Approaching Clausthal-Zellerfeld on B 242 from the west you will suddenly come across a steel pit head gear on your left hand side. It is the pulley frame of Ottiliae mine shaft, which is one of the bestknown mining monuments in the area. In 1876 it was manufactured in the Royal Central Forge at Clausthal and today it is one of the oldest still-existing shaft towers in Central Europe. Up to 1930, when mining in Clausthal- Zellerfeld came to an end, Ottiliae mine shaft was the central hoisting shaft in the district. Today the surface installations of this mine, named after “Berghauptmann” (Chief Inspector of Mines) Ernst Hermann Ottiliae, serve as a sub-office of the Upper Harz Mining Museum. The reinstalled hoisting engine and other mining machinery give evidence of the Harz Mountains’ industrial history and document the mining technologies from about 1880 to the present day. You start your tour of the surface installations with an adventurous ride along the rebuilt 2.2 km haulage road on the mine railway with the help of which ore was transported from mine shaft “Kaiser Wilhelm II“ to mine shaft “Ottiliae“ during a period of underground reconstruction between 1900 and 1905. In the summer months, on weekends and public holidays, the train leaves from the old railway station “Alter Bahnhof“ (public library) to mine shaft “Ottiliae“ (N51°48.504’; E010°18.794’).

As early as 1892 Lower Saxony’s oldest and most important mining museum was founded. Located in Zellerfeld it gives you a complete idea of the development of mining in the Upper Harz Mountains from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th century. The replica of a mine consists of an approximately 250 m long gallery and original surface installations in the museum’s outdoor area. Germany’s last remaining horsecapstan, the only ore dressing plant with a stamp mill and the shaft house built in 1787 are impressive monuments of the history of mining. The main building with its 30 showrooms houses a collection of mining and cultural artifacts among which there are a number of famous models, an extensive collection of minerals and coins and a special exhibition of pit lamps. A display of mining tools and objects of everyday use add to the picture of a population whose sole source of subsistence for centuries consisted in mining. The museum offers a variety of educational and cultural programmes.

Opening hours: 10 am to 5 pm
0049 - 5323 - 98950

At the outskirts of the campus grounds of Clausthal University of Technology, mine shaft “Kaiser Wilhelm II” with Central Europe’s second oldest preserved iron head gear is situated close to “Erzstraße”. The tower was erected as a traditional twopost headframe in 1880. In 1930 “Kaiser Wilhelm II” was the last mine to be abandoned in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. Today, the surface installations are part of the depot of the “Harzwasserwerke”. Apart from the restored machinery storage building, the shaft house, the pithead bath and various other supply buildings you can view photogenic replicas of wooden water wheels on the pit grounds. An exhibition informs you about the water management in the Upper Harz Mountains.

For further information see: www.oberharzerbergwerksmuseum.de

Without the sophisticated water management for mining in particular there would never have been any ore mining in the Harz Mountains. The complex water supply system of today’s cultural monument called “Kulturdenkmal Oberharzer Wasserwirtschaftssystem” originated around Clausthal- Zellerfeld, Hahnenklee and Sankt Andreasberg in the year 1530. It consists of a network of approximately 700 kilometres of trenches, 120 lakes and 30 kilometres of tunnels which served as an elaborate system for collecting, storing and transporting water, e.g. to operate both water wheels, hoisting loads, or pumping installations, which were needed to drain the pits. Due to this complex network, water could even be transported over long distances, e.g. from the “Bruchberg” or the “Brockenfeld”, to Clausthal-Zellerfeld’s elevated areas. For that purpose, “Sperberhaier Damm” with a length of 940 metres and a maximum height of 16 metres was built between 1732 and 1734. It parallels B 242 between the intersections of B 498 coming up from Osterode and leading to Altenau. “Harzwasserwerke GmbH” preserve and maintain this cultural monument. We can explore the lakes and trenches of the “Kulturdenkmal Oberharzer Wasserwirtschaftssystem” on our own, either by bike or on foot.

For further information see: www.harzwasserwerke.de

Research in the fields of geosciences has been an established tradition since the foundation of the former mining school (1775), which was later named Mining Academy (1864) and is now called Clausthal University of Technology. Its mineralogical collection of more than 120,000 specimens has an international reputation. Among these, the collections of ores and nonmetallic minerals are outstanding – they provide the basis for comparative studies and are available for scientists all over the world. The part of the mineralogical collection which is open to the public is of interest not only to specialists; a visit can be recommended to everyone. The paleontological part of the exhibition shows important major steps within the evolution of life; the three-dimensional reconstructions of the largest fossil flying insects in life-size are unique. Another main focus is laid upon selected important fossils (e.g. ammonites and trilobites) found in the Harz Mountains area and its foreland. The exhibits regarding the Natural History of the Harz Mountains show parts of the entire 480 million years of geological development in this region. The GeoMuseum is housed in the main building of Clausthal University of Technology, Adolph-Roemer-Straße 2a.

