Wurmberg

The Wurmberg stands at 971 metres in the Harz range, the second-highest peak in the range and the highest in Lower Saxony. It lies north of Braunlage and west of Schierke, with its summit south of the Brocken and about 400 metres from the state border with Saxony-Anhalt. The Kalte Bode valley, running at roughly 660 metres, separates the Wurmberg from the Brocken. The mountain’s slopes include a small nature reserve of 183 hectares on its west and southwest sides. The Wurmberg’s southern flank holds two striking rock formations known as the Wurmbergklippen. The larger, the Große Wurmbergklippe, reaches about 823.8 metres and lies within the nature reserve near the gondola lift route. The smaller, the Kleine Wurmbergklippe, sits lower in spruce forest between the middle and valley stations. At the top of the larger crag is a triangular offering cup linked to legends of the Wild Hunter from Germanic mythology. Nearby stands a restaurant built beside an old wooden ski jump tower. Visitors reach the summit by the Wurmberg gondola lift from Braunlage. The lift was built in two stages in the 1960s and renovated in 1997. At the top, a container houses one of 25 air-quality monitoring sites in Lower Saxony. A 70-centimetre amateur radio relay station also operates there, broadcasting on 438.550 MHz. The plateau shows traces of early modern activity, including stone terraces and a stone hut built between 1820 and 1840 by a local forester.