Natura Tip 3 - Selketal and Mountain Meadows near Stiege

The Selketal-Stieg is considered a insider tip for hiking enthusiasts and nature lovers. The section described below between Stiege and Meisdorf follows the course of the Selke over long stretches. The very varied and largely natural landscape can be explored in stages. Those who prefer a more relaxed pace can enjoy one or another section as a passenger of the Selketalbahn. Therefore, it is worthwhile to study the timetables in advance. The Selketal-Stieg is marked with a red-white symbol. It shows the silhouette of Falkenstein Castle.

The starting point of our tour on the Selketal-Stieg is Stiege station (485 m above NHN). Among railway enthusiasts, it is known for having the smallest turning loop of a narrow-gauge railway. There are sufficient free parking facilities. From the station, the hike on the Selketal-Stieg starts towards Güntersberge. Passing the Upper Pond, we are already outside the town in the FFH area amidst mountain meadows. The Upper and Schulteich ponds dam the Hassel, which originates in the Füllenbruch south of Stiege. This spring area is also accessible by the Harz narrow-gauge railway. It is located at the Birkenmoor stop at 535 m above NHN. About 10 km downstream from Stiege, the Hassel reaches a forebay of the Rappbode reservoir. Still within the district of Stiege, we will cross the watershed between the Hassel and the Selke at about 520 m above NHN on the Selketal-Stieg. Only after about 64 km does the Selke flow into the Bode near Rodersdorf in the northern Harz Foreland.

Mountain meadows around Stiege

We originally owe the flowering splendor of the mountain meadows around Stiege to the Harz miners. They led a hard life. Mining alone was not enough to live on. Therefore, they needed a cow or goats to secure their families' livelihood. Forest pasture was common, but winter supplies also had to be stored. The nearby meadows served for hay production, which could be modestly fertilized with farm manure. Depending on the bedrock, soil thickness, water supply, and available plant nutrients, various mountain meadows or species-rich montane rough grasslands formed. At the Mühlberg, immediately north of the Selketal-Stieg, the Harz Landscape Conservation Association currently tends parts of the mountain meadows. The areas on the steep slopes are mowed. The elaborate care ensures biodiversity. On the one hand, plant species that cannot compete well against other competitors are promoted. On the other hand, mowing at the right time ensures the meadow plants can produce seeds. Removing the mowings withdraws nutrients from the area, which nowadays are deposited to a much greater extent than before due to emissions from road traffic and industry via air and precipitation. These nutrients (especially nitrogen) must be removed from the nutrient cycle on the meadows by removal of growth. Otherwise, nitrogen-loving grasses would take over. Fewer and fewer colorful flowers such as spring cinquefoil, heath carnation, or globe thistle and fewer butterflies such as swallowtail, scarce fritillary, and large wall brown would dominate the scene.

To the Anhalt border

In summer, true valerian and real woodruff scent the air. Reed canary grass and sedges accompany the creek. If we continue along the Selketal-Stieg towards Güntersberge, we soon leave the meadows and go into the shade of the forest. Here we also cross the border to the nature reserve (NSG) "Upper Selketal." It covers 1,611 ha and was permanently protected in 1998. A signposted junction to Selkenfelde/Kanonenplatz leads us to the deserted village Selkenfelde. There was the village "Silicanvelth" with its own church. The foundations of the church are still partly preserved. For preservation reasons, we should not enter it. The settlement was first mentioned in a document in 961 when Emperor Otto I. (912–973) transferred the village to the Quedlinburg abbey in a donation deed. The village and church were most likely destroyed in the 16th century. The settlement was abandoned. Today, we can complete our Harz Hiking Pin stamp booklet here with stamp No. 55. In the Thirty Years' War, nearby in the Braunschweig region at the Kanonenplatz was the "Swedish Rampart," and later in the Seven Years' War the "Selkenfelder Rampart." Black alders form a floodplain forest in the swampy Selke spring area. Continuing along the Selketal-Stieg, we cross the NSG "Albrechtshaus." It has existed since 1961 and was most recently expanded in 1985 to nearly 66 ha. The protection goal is to preserve typical forest communities in the Unterharz plateau area, including wood-rush and woodruff beech forests as well as alder swamp forests. The wooden church of the former Albrechtshaus sanatorium resembles the stave church Wang in the Giant Mountains in construction style. It was built in 1905 and used until the 1990s.

