Köte

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A Kote and Kohlenmeiler with charcoal burners at their work (turn of the 19th/20th century) Kohler JH-Wende.JPG
A Köte and Kohlenmeiler with charcoal burners at their work (turn of the 19th/20th century)
A Kote and rest area on the Schindelkopf Kote Schindelkopf.jpg
A Köte and rest area on the Schindelkopf

A Köte (also Köthe) is the term used in the Harz Mountains of central Germany for a charcoal burner's hut (Köhlerhütte). A Köte was occupied by a charcoal burner in order to look after a nearby wood pile (Kohlenmeiler). The charcoal burner prepared the necessary charcoal for the smelting of ores. [1]

Germany Federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

Charcoal burner someone whose occupation is to manufacture charcoal; historical occupation of person who made charcoal

A Charcoal burner is someone whose occupation is to manufacture charcoal. Traditionally this is achieved by carbonising wood in a charcoal pile or kiln. As an occupation it has almost died out in the first world countries.

Smelting Use of heat and a reducing agent to extract metal from ore

Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore in order to extract out a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a chemical reducing agent to decompose the ore, driving off other elements as gases or slag and leaving the metal base behind. The reducing agent is commonly a source of carbon, such as coke—or, in earlier times, charcoal.

Contents

Today, Köten are used for tourism purposes as shelters and rest stops for hikers.

Tourism travel for recreational or leisure purposes

Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. Tourism may be international, or within the traveller's country. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes".

Examples

There are replicas of Köten in the Harz, for example at these places:

Schulenberg im Oberharz Stadtteil of Clausthal-Zellerfeld in Lower Saxony, Germany

Schulenberg im Oberharz is a village and a former municipality in the district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has been part of the town Clausthal-Zellerfeld since January 1 2015.

<i>Normalhöhennull</i> standard reference level, the equivalent of sea level, used in Germany to measure height

Normalhöhennull or NHN is a vertical datum used in Germany.

Harzer Wandernadel

The Harzer Wandernadel is a system of hiking awards in the Harz mountains in central Germany. The hiker can earn awards at different levels of challenge by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and stamping his or her passbook to record the visit. With 222 checkpoints in three federal states and across five districts in the Harz and with membership in five figures, the system has gained a following Germany-wide.

Related Research Articles

Bad Lauterberg Place in Lower Saxony, Germany

Bad Lauterberg is a town in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the southern Harz, approx. 15 km southwest of Braunlage, and 20 km southeast of Osterode am Harz.

Lonau is a small village with a population of about 345 situated at an elevation of about 400m in the Harz Mountains of Northern Germany. Besides the clean air and lush forests, it is famous for the capercaillie. It belongs to the city of Herzberg am Harz which is about 4 km to the south. The rivers Große Lonau and Kleine Lonau join here.

Bruchberg mountain

At 927 m above sea level (NN), the Bruchberg in the Upper Harz is the second highest mountain in Lower Saxony and the third highest in the Harz mountains in North Germany. It lies between Altenau and Torfhaus in the middle of the Harz National Park. The Bruchberg is more like a plateau and has no real summit. This plateau is partly covered with trees, but on the sunny southern slopes the trees have largely died as a result of bark beetle infestation. Following this insect destruction, a new natural forest, rich in its variety of species, is now growing in the heart of the Harz National Park.

Söse river in Germany

Söse is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the river Rhume and 38 kilometres (24 mi) long.

Wolfsklippen mountain

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.

Auf dem Acker mountain

Auf dem Acker is a mountain ridge up to 865.1 metres high, which is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains in Lower Saxony (Germany).

Romkerhall

Romkerhall is a popular tourist destination on the River Oker in the Harz Mountains of Germany. There is a public car park here as well as a hotel and restaurant opposite the Romkerhall Waterfall. Romkerhall lies within the unincorporated area of Harz in the Lower Saxon county of Goslar in the Harz Mountains. The hotel and waterfall form a small tourist attraction which is marketed as the "Kingdom of Romkerhall - the smallest kingdom in the world!"

