World Heritage Insight Walk: Traces of the Past in the Clausthal Valley
Short facts
- start: Parking at the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers
- destination: Parking at the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers
- easy
- 3,42 km
- 2 hours
- 57 m
- 554 m
- 502 m
- 80 / 100
- 20 / 100
best season
An exciting tour of discovery in the Clausthal Valley. Impressive views, a wonderful landscape, mysterious ruins and interesting installations from the mining period await you.
This circular walk through the Clausthal Valley is 3.3 km long.
On the walk you will get to know parts of the Upper Harz Water Management System, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage in the Harz.
Water from the storage ponds flowed through ditches to the water wheels at the mines. Water power was needed to hoist the extracted ore to the surface.
Rainwater also seeped into the mines constantly. The water wheels were also used to drive the pumps that pumped the water out of the mines.
On your walk you will pass the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers. These are stone-walled chambers that once contained the giant water wheels. A very special point of interest!
From the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers the walk goes through the Clausthal Valley to the Ottiliae Shaft. There you can look at the oldest existing iron head frame. It was built at around the same time as the Eiffel Tower.
At the Ottiliae Shaft there was once an enormous industrial area. At the time the installations were very modern. Some of the mines in this area were already here 450 years ago.
The landscape here has changed a lot in the past 150 years. The hills of mining waste material got higher and higher and the valley was filled in more and more. A lovely walk through a sunken landscaped.
General information
Directions
From the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers turn left and stay on the tarmac path. After around 300 m you can go to the Altensegener Rösche drainage adit on the left if you want to. An adit is a water tunnel that was used to drain water out of the mines.
You can also just stay on the tarmac path until you reach the gates of the municipal storage area. The path turns right uphill along the fence. Then you turn left along the tarmac road. After 200 m some steps will take you up to the Ottiliae shaft.
On the grounds of the Ottiliae Shaft the route goes to the right of a shed and then along the railway track.
Continue to the former machine house of an inclined lift. Here the path turns left down the hill.
You will pass an old loading station and then turn left down a few steps. Go along the route of the inclined lift to the next loading station. Here you can go to the sand heaps from the ore crushing mills if you want to. They are only a few metres off the route.
The route of the old inclined lift then goes into some woods. Stay on the path for around 200 m until you come to a small clearing. Here you can go a few more steps to the "nose" of the waste heap for a wonderful view into the Zellerfeld Valley.
On the way back you will pass to the right of an old chimney. Continue down the hill until you reach another path. There you should turn left. At a house you will come to a gravel path. There you should turn right to the Ottiliae Shaft.
Pass the head frame and follow the tarmac road as far as a big left-hand bend. At the wooden hut a path turns off taking you back to the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers.
Safety Guidelines
You move in a historical industrial landscape. Please stay on the paths and paths.
NOTE: Due to maintenance and construction measures in the area, parts of the path are currently not accessible. We ask for your understanding.
Equipment
Don't forget sturdy shoes and weather-appropriate clothing on your journey of discovery.
Tip
Ride on the mining railway to the Ottiliae Shaft. Or join a guided tour through the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers. That is a very special experience.
Getting there
Connection to the local road B242. At the western entrance to Clausthal-Zellerfeld turn onto - Am Rosenhof.
Parking
The parking lot at the Rosenhöfer Radstuben is available free of charge. Additional free parking spaces can be found in the immediate vicinity of the Ottiliae Shaft.
Public transit
By train to Goslar. From Goslar central bus station, take bus 830 and/or bus 831 to the Rosenhof stop in Clautshal-Zellerfeld.By train to Osterode am Harz. From there, take the 440 or 460 bus to the Rosenhof stop in Clausthal-Zellerfeld.
It is also possible to get to the Marktkirche stop in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. The circular route can also be easily reached from there
Additional Information
Oberharzer Bergwerksmuseum
Bornhardtstr. 16
38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld
Tel: 05323 98950
info@oberharzerbergwerksmuseum.de
www.oberharzerbergwerksmuseum.de
Stiftung UNESCO-Welterbe im Harz
Bergtal 19
38640 Goslar
Tel: 05321 750 114
info@welterbeimharz.de
www.welterbeimharz.de
Pavings
- Asphalt Coating (32%)
- Hiking Trail (32%)
- Path (28%)
- Unknown (4%)
- Crushed Rock (3%)