the former Saxon fortress of Elysynaburg into Ilsenburg Abbey by the Bishops of Halberstadt. After about hundred years, it was destroyed around 1107, nevertheless its layout could be reconstructed.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe mentions the Ilsestein in the Walpurgisnacht scene in his drama, Faust I , and again, together with the Heinrichshöhe and Schnarcherklippen, in Faust II . Heinrich Heine described how he climbed the Ilsestein in his 1826 book, Die Harzreise (The Harz Journey). Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel mentions an Ilsenstein as the location of a haunted forest. There are several legends around a maid Ilse and one Duke Henry, which authors like Heinrich Pröhle, Otto Roquette and others wrote down.
On 18 October 1814, one year after the Battle of Möckern on the first day of the Battle of Leipzig, Count Anton of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1785–1854) had an iron cross erected on the summit. The count had served as adjutant of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and the monument commemorates his comrades who fell in the German campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. For the centenary of the Möckern battle, on 18 October 1913, a memorial plaque was unveiled here in the presence of Prince Christian Ernest of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1864–1940) with an explanation of the origin of the 1814 iron cross.
From the summit of the Ilsestein the view extends to the nearby Brocken, which rises to the southwest, into the Ilse valley with its surrounding mountains and to the north to Ilsenburg and the Harz Foreland.
The pub, Gasthaus Ilsestein, re-opened in 2016 and is checkpoint No. 30 in the Harzer Wandernadel hiking network. [3]
The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is the highest peak in the Harz mountain range and also the highest peak in Northern Germany; it is near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt between the rivers Weser and Elbe. Although its elevation of 1,141 metres (3,743 ft) is below alpine dimensions, its microclimate resembles that of mountains of about 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The peak above the tree line tends to have a snow cover from September to May, and mists and fogs shroud it up to 300 days of the year. The mean annual temperature is only 2.9 °C (37.2 °F). It is the easternmost mountain in northern Germany; travelling east in a straight line, the next prominent elevation would be in the Ural Mountains in Russia.
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.
The Heinrichshöhe is a subsidiary peak of the highest mountain in the Harz, the Brocken, and, at 1,040 m above NN, it is the second summit in the Harz Mountains.
The Wolfsklippen, also called the Wolfsklippe, is a granite mountain in the Harz mountains in Central Germany with an observation platform on the summit. Its height is frequently given as about 723 m above sea level (NN), but occasionally also as only around 710 m above NN.
The Hohnekamm or Hohne Kamm is a mountain ridge up to 900 m above sea level high in the Harz mountains of central Germany. It is located in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and is well known for its rock towers or tors, the Hohneklippen.
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 Ottofels, named after Prince Otto of Stolberg-Wernigerode, is a tor and natural monument near Wernigerode in the Harz mountains of central Germany.
Plessenburg is a village in the town of Ilsenburg in the Harz National Park, in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Trautenstein is a village in the borough of Oberharz am Brocken in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Trautenstein has 493 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010. Formerly an independent municipality, it was merged into the town Hasselfelde in 2002, which was merged into Oberharz am Brocken in 2010.
The Renneckenberg is a mountain, roughly 933 metres (3,061 ft) high, in the High Harz part of the Harz mountain range of central Germany within the borough of Wernigerode in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Trudenstein is a rock formation and popular hiker's destination in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. It is located in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Molkenhaus is a historic house near Wernigerode, Harz, Germany, located on the Jägerkopf hill above the Steinerne Renne waterfall and the source region of the Holtemme river. The timber-framed building, which was built by order of the Senior Master Hunter (Oberjägermeister) of the counts of Stolberg, von Meseberg, at the beginning of the 18th century, belonged to the Ilsenburger Marienhof and was used for hunting purposes and the production of butter. Nowadays it is used by the Harz National Park.
The Bremen Hut in the Harz Mountains is a refuge hut and shelter in that part of the Harz National Park lying within the borough of Ilsenburg (Harz) in Harz district in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Ilse valley is the ravine of the Ilse stream in the northern boundary of the Harz mountain range in Germany. Part of the Harz National Park, it runs from the town of Ilsenburg at the foot of the mountain range up to the source region near the summit of the Brocken massif, the highest mountain of the range. The scenic valley is a popular hiking area.
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.
The Ahrensklint or Ahrentsklint in the Harz Mountains is a granite rock formation, 822.4 m above sea level (NN), on the Erdbeerkopf in Harz district in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Barenberg, also called the Bärenberg or Bärenkopf, is a mountain, 695.5 m above sea level (NN), in the Harz Mountains of Germany near the village of Schierke, Harz county, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The Kapitelsberg in the Harz Mountains of Germany is a hill, 535.7 m above sea level (NN), near the village of Tanne in the county of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt.
The Elversstein in the Harz Mountains of Germany is a granite rock formation with a maximum elevation of 499 m above sea level (NN) on the Steinberg near Hasserode in the county of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt.
The Scharfenstein is a hill spur, 462.4 m above sea level (NN), of the Eichberg-Süd (486.4 m) in the Harz Mountains of Germany, near the town of Wernigerode in the county of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt.
Media related to Ilsestein at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 51°50′49.5″N10°39′41″E / 51.847083°N 10.66139°E