Wernigerode: Part I

Crossing the former border, we have Wernigerode, in Saxony-Anhalt. Another town of fachwerk houses, with its own castle, and a beautiful town square, Wernigerode sees its share of tourists these days, but mostly Germans, from what I’ve read. Unfortunately the iconic Rathaus is covered in scaffolding, but I took a picture from the side. The castle is also under construction, but that makes it look AUTHENTIC, as if they're rebuilding the walls after one of the many sieges that took place in the empire during one of the periods of revolt against the king/emperor, or just war between the various dukes or lesser nobles. Or maybe, shoring up defenses in case the Slavs were going to come to seek revenge for killing all their leaders at that party: looking at you, Gero Magnus...(939 invited thirty Slav leaders to a banquet and killed all but one who got away).

First mentioned in records in 1121 naming one Adalbert of Haimar as count, town rights were granted in 1229, a great achievement and important step up for any medieval settlement. The counts of Wernigerode managed to keep out of too much trouble, it seems, undertaking positions as vassals to a parade of more important nobles until they died out in 1429. Not a bad run for a family in those times, in this part of Germany. The Counts of Stolberg took over, until they gave up to Prussia in 1714, still retaining some of their noble rights until 1876, and even getting a promotion to prince in 1890. Side note: apparently being a prince in Germany is not as big a deal as it is in say, England. Herzog-- that’s the rank you’re after, duke.

After world war II, Wernigerode found itself on the Soviet side of the line, and became a border town of the DDR. Today, it’s the jumping off point to visit the Brocken. We know the Brocken from Goethe’s Faust, where the sabbath of the witches take place, based on pre-existing legend. We also know the Brocken as the highest mountain in northern Germany, and the site of a Soviet era listening/spy post overlooking West Germany. In fact, during DDR days, the entire mountain was off limits. Today, you can hike (not happening due to time), or take a cool old timey steam train up to the peak (also not happening due to cost, at least at this time). No broom flights, unfortunately, not even on Walpurgisnacht or Zwolften.

There's a plaque on the inside of the remnants of the old city wall, commemorating/ apologizing for the deaths of people in the city's witch trials in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. As that was the focus of my undergrad thesis and what I intended to turn into a dissertation (darn Latin...) that caught my eye.

Included here: beginning with St George's Chapel (couldn't go in, on elderly home grounds), the Westerntor (west gate into the city), some carvings of trout (yummy see later), examples of the houses everyone comes here to see, the town hall and famous fountain. You can see the stunning orange of the Rathaus on the side, sorry to have missed seeing it without the scaffolding and sheet in front of it. Also, note all the witches. They've become a selling point for the north Harz region, including holding huge festivities on Walpurgisnacht, people come from all over Germany to participate.Les mer