Discover Osterwieck

Osterwieck combines distinctive architectural details and culture with a cycle route that starts here. At Schäfers Hof there is a decagonal dovecote; two walking tours are recommended in the “Schling” passage, and the local history museum displays a wedding plate from the 15th century. This gives you a choice of whether to shape your stay around local details, a museum object or a cycling trip.

Architecture, finding your way around town and a museum object

Schäfers Hof at Kapellenstraße 27 has a decagonal dovecote. Its ten sides give the structure a clearly identifiable geometric form—a specific detail for anyone who likes to look out for individual architectural features while travelling. Rather than a general impression, the focus here is on a particular feature: the tower’s unusual shape.

The “Schling” passage, which runs from Stephanikirchhof to the market in Osterwieck, offers another way to find your bearings. Information boards recommend two walking tours there. This means that, as well as a single building, two suggested routes can serve as starting points for planning your visit to the town. If you want to follow the boards, check in advance whether they are available on site.

The Osterwieck Local History Museum displays a wedding plate made of maple wood from the 15th century. Its material, purpose and date make it a precise cultural point of interest: a plate is notable not only for its shape, but also for the occasion and period with which it is associated. For travellers interested in culture, this object offers a different focus from the dovecote: here, the emphasis is on a named item in the collection, while there it is on an architectural feature.

Cycling from Osterwieck, with the Harz as a separate focus

The Ilse Cycle Route begins in Osterwieck and heads south out of town, crossing the Ilse Bridge towards Schauen. This makes the route easy to factor into your travel plans: both its starting point and its direction, as well as a notable section of its course, are specified. If you want cycling to be a feature of your stay, you can consider Osterwieck as the starting point for this route when choosing a holiday apartment. Comparing it with the walking tours in the “Schling” passage can help you choose between a focus on the town itself and one centred on cycling.

The Harz as a wider travel destination

For travel plans that also take in the wider Harz region, there are other distinct areas of interest. The UNESCO Geopark Harz–Braunschweiger Land–Ostfalen includes the Harz. Its visitor facilities include information centres, adventure trails, show mines, erratic boulder gardens and museums. The Harz National Park has eight visitor centres and national park houses offering information about the park, hiking tips, exhibitions and film screenings. There are also guided hikes and excursions with rangers, specialists, national park guides and national park forest guides. As dates may change, it is a good idea to check them in advance.

The Harz’s history and landscape can also be understood through specific figures. The Upper Harz Water Management System has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since August 2010. Today, it comprises 107 preserved ponds, 310 kilometres of water channels and 30 kilometres of underground waterways. At 1,141 metres, the Brocken is the highest peak in the Harz and lies within the core zone of the Harz National Park. These themes differ considerably from Osterwieck’s individual cultural points of interest and can play a separate role in choosing the focus of your trip.

For hiking enthusiasts, the Harzer Wandernadel offers another goal: it links 222 stamping stations throughout the Harz. Anyone who collects all 222 stamps earns the title “Harzer Wanderkaiser” (Harz Hiking Emperor). When planning a trip to the Harz, you can weigh up information services, guided activities, World Heritage and a hike based on stamping stations. When looking for a holiday apartment, the first consideration is which focus will shape your travel plans: Osterwieck’s local attractions and the starting point of its cycle route, or the wider range of things to do in the Harz.

Discover more destinations

Rohrsheim, Güntersberge, Blankenburg Am Harz, Schwanebeck, Quedlinburg, Huy, Wernigerode, Selke-Aue

Back to the main travel overview: Harz.