Opening hours:
Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9.30 am - 12.30 pm
Thursday 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm
Sunday 10.00 am - 1.00 pm
(except public holidays)

Having left the main building of Clausthal University of Technology you will come across a monument on your left that commemorates “Bergamtsprofessor” Friedrich Adolph Roemer (1809-1869). In 1882 it was dedicated to the famous paleontologist and founder of the Mining Academy by his students. Its base contains minerals and rocks characteristic of the Harz Mountains. A walk through the university’s campus grounds along “Feldgraben” takes you to the library which includes the so-called “Calvör’sche Bibliothek” (“Calvör’s Library”) – one of the academic libraries of the baroque era – and belongs to the most valuable cultural possessions of the Harz Mountains area. The “geological path” in front of the Institute of Geology and Paleontology gives you an impression of the main rocks of the Harz Mountains and, if desired, the paleontological and geological collections can be visited after prior arrangement.

We drive down to the Schalke Valley and park our car in Oberschulenberg (N51°49.812’; E010°23.928’). An information-board reveals that in this place the border between the Clausthal Culm Plateau and the Devonian Anticline of the Harz Mountains is cropping out. This border is marked by a mineralised tectonic fault, the Bockswiese Lodes, that runs over distance of 12 km from the Innerste Valley in the west to the Oker Valley in the east. Locally, there were ores in the fault, which were mined until 1907. South of the fault Lower Carboniferous sedimentary rocks, mainly slates, crop out as to be seen in sections along the gravel road parallel to the rivulet down to the “Mertenstal”. North of the fault you will see Devonian rocks such as sandstone, slates and a few limestone beds on your short walk around the “Schalker Teich”. The lower “Schalker Teich” was built between 1729 and 1733 in order to supply the surrounding mines and stamp mills with water. On December 26, 1733 the dam broke; the resulting flood wave killed nine people and caused severe damage all over the Oker Valley. Shortly after the disaster the dam was quickly repaired. In case you do not want to spend too much time exploring the countryside you should follow the path leading to the right at the upper end of the row of houses. It takes you to two historical perforated stones which marked the border of the mining claims. A little ahead we reach the ore lode; next to this sterile lode consisting of quartz, fault pits indicate the course of the ore bodies. In the east the site is adjoined by the extensive dumps of Oberschulenberg. They became known for their secondary minerals yielding copper, zinc and lead, of which Schulenbergit was named after this collecting site.

In the course of our excursion down into the valley we reach the Oker Valley Reservoir (N51°51.051’; E010°27.510’). On your left the bank of the road is partially formed by thick layers of Culm slate with well-exposed bedding planes. The dam is about 260 m long and represents an unusual construction: a solid wall of 13 m height was erected on top of the convex dam, which is 55 m high and absorbs the pressure of the collected water towards the flanks of the valley. The geological situation made this construction necessary, because the greywacke in the higher parts of the flanks of the valley cannot withstand such forces, in contrast to the subjacent hardened contact-metamorphic slate. The amount of water which the reservoir can hold runs to a maximum of 47 mio m_. The water is released through either the bottom outlet or through a 1.7 km-long pressure tunnel which leads to the power station at Romkerhalle. A pleasure boat invites you to a trip on the reservoir.

The river has carved its meandering stream bed through a granite massif, thus forming characteristic gorges and a tremendous number of cliffs. The Oker Granite is a separate intrusive body and not the direct extension of the Brocken Pluton (landmark 4). At the end of the Variscan Orogeny during the Upper Carboniferous, the intrusion penetrated the folded complex. Granite, an extremely solid rock under unweathered conditions, is very resistant to the erosive power of water. Mainly caused by the heat of the magmatic body, the older Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments (which were penetrated by the intrusion, too) were altered and hardened through contact metamorphic reactions. Slate and limestone as well as the Lower Carboniferous greywacke were transformed into hard and splintery hornfels. The wide variety of rocks in the Oker Valley can be studied in a large number of outcrops. The steep western slope of the “Romkerhall“ syncline crops out well in the “Rabenklippe” (“Raven Cliff”) (N51°51.526’; E010°28.025’). In order to get to the cliff we follow the path starting at the parking site close to the power station at Romkerhalle. We reach our destination after a 300 m walk uphill, parallel to B 498.