Over Friedrichshöhe into the Selketal

The Selketal-Stieg leads up to Friedrichshöhe. Friedrich Albrecht of Anhalt-Bernburg (1735–1796) had a manor built in 1781 on the border of his small principality to the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, but the estate was soon dissolved again. Remaining are about a dozen houses of the former colonists as well as a small cemetery under a mighty oak. The only two-storey building mentioned in the "Regional Studies of the Duchy of Anhalt" from 1907 was an inn. We leave Friedrichshöhe heading east. At Hasenwinkel, it goes back into the forest. Soon we reach the valley. The Selke still resembles a small stream here, winding through the meadows and soon held back by the dam of the former mill pond, today's mountain lake. The Selketal-Stieg takes us into a side valley. At the Katzsohlteich we not only find the Harz Hiking Pin stamp station no. 172 but also a well-maintained rest area with table and benches. Continuing over the bridge and then parallel to the tracks of the Selketalbahn to Güntersberge station. Our next section leads through the Selketal to Straßberg. In the wide valley, the river, lined with alders and willows, is embedded in meadows (FFH habitat type poor lowland hay meadows of good quality). Agricultural use ensures their preservation. On the way is the Elbingstal pond built around 1725. It served as a water reservoir for the mining facilities at Straßberg in the Zechenfeld and Rödelbachtal. The waters were conducted to two stamp mills through a channel system. Remains of the channel system can still be discovered today. Just below the Elbingstalteich stands a Köte. The shelter is modeled after a charcoal burner’s hut. Via the "Old Fluor" we then reach today's Straßberg station, originally called Lindenberg station.

To Silberhütte

Just as Görlitz is divided by the Neisse into Görlitz in Germany and Zgorzelec in Poland, Straßberg was divided by the Selke into Straßberg (Prussia) and Lindenberg (Anhalt). Lindenberg was incorporated only in 1952. The Selketal-Stieg makes a small detour through the historic border within the town but then continues on the left side of the Selke in Anhalt. The riverbank in the broad meadow valley is lined like a string of pearls by extensive floodplain forests - mainly of black alder, swamp, and scattered white willows. If floodplain forests are left to natural development, trees toppled or broken off also protrude into the water alongside tall trees. Here, brook trout and other creek dwellers find shelter and hiding places. Floodplain forests are also natural flood protection; they reduce the flow velocity and thus prevent flood waves. Separated from the Selke by the narrow gauge railway tracks, the path continues through the forest to Silberhütte. The place name indicates a close connection to mining and smelting in the Harz. From the 17th century, several stamp mills and a smelter processed ore from the surrounding mines. In Silberhütte, we cross the Uhlenbach. A fish ladder at the waterfall next to the bridge allows fish to ascend the stream unhindered. The Unterharz Waldhof in Silberhütte is our next destination. There is a spacious playground and forest education offers for adults, children, and upon request for school groups. The Unterharz Waldhof is also the starting point of the Waldhof-Männchenweg between Silberhütte and Alexisbad. On the educational trail, we are accompanied by Tilli and Willi. The wooden forest men provide information about local tree and animal species as well as forestry.

