Oberharz am Brocken

The Hassel Auxiliary Dam or Hassel Dam (German: Hasselvorsperre or Vorsperre Hassel) is an auxiliary dam or pre-dam on the Rappbode Reservoir in the Harz mountains of central Germany. It is located near Hasselfelde in the state of Saxony-Anhalt and impounds the waters of the Hassel, the eastern of the two headwaters of the Rappbode Reservoir. Together with its auxiliary dams, the reservoir supplies drinking water and is owned by the Saxony-Anhalt Dam Company (Talsperrenbetrieb Sachsen-Anhalt). The purpose of the auxiliary dam is to pre-clean water mechanically and biologically before it flows into the main reservoir. Water can be collected from various heights and diverted to the reservoir. The barrier itself is a 21 m high gravity dam. The bedrock consists mostly of grauwacke, but with some thinly laminated argillaceous shale as well. There is a circular path around the Hassel Auxiliary Dam. The crest of the dam is accessible to pedestrians and the lake may be fished provided permission is obtained. The Hassel Auxiliary Dam is checkpoint no. 53 in the Harzer Wandernadel hiking trail network.

The Trogfurt(h) Bridge (German: Trogfurther Brücke), also called the Great Trogfurt(h) Bridge ((Große) Trogfurt(h)er Brücke) was an historical cultural monument in the Harz Mountains of Germany. It was built in 1739/40 as a stone bridge, blown up in 1945 and that same year replaced by a modern bridge. This became superfluous when the Königshütte Dam was constructed in 1956. The name comes from the Große Trogfurt, which in turn is derived from the Trog-/Tockweg, a road that crossed the River Bode, a tributary of the Saale, and which was mentioned for the first time in 919. The Trogfurt Bridge was built from rubble stone in the years 1739/40 spanning the Bode at a ford on the Königsstieg ("King's Mountain Road"), which ran from Italy to Scandinavia and was one of the oldest German military and trade routes. The bridge was also used in the transportation of wood from the forest. The bridge stones probably came from the demolished watch tower of the former castle of Susenburg, which stood on a spur about 800 metres north-east of the bridge and probably served to protect the bridge. On 14 April 1945, just under a month before the end of the Second World War], the bridge was blown up by the SS. In the same year, a modern bridge made of reinforced concrete and wood was built. This became superfluous after the construction of the Königshütte Dam was completed on 24 August 1956, the dam wall standing just a few metres to the east and thus below the old site of the bridge, which is now covered by water. The crown of the 18.2-metre-high dam wall (424.9 m above sea level (NHN)) now acts as the Bode crossing. From the Trogfurth Bridge it is only a few hundred metres to the plateau of the Lange and the ruins of the castles of Königsburg, Trageburg and Susenburg. The former Trogfurt Bridge (Trogfurter Brücke) is No. 42 in the system of checkpoints in the Harzer Wandernadel hiking network; the checkpoint is located at the southern end of the dam wall. From there is a roughly 6 kilometre long circular walk around the reservoir, taking in the aforementioned plateau and castles.

The Rappbode Auxiliary Dam (German: Rappbodevorsperre) is one of the two auxiliary dams in the Rappbode Dam system. This is the heart of the Rappbode Dam system in the East Harz, which is operated by the Saxony-Anhalt Dam Company (Talsperrenbetrieb des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt) and which also includes the Hassel Auxiliary Dam and the Königshütte, Mandelholz and Wendefurth dams. The Rappbode Auxiliary Dam near Trautenstein is used, together with the main dam, for supplying drinking water and for flood protection. The auxiliary dam impounds the River Rappbode. It has a 25 m high gravity dam. The area around the Rappbode Auxiliary Dam is well-suited to walking. Its eastern shore is dominated by numerous rocky crags. On the most important lakeside rocks, where today the reservoir and, formerly, the Rappbode river makes a small bend, there was once a castle, the Trageburg, which, like the Susenburg not far away, was used to guard an old long-distance trade route.

