What to See in Bad Harzburg - Top Sights and Attractions

Monument in Bad Harzburg, Germany. The Harzburg, also called Große Harzburg, is a former imperial castle, situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range overlooking the spa resort of Bad Harzburg in Goslar District in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It was erected from 1065 to 1068 at the behest of King Henry IV of Germany, slighted during the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75, and a century later rebuilt under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and his Welf successor Otto IV, who died here in 1218.

Later used as a robber baron's lair, the hill castle crumbled into ruins over the centuries. Today it has almost completely disappeared; only fragments of the foundation walls and the towers together with the castle well are preserved.^[1]

Gondola lift station in Bad Harzburg, Germany. The Burgberg Cable Car is a cable car in Bad Harzburg, Germany. It was built in 1929 by the Bleichert engineering corporation and has a length of 481 metres. Its hauling cable has a diameter of 18 mm, its carrying cable a diameter of 37 mm. It is driven by a 40 metric horsepower engine at the summit station. It has two cabins carrying up to 18 passengers each.

The cable car is named after the Burgberg mountain, site of the historic Harzburg Castle, built by Emperor Henry IV about 1068. The upper terminus was erected next to the ruins. Cable car and stations are preserved in their original 1920s condition.

The large gondolas transport passengers in three minutes to the Großer Burgberg (483 m). From there, there is a panoramic view of Bad Harzburg, the surrounding mountains and far across the Harz region. On the Burgberg are castle ruins to explore and trails for experienced and inexperienced hikers. It is also the jump-off point for many walks through the Harz to popular destinations such as the Molkenhaus or the crags of the Rabenklippen.^[3]

Mountain in Germany. The Butterberg is an elongated hill northeast of the spa town of Bad Harzburg in Goslar district, in the German state of Lower Saxony. Its long crest, which since 1952 is protected as a nature reserve, reaches a height of 308 m above NN.

Part of the northern Harz foothills, the hill is located north of the Harz Nature Park at the rim of the Harz National Park. The Butterberg is part of the Harz - Brunswick Land - Eastphalia National Geopark; its steeply inclined strata belong to the Northern Harz Boundary Fault. In the west, the hill is bounded by the Radau river and the parallel Bundesstraße 4 highway. The mountain-ridge path offers scenic views to the Harz mountains and over the North German Plain.

The name Butter is associated with Low German buten (i.e. "outside", c.f. Buten and binnen). These are therefore hills lying outside or on the edge of given places. There are many other "Butterberg" hills in German-speaking regions.^[5]