Since the dramatic scene in Goethe's "Faust", the Walpurgis Night - or Witch's Sabbath - on the Brocken, the highest of the Harz mountains, has become an integral part of German cultural heritage. Nowadays, the great festival of witches and demons in the night from April 30 to May 1 is not only celebrated on the inaccessible Brocken itself, but throughout the Harz - an ideal opportunity for visiting Germany's northernmost low mountain range.
Whether or not you believe in the existence of such beings is irrelevant during Walpurgis Night. In small towns and villages all over the Harz, locals and visitors from far and near meet to dispel winter once and for all with all sorts of pranks. This custom can be traced right back to pre-Christian times, when shamans and women with mystical knowledge used to drive out the cold season and welcome the goddess of spring. Thanks to this long-standing tradition, the witch has in fact become the symbol of the Harz region.
Tourist Information Harz
Marktstr. 45
38640 Goslar
+49 (0) 5321-34040
+49 (0) 5321-340466
Additional sources of information:
Klettern/Climbing und/and Outdoorseminare/Outdoor classes c/o Ralf Gentsch
Kapitelsberg 1 d
388855 Werningerode
+49 (0) 3943-605979
Die Walpurgisnacht im Harz / Walpurgisnacht at the Harz
Grube Samson / Samson Mine
Postfach 31
37442 Sankt Andreasberg
+49 (0) 5582-1249
+49 (0) 5582-923051
Hotel
Markt 8
06547 Stolberg (Harz)
+49 (0) 34654-205