The Große Schweimke is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany.

Kleine Steinau river in Germany

Kleine Steinau is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a 9.1 km (5.7 mi) long tributary of the Sieber, north of Herzberg am Harz in the district of Göttingen.

Froschfelsen

The Froschfelsen, also called the Froschsteinklippe, is a natural monument near Ilsenburg in the northern Harz in central Germany. It is a formation of granite rocks that take the shape of a frog, hence the name.

The Bielstein Tunnel is a disused railway tunnel in Saxony-Anhalt in the Harz Mountains of Central Germany. The tunnel is 465.7 metres long and lies between the zig zag of Michaelstein and Braunesumpf. It belonged to the Erzstufen Railway and, from 1885, to the Harz Railway . During the construction of the Harz Railway the tunnel profile was widened and Braunesumpf station laid out. When the Rübeland Railway was electrified from 1960 to 1965 the tunnel profile had to be widened again. In addition the tunnel was found to be in poor condition so that it was abandoned and the line was relaid further east through a cutting. The tunnel is no longer accessible today.

Bremen Hut (Ilsenburg) building

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.

Ackeburg castle

The Ackeburg, also called the Ackenburg, in the Harz Mountains of central Germany, is the site of a high medieval hill castle, 333.2 m above sea level (NN), in the borough of Falkenstein/Harz in Harz district in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. It was first mentioned in 1216 and was abandoned or destroyed in 1400. There was also a village associated with it, known as Akkeburg.

Kapitelsberg mountain in Germany

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.

Steina Dam dam in Germany

The Steina Dam in the Harz Mountains of central Germany is a dam system comprising a dam, reservoir and waterworks near the village of Steina and belongs to the unincorporated area of Harz in the county of Osterode am Harz in Lower Saxony.

Ölbergshöhe mountain in the Harz, Germany

The Ölbergshöhe in the Harz Mountains of central Germany is a mountain spur, 320.6 m, of the Ramberg ridge near Bad Suderode in the Saxony-Anhalt county of Harz.

Dehnenkopf mountain

The Dehnenkopf in the Harz Mountains of central Germany is a summit about 775 m above sea level (NN) near Torfhaus in the unincorporated area of Harz in the county of Goslar in Lower Saxony.

Stierbergsteich reservoir in Germany

The Stierbergsteich in the Harz Mountains of central Germany is a storage pond near Rothesütte on the boundary of the counties of Harz (Saxony-Anhalt) and Nordhausen (Thuringia).

Elfenstein mountain

The Elfenstein is a hill spur, about 475 m above sea level (NN), in the northern foothills of the Harz Mountains of central Germany and the site of the eponymous granite rock formation above the town of Bad Harzburg. It is located in the unincorporated area of Harz in the county of Goslar in the state of Lower Saxony.

Schindelkopf mountain in the Harz, Germany

The Schindelkopf in the Harz Mountains of central Germany is a southwestern outlier of the mountain ridge known as Auf dem Acker. It is located near the town of Osterode am Harz within the unincorporated area of Harz which is in the district of Göttingen in the state of Lower Saxony.

References

  1. Informationstafel Eine Köte… (Foto), auf jensunterwegs.de
  2. 1 2 Köte am Heidenstieg:
    Topographische Karte mit Wegabzweig bei der Köte am Heidenstieg [südöstlich unterhalb eines Wasserbehälters (Wbh); ungefähre Höhenlage der Köte laut Höhenlinie/n in AK 5/2,5], auf natur-erleben.niedersachsen.de
    – Harzer Wandernadel: Stempelstelle 124 / Köte am Heidenstieg, auf harzer-wandernadel.de
  3. 1 2 Köte am Schindelkopf:
    – Topographische Karte mit zwei Wegabzweigen bei der Köte am Schindelkopf [auf dem Bergnordwesthang; ungefähre Höhenlage der Köte laut Höhenlinie/n in AK 5/2,5], auf natur-erleben.niedersachsen.de
    – Harzer Wandernadel: Stempelstelle 143 / Köte Schindelkopf, auf harzer-wandernadel.de