The Trageburg is a ruined castle immediately next to the Rappbode Pre-Dam in the Harz Mountains of Germany. It is located near Trautenstein in the district of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt. Its purpose, like that of the nearby Susenburg, was to protect an old long-distance trade route that ran north–south over the Harz. The Trogfurth Bridge also belonged to this road system. The Trageburg is checkpoint no. 52 in the Harzer Wandernadel hiking badge system.

Hagenbach is a river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It flows into the Hassel near Hasselfelde.

Allerbach is a river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The Allerbach springs west of Trautenstein. It is a left tributary of the Rappbode through the Rappbode Auxiliary Dam north of Trautenstein.

The Königshütte Dam (German: Talsperre Königshütte) is a dam in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt in the Harz mountains. It impounds the River Bode and lies between Königshütte and Susenburg (both in the borough of Oberharz am Brocken). It is a so-called storage reservoir (Überleitungssperre) forming part of the Rappbode Dam system. The dam itself was built on the Bode from 1939 to 1943 and 1952–1956 with construction being interrupted by the war. It is an 18 metre high gravity dam, made of concrete, for the supply of drinking water and for flood protection. It also provides reserves of water during times of drought and hydro-electric power. The power station has a nominal output of 60 kW and generates 0.18 GWh per annum. The gently curving dam wall is 108 m long and has a volume of 13,500 m³. It can be overtopped along almost its entire length. In one section there is a fish-belly flap gate that can be lowered by 1.5 metres to provide flood control. The reservoir has a capacity of 1.2 million m³ and covers an area of 32 hectares. Part of the water is diverted from here through a 1,795 m long tunnel to the Rappbode Reservoir. The rest flows back into the Bode and down to the Wendefurth Reservoir, where it is reunited with the water from the Rappbode Reservoir again. A quiet concrete road from Königshütte runs along the northern side of the reservoir as far as the dam. On the south side a wide footpath leads back to Königshütte, which passes the confluence of the Kalte and Warme Bode. Numerous footpaths lead from the dam in almost all directions of the compass. The location is suitable for both anglers and walkers.

Murmelbach is a river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It flows into the Hassel near Hasselfelde.

Sellegraben is a small river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It flows into the Brummeckebach near Hasselfelde.

Trautenstein is a village in the borough of Oberharz am Brocken in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Trautenstein has 493 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010. Formerly an independent municipality, it was merged into the town Hasselfelde in 2002, which was merged into Oberharz am Brocken in 2010.

Hasselfelde is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is in the eastern Harz, approximately 17 km south of Wernigerode. Since 1 January 2010 it has been part of the town of Oberharz am Brocken. As of 1 January 2010 Hasselfelde has 2,390 inhabitants.

Baumann's Cave (German: Baumannshöhle), located nearby Hermann's Cave, is a show cave in Rübeland in the district of Harz and is Germany's oldest show cave. The grotto was formed in the Devonian limestone of the Elbingerode Complex at least since the Bode Valley was being shaped. The cave has been visited by man since the Stone Age and not first discovered in 1536 as many written accounts suggest. The year of discovery in 1536 in combination with the tale of the miner, Baumann, who is supposed to have discovered the cave, are part of a false story dating back to Nazi times when a politically suitable jubilee date was being sought. The cave is frequently mentioned in the early scientific and travel literature as it has been open to the public with guided tours since 1649 when Valentin Wagner was installed as first cave guide. Baumann's Cave is probably the oldest regularly frequented and guided show cave, at least in Germany. Amongst its most famous visitors was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The cave's biggest chamber, the Goethesaal, is named after him and is fitted with seats and a stage for concerts and plays.The cave was sealed off from an early date so that its rich display of stalactites and stalagmites has been largely preserved. The cave is particularly famous for, amongst other things, the numerous bones of cave bears that have been found there.