Alexisbad

If we stay on the Selketal-Stieg, we will only see the town from a bird’s eye view. The first viewpoint is the Engagement Urn on Habichtstein. Down in the valley, a Dutch company unsuccessfully drove a tunnel looking for silver in 1691. The water flowing from the tunnel entrance, however, was believed to have healing powers. In 1767 it attracted the first spa guests to the Harz. Under the rule of Duke Alexius Friedrich Christian of Anhalt-Bernburg (1767–1831), a new steel spa was built from 1810. The Alexisbad, named after the duke, is nestled in a landscape that represents a unique symbiosis of park and wild nature. The west-exposed slope is crisscrossed by a dense network of paths. It connects around a dozen attractions and viewpoints such as the Engagement Urn (stamp station no. 177 of the Harz Hiking Pin), the Birch House, the Peace Monument originally dedicated to the Prussian General Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig von Preussen (1794–1863), the duke’s only son-in-law, the Pioneer Tunnel, etc. Not all attractions can be experienced casually while passing by. A longer stay is actually worthwhile. The Selketal-Stieg follows the Cliff Path. It leads through a beautiful woodruff-oak-hornbeam forest, which gained supraregional recognition in the ornithological community due to its colony of tree-nesting swifts. On the dry and warm slopes and cliffs, pedunculate oak and hornbeam can assert themselves against the otherwise predominant beech. The very natural forest is no longer managed. At the bright forest floor bloom wood anemones, later lily-of-the-valley and woodruff. Passing the Peace Monument, we reach the Louise Temple, named after Wilhelmine Luise von Anhalt-Bernburg (1799–1882), the duke’s daughter.

To Mägdesprung

Soon we reach the Köthener Hut (stamp station no.195 of the Harz Hiking Pin). It was built in 1897 by the Köthen branch of the Harz Club and is also called a chapel because of its bell tower. Down in the valley, we hear the whistling and the "singing" wheels of the Selketalbahn running on tight curves. In the forest above, chaffinch, pied flycatcher, and all seven species of our native tits sing. The woodpecker group is also represented by several species, including the rare middle spotted woodpecker. The last station on the Cliff Path is the cast iron cross at the Mägdetrappe. Louise, who was married to Prince Friedrich of Preussen, had it erected in 1837 in memory of her father, the founder of Alexisbad. Then it goes steeply downhill to Mägdesprung, where many cast art monuments were created. The landmark of Mägdesprung is the obelisk at the station, a replica of the 22 m high original from 1812. A visitor attraction is the Carlswerk. The Selke valley with Mägdesprung was a cradle of industrialization. As already mentioned at the outset, the Association of German Engineers was founded in Alexisbad. Mägdesprung also includes several groups of buildings in the Selke valley at greater distances below the Carlswerk. They belonged to four hammer mills powered by water. A closer look at the Selke still shows their former development well, for example above the bridge at the Second Hammer. Below the Third Hammer we find a beautifully pronounced gorge and slope mixed forest. On the extremely steep, shaded slopes, bare rock sometimes appears. Here grows a rare mixed forest of deciduous trees: hornbeam, sycamore maple, common ash, among others cling to the slopes. Due to the difficult terrain, these forests were hardly used. The persistent silver leaf and ferns such as the bristly wood fern thrive here.

To Selkemühle

At the Lamp Bridge we cross the narrowest point of the Selke valley. The river squeezes here through mighty plate schist formations and the Selketal-Stieg nestles closely to the rocks. The Selke Bridge at the mouth of the Schiebeckbach is a very successful monument-appropriate new construction. Looking into the Schiebeckbachtal valley, we discover the neoclassical portal of the Herzog-Alexius drainage tunnel. A drainage tunnel in miner’s language is the deepest drainage tunnel in a mining area, which "disinherits" the lying above. The 2,256 m long tunnel was driven between 1831 and 1864 for investigation of the lodes north of Harzgerode. Its neoclassical portal, created between 1830 and 1848, is an impressive testimony to contemporary cast art products. Below the former forester’s house Scherenstieg, the Selke valley widens. Up to the Fourth Hammer we remain in the forest. On the now noticeably gentler slopes grows an almost pure beech stand (FFH habitat type woodruff-beech forest). Under the dense leaf canopy of the beech, hardly any other tree species have a chance to establish themselves. In spring, larkspur, red helleborine, yellow avens and liverleaf light up here. In summer, the namesake woodruff as well as one-flowered pearl grass grow on the dark forest floor. Along the Selketal-Stieg at the Fourth Hammer (stamp station no. 179 of the Harz Hiking Pin) is the last opportunity to take refreshment; the formerly nearby Selkemühle guesthouse is unfortunately no longer in operation. The Selkemühle marks the end of the public road coming from Mägdesprung. We find a parking facility here and with no. 180 the next stamp station. The goal of a small detour from the Selketal-Stieg is the summit of the Großer Hausberg with the ruin of the castle that gave the name to the state of Anhalt.

