Schierke

Coordinates: 51°45′50″N 10°39′53″E / 51.76389°N 10.66472°E / 51.76389; 10.66472
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Schierke
Stadtteil of Wernigerode
View from Wurmberg
View from Wurmberg
Coat of arms of Schierke
Coat of arms
Location of Schierke
Map
Schierke is located in Germany
Schierke
Schierke
Schierke is located in Saxony-Anhalt
Schierke
Schierke
Coordinates: 51°45′50″N 10°39′53″E / 51.76389°N 10.66472°E / 51.76389; 10.66472
CountryGermany
StateSaxony-Anhalt
DistrictHarz
TownWernigerode
Area
 • Total40.13 km2 (15.49 sq mi)
Elevation
610 m (2,000 ft)
Population
 (2006-12-31)
 • Total721
 • Density18/km2 (47/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
38879
Dialling codes039455
Vehicle registrationHZ
Websitewww.schierke-am-brocken.de

Schierke is a village and a former municipality in the

winter sports
.

Geography

1912 map of Schierke

Location

The

Cold Bode
, the parish of Schierke has an area of 40.1 km² and a population of 713 (as at 31 December 2007).

Today Schierke again is a popular place to start or finish a walk to the

downhill skiing destinations such as the slope of the Wurmberg mountain, the second highest of the Harz. Another winter activity in the area involves hiring or obtaining a sled and riding it down the "bob bahn" – a local tobogganing
track.

Climatic diagram of Schierke[1]

Climate

The average air temperature in Schierke is 5.3 °C, and it has an annual precipitation of 1,275 millimetres.

History

Schierke around 1900 as a photochrom from the Library of Congress collection

The field name of Schierke was first mentioned in the records in 1590 as Schiriken (the

Elend
, and a smelting works above the Cold Bode near the moor slags (Moorschlacken). A first church at the site was consecrated in 1691.

On 20 June 1898 Schierke was connected to

German Skeleton Championships
. Schierke became a municipality in its own right in 1924.

After World War II, however, due to its location next to the inner German border, Schierke for a long time was not accessible to the public for winter sports. Visits required an extra permission by East German authorities between 1952 and 1989. Several hotels were converted into public holiday resorts of the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB) and of the Stasi ministry. Barracks for the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic stood on the site of the present training centre for engineering and metallurgy. The 7th Border Company of the 20th Border Regiment guarded the stretch of border from the Brocken plateau via former Goetheweg station and the Dreieckiger Pfahl border stone (checkpoint no. 168 in the Harzer Wandernadel) to the Großer Winterberg. Each troop was stationed for a week at a time in the present-day station building on the peak of the Brocken.

After German reunification, tourism again prospered and many villas were restored. On 13 January 2009 Mayor Hans-Jochen Ermisch, and his counterpart from Wernigerode, Peter Gaffert, signed the treaty incorporating Schierke into Wernigerode.[2] This merger came into effect on 1 July 2009.[3] Since then, the Wernigerode town council has made comprehensive efforts to develop Schierke as a resort town.

Politics

Coat of arms

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted to Schierke on 5 May 1939 by the governor (Oberpräsident) of the Province of Saxony.

Emblazonment
: "On a field or, a stag's skull and antlers sable" ("In gold ein schwarzer Hirsch-Schädel mit Geweih im Visier").

The stag's antlers epitomize the "King of the Harz Forest", the dominant wild animal in the mountain forests around Schierke. Just as the antlers are the crown of the deer, Schierke, on the Brocken, "crowns" the Harz landscape with its natural beauty and its healing climate.

The coat of arms was designed by the head of the Magdeburg state archives, Otto Korn.

Memorials

  • Grave site on the village cemetery (Ortsfriedhof) for an unknown
    Second World War
    .

Places of interest

Sport and hiking

The area around Schierke is criss-crossed by numerous trails, several leading up to the top of the Brocken. There is a choice of longer or shorter, but usually steeper, walks. The Wurmberg Trail (Wurmbergstieg) runs up to the summit of the Wurmberg. From the station, a trail runs directly to the tor known as the Feuersteinklippe. For winter sports lovers, Schierke has an extensive cross-country skiing trail network and a natural ice rink.

In the first half of the 20th century Schierke was known for its

East German Deutsche Post
.

In Schierke there is a

summer rodelbahn
, the Brockencoaster with a sun terrace.

  • Schierke Mountain Church
    Schierke Mountain Church
  • Schierke Castle at the head of the Elend valley
    Schierke Castle at the head of the Elend valley
  • Schierke village hall
    Schierke village hall

Notable people

Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy is set in the "District of Schierke and Elend
".

Schierker Feuerstein

Feuersteinklippe rock

digestif (35% abv), patented in 1924 by the local chemist, Willy Drube. The red-brown beverage is named after the red granite of the Feuersteinklippe, a tor-like rock formation nearby. After World War II the production at first continued in Bad Lauterberg on the western side of the inner German border, but was also resumed in Schierke from 1972 on as Volkseigener Betrieb. After reunification
the enterprises merged while the Feuerstein is still bottled at both locations.

References

  1. ^ German Met Office, normal periods 1961-1990
  2. ^ Schierke und Wernigerode freuen sich. MDR Info, 13. Januar 2009
  3. Statistisches Bundesamt

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schierke.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Schierke.
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