An exciting tour of discovery in the Clausthal Valley. Impressive views, a wonderful landscape, mysterious ruins and interesting installations from the mining period await you.
This circular walk through the Clausthal Valley is 3.3 km long.
On the walk you will get to know parts of the Upper Harz Water Management System, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage in the Harz.
Water from the storage ponds flowed through ditches to the water wheels at the mines. Water power was needed to hoist the extracted ore to the surface.
Rainwater also seeped into the mines constantly. The water wheels were also used to drive the pumps that pumped the water out of the mines.
On your walk you will pass the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers. These are stone-walled chambers that once contained the giant water wheels. A very special point of interest!
From the Rosenhof Wheel Chambers the walk goes through the Clausthal Valley to the Ottiliae Shaft. There you can look at the oldest existing iron head frame. It was built at around the same time as the Eiffel Tower.
At the Ottiliae Shaft there was once an enormous industrial area. At the time the installations were very modern. Some of the mines in this area were already here 450 years ago.
The landscape here has changed a lot in the past 150 years. The hills of mining waste material got higher and higher and the valley was filled in more and more. A lovely walk through a sunken landscaped.
