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Brocken
The Brocken (German pronunciation: [ˈbʁɔkn̩] ⓘ), also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is a 1,141 m (3,743 ft) mountain near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, between the rivers Weser and Elbe. The highest peak in the Harz mountain range, and in Northern Germany, it is subalpine, yet has a microclimate resembling that of mountains nearly 1,000 m (3,300 ft) higher. The elevation above its tree line tends to have snowcover from September to May, and mists and fogs shroud it up to 300 days a year. The mean annual temperature is only 2.9 °C (37.2 °F). It is the easternmost mountain in northern Germany; the next prominent elevation directly to its east would be in the Ural Mountains in Russia.
The Brocken has always played a role in legends and has been connected with witches and devils; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe took up the legends in his two-part tragic play Faust. The Brocken spectre is a common phenomenon on this misty mountain, where a climber's shadow cast upon fog creates eerie optical effects.
Today the Brocken is part of the Harz National Park and hosts a historic botanical garden of about 1,600 alpine mountain plants. A narrow-gauge steam railway, the Brocken Railway, takes visitors to the railway station at an elevation of 1,125 m (3,691 ft).
FM-radio and television broadcasting make major use of the Brocken. The old television tower, the Sender Brocken, is now used as hotel and restaurant. It also has an observation deck, open to tourists.
The Brocken rises over the Harz National Park in the district of Harz, whose main town of Wernigerode lies about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) east-northeast of the mountain. The state boundary with Lower Saxony runs past the Brocken some 2 km (1.2 mi) to the west. At the southeastern foot of the Brocken lies the spa resort of Schierke.
Somewhat to the north below the summit of the Brocken is a reservoir, the Brockenteich, constructed in 1744. On or near the mountain are the source areas of the rivers Bode, Ecker, Ilse and Oder. The rounded summit of the Brocken is treeless, but vegetated with dwarf shrubs.
The highest point on the Brocken reaches an elevation of 1,141.1 m above sea level (NN) (3,744 ft). Its subpeaks include the Heinrichshöhe (1,040 m or 3,410 ft), Königsberg (1,034 m or 3,392 ft) and Kleiner Brocken ("Little Brocken") (1,018 m or 3,340 ft).
Before 1989 the height of the Brocken was recorded in almost all the relevant maps and books as 1,142 m above NN (3,747 ft). A survey of the summit at the beginning of the 1990s based on the current reference system, however, gave the height as 1,141.1 m (3,744 ft). In order to provide a reference point for the old data, granite boulders were set in the mid-1990s on the highest point of the Brocken to a height of approximately 1143 m, and a benchmark of "1142 m" was established on them.
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Brocken AI simulator
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Brocken
The Brocken (German pronunciation: [ˈbʁɔkn̩] ⓘ), also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is a 1,141 m (3,743 ft) mountain near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, between the rivers Weser and Elbe. The highest peak in the Harz mountain range, and in Northern Germany, it is subalpine, yet has a microclimate resembling that of mountains nearly 1,000 m (3,300 ft) higher. The elevation above its tree line tends to have snowcover from September to May, and mists and fogs shroud it up to 300 days a year. The mean annual temperature is only 2.9 °C (37.2 °F). It is the easternmost mountain in northern Germany; the next prominent elevation directly to its east would be in the Ural Mountains in Russia.
The Brocken has always played a role in legends and has been connected with witches and devils; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe took up the legends in his two-part tragic play Faust. The Brocken spectre is a common phenomenon on this misty mountain, where a climber's shadow cast upon fog creates eerie optical effects.
Today the Brocken is part of the Harz National Park and hosts a historic botanical garden of about 1,600 alpine mountain plants. A narrow-gauge steam railway, the Brocken Railway, takes visitors to the railway station at an elevation of 1,125 m (3,691 ft).
FM-radio and television broadcasting make major use of the Brocken. The old television tower, the Sender Brocken, is now used as hotel and restaurant. It also has an observation deck, open to tourists.
The Brocken rises over the Harz National Park in the district of Harz, whose main town of Wernigerode lies about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) east-northeast of the mountain. The state boundary with Lower Saxony runs past the Brocken some 2 km (1.2 mi) to the west. At the southeastern foot of the Brocken lies the spa resort of Schierke.
Somewhat to the north below the summit of the Brocken is a reservoir, the Brockenteich, constructed in 1744. On or near the mountain are the source areas of the rivers Bode, Ecker, Ilse and Oder. The rounded summit of the Brocken is treeless, but vegetated with dwarf shrubs.
The highest point on the Brocken reaches an elevation of 1,141.1 m above sea level (NN) (3,744 ft). Its subpeaks include the Heinrichshöhe (1,040 m or 3,410 ft), Königsberg (1,034 m or 3,392 ft) and Kleiner Brocken ("Little Brocken") (1,018 m or 3,340 ft).
Before 1989 the height of the Brocken was recorded in almost all the relevant maps and books as 1,142 m above NN (3,747 ft). A survey of the summit at the beginning of the 1990s based on the current reference system, however, gave the height as 1,141.1 m (3,744 ft). In order to provide a reference point for the old data, granite boulders were set in the mid-1990s on the highest point of the Brocken to a height of approximately 1143 m, and a benchmark of "1142 m" was established on them.
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