From the parking at the power station we climb the steep path on the left hand side of the Romkerhalle Cascade and take “Schöppenstedter Weg” – “Romkerkopfweg” – “Klippenweg” in direction towards the mountain inn “Käste” (about 3 km). Having passed a treeless section of “Klippenweg” - overgrown with broom and heath - we first reach the “Feigenbaumklippe”, where we encounter a cave formed by piled-up granite blocks. From the “Feigenbaumklippe” we enjoy a scenic view up to the Northern Harz Foreland. Erosion has exposed the top layers of the Oker Granite. As typical of granite in our climate, spheroidal weathering gradually reduces the rock to smaller and smaller blocks which look like woolsacks and which are characteristic of the Oker Granite, too. Weathering along the granite clefts has produced bizarre formations like the “Mausefalle” (Mousetrap), which is the next cliff we reach walking along “Klippenweg”. Here a huge granite block keeps its balance on top of a relatively tiny rock. After we have passed the “Hexenküche” (Witch’s Kitchen) we finally reach the “Käste” cliffs (605m above sea level), which are located right next to the mountain inn. An exceptional rock formation is named “Der Alte vom Berge” (Old Man from the Mountain; N51°52.101’;- E010°28.985’)). A convenient path then leads us back to the Oker Valley via the so-called “Treppenstein” (Stair Rock) (ca. 5 km). On top of the “Treppenstein” we find the ruins of a castle which can be compared to the one on the “Ilsestein” near Ilsenburg (landmark 4).

This map will help you to plan your individual Georoute. Competent guided tours can be arranged, too (contact: Dr. STEIGER, Managing Director of the team of the Harz Mountains regional association’s geoguides, 0049-03944-369085 or e-mail: T_Steiger@gmx.de). “Regionalverband Harz e.V.” wishes you relaxing holidays and interesting insights into the geology and history of that part of Nature- and Geopark Harz which you have just been introduced to.

Verwaltungs-Verlag München, Lizenz-Nr. 03/09/92. Weitere Stadtpläne unter www.stadtplan.net

We now leave Clausthal heading towards Bad Grund on B 242, following the course of the Zellbach down the valley. After approximately 2 km we reach the site of the former Clausthal lead smelter, which goes back to the Frankenscharrn smelter (founded in 1554). It was in operation as late as 1967. After its closure the buildings were demolished. The smelting of sulfurous ores for centuries was responsible for an emission that polluted the vicinity of the mine and destroyed the vegetation to an extent that its recovery has been very slow. The bloom of the Calluna heath thriving on the contaminated hillsides may be considered “the most attractive inheritance” of the past. The high concentration of heavy metals of the stamp mill sand hills have polluted the floodplain sediments, since loose materials of the waste rock piles are washed into the Innerste river by heavy rains – this, too, is a legacy of the mining procedures in the Harz Mountains.

We leave B 242 at the confluence of the Zell Creek and the Innerste and drive towards the colliery house “Untere Innerste”. After about 500 meters ( N 51° 47,800’; E 010° 17,922’ ) on the right hand side there is a small quarry in which we find steeply inclined, coarse-grained to conglomeratic Culm Greywacke beds intercalated with layers of shale. The greywacke beds are interpreted as the result of submarine suspension currents which ran like avalanches from higher regions of the sea floor into deeper basins. This process produced impressive groove casts, which are preserved at the lower surfaces of the greywacke layers. The groove casts were caused by pebble stones or other objects carried along at the sea floor. Back on the country road we follow the course of the Innerste and drive towards Wildemann. Soon we see the head gear of the formerly independent mine “Bergwerkswohlfahrt” on the left hand side. We stop at the intersection to Wildemann and visit the “Jung’schen Steinbruch” (Jung’s Quarry), located on the right hand side of the road. Embedded in the greywacke and especially in the intercalated shales there are remains of Carboniferous plants, mainly horsetails (calamites).

Heading for Langelsheim in the Innerste Valley, we reach Wildemann. The local mines worked the western section of the “Zellerfelder Gangzug” (Zellerfeld Lode), the “Spiegelthaler Gang” and its westward extension, the “Hüttschentaler Gang”. In the latter, mining practically came to an end around 1760 and in 1803 respectively. The mining of the “Zellerfelder Gangzug” continued approximately up to 1930. The “19- Lachter-Stollen” (gallery), which got started as early as 1551 and was used for both draining water and mining ore, is worth visiting. The mine and the gallery were operated until 1924; in 1970 a show mine was established in their place. The gallery with a length of 8.8 km was carved out by manual labour alone, merely by using hammer and chisel. You can explore 500 m of its effective length and get as deep as 100 m.
Guided tours: daily at 11 am
www.harztourismus.com

We keep on driving down the valley to Lautenthal, a small mining town, which used to serve as the seat of the “Königliches Hüttenamt” (Royal Bureau of Metallurgy), subordinate to the “Oberbergamt Clausthal” (Chief Inspectorate Clausthal). Mining the “Lautenthaler Gangzug” continued until 1945. After that no other profitable ore bodies could be mined. The last mining activity, the recycling of stockpile materials with a high percentage of zinc, lasted until the late 1970s. The “Lautenthaler Silberhütte” (silver mine), where the silver of the lead ores processed at Clausthal was utilized, was operated until 1967. “Lautenthals Glück” with its show mine and mining museum is on the right hand side as you enter the small town. The “Lautenthaler Gangzug”, which the local mines were based upon, is an important fault. In the area of the Lautenthal deposits the lode was divided into several parallel veinlets, the so-called “Trümer” (stringers) which were heavily mineralized with galena and zinc blende. The whole sequence from the Middle Devonian to the Lower Carboniferous is well-visible along one of the hiking trails at the eastern bank of the Innerste river. Markers provide additional information.

