Harz Mountains

The Harz Mountains lie across central Germany, and separate the northern lowlands from the southern uplands. It contains broadleaf and evergreen woodlands, gorges and waterfalls, cliff-faces, marshes, and alpine meadows. The entire mountain range is now a protected reserve. The highest point of the Harz is the Brocken, at 1,142 meters. It is shrouded in mist 300 days a year. What the mountains are most famous for, however, is its supernatural side.

The Brocken’s harsh but dreamlike appearance inspired the famous author Goethe while writing the nightmares of Faust. A rock shelf in Thale is called the Hezentenplatz. It is the place where witches dance every Walpurgisnacht (May 1), before flying off to meet the devil on the Brocken. The people of Harz have been obsessed with witches for centuries.

Halloween is especially celebrated here, as thousands of people swarm Thale and Schierke, the witchlore capitals of the Harz. Festivities include the age-old, witch-repelling ritual of rolling flaming bales of hay down the mountains. The mountains are quiet come Halloween, but that just adds to their eerie nature. The fall scenery is stunning, and the mystique only doubles the Halloween atmosphere.

The original spirit of Halloween were traditions from the UK and Ireland, and very familiar to the early residents.  When the Celts built their fortresses on the misty peaks, they brought with them their traditions. The Celtic festival Samhain was held on October 31^st, which marked the beginning of a new year, when the two worlds – natural and supernatural – were rumored to intertwine. When the Germanic tribes pushed the Celts out of the Harz, they turned it into a place of sacrifice.

The witchlore didn’t stay local, however. Cartographers went as far as to sketch witches hovering about the Brocken on the maps they drew, which can still be seen on road signs in the Harz. Goethe wrote a Walpurgisnacht gathering into Faust. Soon after, German Inquisitors published a “how to spot a witch” guide (Malleus Maleficarum) in 1487, and Europe was off on a rampage to spot the witches. In 1589, the city of Quendlinburg burned 133 suspected witches in just one day.

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