Borderland

It is the ruin of Anhalt Castle. The once representative castle was built by Albrecht the Bear (d. 1170) from the Ascanian family. Since the core castle was entirely made of stone, it was called "Aneholt" (later "Anhalt"). Translated from Old High German, this means: without wood. The castle hill was also free of trees and shrubs. Today, however, rare tree species grow there, including the service tree. Information boards provide explanations. With their help, it is possible to reconstruct the medieval castle in the observer’s mind. Back in the Selke valley, we head towards Meisdorf. A few hundred meters below the Selkemühle, we cross the historic border between Anhalt and Prussia. The two adjacent nature reserves "Selketal" (Prussia) and "Upper Selketal" (Anhalt) bear witness to the former course of different administrative structures. On the next kilometers of our hike through the FFH area it is impressively noticeable what inspired Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) to these words: "... the beautiful Selke, the beautiful, lovable lady, whose noble simplicity and serene calm dispel all sentimental familiarity, but still reveals her teasing mind with a half-hidden smile." The path in the valley is used not only by hikers but also by cyclists. It crosses the Selke several times. From one of the bridges, we can now take a closer look at the water: As one of the last rivers in the Harz, the Selke can still flow freely without larger dams today. Between Selkemühle and Meisdorf, the FFH habitat type river of the planar to montane level is shown in good quality. Numerous aquatic mosses and floating sweet grass grow in the flowing, crystal clear water.

Falkenstein

At the "Zum Falken" inn, the Eselstieg was declared a branch of the Selketal-Stieg. It goes up to Falkenstein Castle (stamp station no. 200 of the Harz Hiking Pin). We are surrounded here by an impressive wood-rush beech forest, partly also by woodruff beech forest. On the nutrient-poor, often rocky soils, mosses, ferns and grasses grow, including the whitish wood-rush. In the woodruff beech forest, however, the vegetation is more lush. At the top, we visit the museum. Falkenstein is one of the few originally preserved medieval castles. We owe this especially to Ludwig I, Count of Asseburg-Falkenstein (1796–1869). As Prussian Master of the Hunt and member of the Prussian House of Lords, he committed himself to the restoration of the castle. Until 1945, the Falkenstein lordship was owned by the Herren von der Asseburg for over 15 generations. Back in the Selke valley, we find their neo-Gothic family tomb. It is located at the fitness and adventure trail set up on the left side of the Selke. There we collect the last stamp impression of our tour at stamp station no. 207. Even if we should have dispensed with the detours to the castles Anhalt and Falkenstein, we can prove the visit of at least eight stamp stations. Eight stamp impressions in the hiking booklet entitle the bearer to purchase the Harz Hiking Pin in bronze, which we may proudly attach to hat or jacket. Our tour through the FFH area "Selketal and Mountain Meadows near Stiege" in the EU bird sanctuary "Northeastern Unterharz" ends at the Meisdorf Castle Hotel. Freiherr Achatz Ferdinand von der Asseburg (1721–1797) had the castle built. Those who have found joy in experiencing nature while hiking can follow the Selketal-Stieg further through the bird sanctuary to Ballenstedt.

At Stiege station or at Falkenstein Castle, depending on the direction of travel.