Selke-Aue: Röver Organ, Manor House and Nearby Hakel
Accommodation in Selke-Aue
Selke-Aue combines a rich local history with nature in the surrounding area. If you are looking for a holiday apartment for your stay, these different themes can shape your focus: music and architectural history, or a forest area with geology, vegetation and biodiversity. The Harz adds a broader destination to explore.
Bode-Selke-Aue near Wedderstedt with poppies
Photo: Roland Welke via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Nearby Hakel: Forest, Geology and Species
The nearby area includes the Hakel Nature Reserve, which encompasses the Großer Hakel and Kleiner Hakel. Together, the two forest areas cover just under 1,400 hectares; the protected area extends across the Salzlandkreis and Harz districts. Within Hakel, 34 hectares are designated as a strict nature reserve, entirely free from human intervention. A further 3,700 hectares of the surrounding area are largely excluded from use and management.
Hakel is a gently undulating forest area whose geological structure consists primarily of Lower Muschelkalk rocks. Its highest point is near Domburg, at 244 metres above sea level. Open oak-hornbeam forests interspersed with lime trees form the predominant vegetation. Rare, warmth-loving species include the service tree and wild service tree. The diversity of fungi is also remarkable: more than 600 different species of gilled and other cap fungi have been recorded in the nature reserve.
Domburg is associated with the forest area; it was once a Germanic place of worship and later a medieval castle. Nature and history come together in its name.
The Röver Organ and the Manor House
The Röver organ in Hausneindorf has 1,500 pipes. Wedderstedt Manor House dates from 1893, stands right on the main road and is used as the municipal administration office. The two localities therefore offer different cultural points of interest: an instrument with a striking number of pipes and a manor house with a clear historical date.
The Harz as a Wider Destination
The wider Harz destination opens up another range of themes. The UNESCO Geopark Harz–Braunschweiger Land–Ostfalen includes the Harz. Its visitor facilities include Geopark information centres, adventure trails, show mines, erratic boulder gardens and museums. In the Harz National Park, eight visitor centres and national park houses provide information about the park, hiking tips, exhibitions and film screenings.
The Harz National Park covers 24,732 hectares and accounts for around ten percent of the entire Harz region. Its offerings include guided hikes and excursions with rangers, experts, National Park Guides and National Park forest guides. Check the current dates of these guided activities when planning your visit.
The Harzer Wandernadel hiking stamp scheme also offers a distinctive way to explore the region: it links 222 stamping points across the Harz. Anyone who collects all 222 stamps earns the title “Harz Hiking Emperor.” This lets you complement Selke-Aue’s nature and local history with other themes from the wider Harz region.
Which Themes Shape Your Search
The differences between the main themes are clear: nearby Hakel is all about forest, geology and biodiversity, while Hausneindorf and Wedderstedt offer two distinct cultural points of interest: the organ and the manor house. When looking for a holiday apartment in Selke-Aue, consider which of these interests you would like to focus on during your stay. If you also include the Harz, you can explore a wider regional range of nature and culture.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Schwanebeck, Huy, Groß Quenstedt, Wernigerode, Hedersleben, Thale, Ilsenburg, Quedlinburg.
Go to the wider travel overview: Harz.
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