Cool Castles, Pretty Towns, and More Churches
My father and I undertook another tour to explore more of the eastern Harz mountains and the lands around. Historically, this is the area where the Ottonian and Salian emperors had some of their ancestral lands, and spent a lot of time. Hiking around we came up with more fun than just old churches, though.

Moated castle Westerburg
The Westernburg is the oldest moated castle in Germany that is still intact. It is first mentioned as fief of the Counts of Regenstein in 1180. When the family died out, the castle changed possession several times until it came into the hands of the administration in Halberstadt. Today it houses a spa hotel, but is still accessible for visitors, and they serve some good ice cream. *grin*

Westerburg, inside view
The ringwall with two water filled trenches encloses an areal of 350x300 metres; the castle itself is 60x80 metres, with the houses built directly to the two metres thick curtain wall, and a round keep in the western part. Later, a square shaped set of buildings was added to the west; used as living quarters since the Renaissance.

Castle Lauenburg, the inner gate (with an Ent at work *wink*)
Much less is left of the Lauenburg, another of our typical hilltop castles. Castle Lauenburg was built by Heinrich IV in 1164 as part of a chain of Harz castles which also included the Harzburg. One of its functions was the protection of the town of Quedlinburg (where I've been a few years ago). Friedrich Barbarossa conquered the castle during his war against Heinrich the Lion (1180); it was destroyed already in the 14th century.

Lauenburg, keep of the outer bailey
The entire complex was once 350 metres long (that's coming close to some Norman whoppers like Chepstow), covering the Ramberg hilltop. The castle is divided in an outer bailey (Vorbug) sitting on its own peak with a still somewhat intact keep, and the main castle on the promontory, both separated by a natural trench and additional walls. The 140 metres long main castle was again separated into three baileys with two keeps.

Stolberg / Harz
Stolberg is a small town in the Harz where my father spent some holidays as child. It's always nice coming back to it after the debris left behind by years of GDR mismanagement has been turned into beautiful houses again. The town started as settlement connected to mining in the Harz mountains in AD 1000, and was in possession of the Counts of Stolberg since the 12th century. The Stolberg family held the castle (nowadays a Renaissance building on a hill above the town) until 1945.

Wernigerode / Harz, the town hall
Wernigerode is one of those towns full of pretty half timbered houses, and the town hall is particularly beautiful. The origins of the town cannot be traced before it appears in documents in 1121, when the then-to-be-called Counts of Wernigerode took their seat there. The place got town rights in 1229. After the Wernigerode line died out in 1429, the town came into possession of the Counts of Stolberg until 1714 when it became part of Preussen.

The cathedral in Halberstadt
The cathedral in Halberstadt is a predominately Gothic building that replaced an older church which was destroyed during Heinrich the Lion's wars with Friedrich Barbarossa. The main nave dates to 1260 and is influenced by the French style, but shortage of money led to delays, so the cathedral was finished only in the 14th century with the old Romanesque quire still in use until 1350 when it was replaced with a Gothic one. The transepts were added in 1491. Some things never change. ;-)

Halberstadt, Church of Our Lady, main nave
The Church of Our Lady in Halberstadt is a fine example of a four towered Romanesque church, dating back to 1005 albeit with changes in the 12th century (addition of the side naves), and again in the 14th century (cross grain vaulted ceiling to replace the former timber one). Even younger alterations during the 19th century historicism (wannabe Middle Ages style) have partly been deconstructed in the renovations post-WW2.

Benedictine monastery Huysburg
Huysburg Monastery was founded in 1080 as Benedictine monastery by Bishop Burchard of Halberstadt. It fell to the secularization in 1804, but became a monastery again in 1972; the only Benedictine monastery in the GDR. The church is a Romanesque basilica (unfortunately with Baroque bling inside). Other buildings have been added over the centuries; some of them serve as guest houses and meeting rooms today.

A Brigands' Lair - the Daneil Cave in the Huy Mountain
This cave can be found in the Huy mountain, a sandstone ridge now grown with beeches. There is a legend about an abducted maiden who was forced to work for a gang of evil robbers until she managed to escape, alert the village and give the guys their just dessert. The place has been lived in, maybe even by some unsavoury guys, but there are no documents about a veritable brigand gang harrassing the surroundings for years.

The cave houses in Langenstein
Here we got some 19th century Hobbit dwellings. *grin* They can be found in several places in the village of Langenstein. Some of these go back to the 12th century and were successively expanded. The last inhabitant left his cave in 1916. They were actually up to the living standard of the time, cool in summer and warm enough in winter thanks to ovens. The toilets were outside in the (in)famous plank huts.

One of the houses, interior (the kitchen; important in a hobbit hole)
The caves are of varying size; the average is 30 square metres for a family, with a kitchen and larder, a living room, and sleeping quarters. The caves were not poor man's hovels, but respectable housings for the working class. Several of them have been lovingly restored and equipped with old-fashioned furniture.

A very crazy way through sandstone cliffs
This crazy way leads through the red sandstone and musselkalk of the Huy mountain up to the remains of a castle. There are caves here, too, those dating back to the time of the Germanic tribes living here in pre-Roman times. They have been used until the 20th century, but they are larger and less comfortable, with no separate rooms. The last people to live there were some refugees from WW2 (until better places could be found for them).

Remains of Castle Langenstein (pretty much all there is)
At the end of the crazy way are some bits of castle wall. Castle Langenstein was built by the bishop of Halberstadt in the 12th century and once was a large and imposing structure covering the entire plateau of the hill. It was destroyed during the thirty Years War and used as quarry afterwards. Today only a section of a wall with the window opening is left. But the view over the land all the way to Halberstadt is nice.

Outline of a prehistoric longhouse
These are the outlines of a longhouse from the early Bronze Age (2300 - 1800 BC) near Benzingerode. When the new interstate was built, lots of prehistoric finds came up that are now spread to several museums. The area is not so far from the place where the famous Nebra disc has been found - quite a busy place some 4000 years ago. There are several menhirs in the surrounding fields, but no longer accessible. Since people kept stomping over the fields with no regard for the corn, the farmers fenced them in.

A glacier mill in the Huy Mountain
This bit of geological fun can be found in the Huy mountain ridge. Glacier mills are the result of cracks in the ground where glaciers slowly pushed forward. Melting water and small debris would run down those cracks and over time, carve canons, where the small stones washed out kettle shaped holes, the glacier mills. The mills in the Huy date back to the Saalian stage of the Ice Ages (352,000 - 130,000 years ago) and are the only ones to be found in Germany outside the Alps.

A river in the Harz
A typical Harz river, clear and cold, running over boulders.
  ¶ September 27, 2014