We leave Lautenthal in a northward direction (towards Langelsheim) and take a left turn, following the country road towards Seesen. When the road reaches its highest elevation we drive onto the parking site “Sternplatz”. On foot we follow the hiking trail towards the “Luchsstein”, which commemorates the shooting of the last autochthonous lynx in the Harz Mountains. Before we reach it, we arrive a small abandoned quarry, seated in the southern slope of the “Großen Trogtaler Berg”. It exposes a section rich in Lower Carboniferous fossils, called “Posidonia Shale”. Among the fossils there are certain bivalves (Posidonia becheri), goniatites and numerous other fossils. Gathering them from the solid bedrock is prohibited, whereas picking them up from the stockpile of the quarry is permitted. The strata are approximately 335 million years old. The extensive folding of the Lower Carboniferous strata is unrecognisable in the quarry itself, but is visible about 100 m down the trail towards the “Luchsstein”.

Back to Lautenthal, in its centre we turn left to Hahnenklee-Bockswiese. The street leads uphill and is bounded by a large stockpile area. Where the stockpiles end we turn right. This curved road takes us back to a forest inn high above Lautenthal. From there we enjoy a lovely scenic view over the town. Right now we are standing amidst an impressive mining scenery with adit entrances, waste heaps and perforated stones which are explained by markers next to the hiking trails. On the waste heaps you will mainly find zinc blende; but on some of them gathering is prohibited in order to avoid damage caused by erosion and to protect the rare vegetation growing on the heavy metal waste heaps.

The State Mining Inspectorate has its office at the old “Amtshaus” (originally seat of the Royal Hanover Mining and Forestry Inspectorate, later office of the Royal Prussian Mining Inspectorate and from 1943 – 1945 it accommodated the Reich Mining Inspectorate) in Clausthal, diagonally opposite the main building of the University (see No ). It was this very building the king or his ministers frequented when visiting the Harz Mountains. On special occasions the Chief Inspector of Mines or his highest-ranking guest were paid respect by the miners. At dusk the dignitaries watched a procession from the building’s balcony: miners and workers paraded along the street, illuminating the area with their torches and pit lamps. After the great fire in 1725 the building was reconstructed from 1726 – 1730, and from 1904 – 1912 a wing was added to accommodate the inspectorate’s library and the invaluable 450-year-old mining archive. Later it became the Mining Archive Clausthal and today it is a sub-office of the Main State Archive Hanover; for that purpose, a new, modern building was erected in the year 2000. In 2001 the oldestablished office was named “Landesbergamt” (State Mining Inspectorate). It is responsible for Lower Saxony, Schleswig- Holstein, Hamburg and Bremen, including the oil and gas production in the continental shelf of both the North Sea and the Baltic. As long as Germany was divided, it was even responsible for West Berlin.

Hotel „Goldene Krone“ Clausthal-Zellerfeld
www.goldenekrone-harz.de
Tel.: 0049 5323 9300

Waldhotel Untermühle Clausthal-Zellerfeld
www.untermuehle.harz.de
Tel.: 0049 05323 983098

Waldhotel Café-Restaurant Pixhaier Mühle Clausthal-Zellerfeld
www.pixhaier-muehle.harz.de
Tel.: 0049 05323 2215

Harzhotel zum Prinzen Clausthal-Zellerfeld
www.zum-prinzen.de
Tel.: 0049 05323 96610

Der Geopark Harz – Braunschweiger Land – Ostfalen wurde 2002 gegründet. Die Trägerschaft für das Teilgebiet Harz hat der Regionalverband Harz e. V. übernommen. Der Übersichtskarte können Sie die Lage der Landmarke 2 – Ottiliae-Schacht-Gerüst Clausthal-Zellerfeld entnehmen. Wie dieses Faltblatt werden Ihnen auch die anderen Faltblätter für die insgesamt 16 Landmarken helfen, Ihren nächsten Besuch im Natur- und Geopark Harz zu planen.

Authors: Dipl.-Geol. Friedhart Knolle, Dr. Volker Wrede & Dr. Klaus George
Translator: Dorothee Kahla
Photos: George, Upper Harz Mining Museum
Compilation: Dr. K. George, Ch. Linke