Oberharz (Samtgemeinde)

The Clausthal University of Technology (German: Technische Universität Clausthal, also referred to as TU Clausthal or TUC) is an institute of technology (Technische Universität) in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Lower Saxony, Germany. The small public university is regularly ranked among the Top German universities in engineering by CHE University Rankings. More than 30% of students and 20% of academic staff come from abroad, making it one of the most international universities in Germany. The university is best known for the prominent corporate leaders among its former students. As of 2011, five of the 30 leading companies within the German stock index had alumni of TUC on their management board, with two of them as CEO.

Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The town hosts the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort is located in the Upper Harz at an altitude between 390 and 821 m above sea level.

The Emperor William Shaft (German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Schacht or Schacht Kaiser Wilhelm II.) was the central hoisting and man-riding shaft of the lead and zinc mine in Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the Upper Harz in central Germany. It was sited on the Burgstatt Lode (Burgstätter Gangzug). The surface installations were located in the borough of Clausthal on No. 24 Erzstraße, near the present-day mining institute of the University of Technology.

The Upper Harz Mining Museum (German: Oberharzer Bergwerksmuseum, pronounced [ˌoːbɐhaːɐ̯tsɐ ˈbɛʁkvɛʁksmuzeːʊm]) is a museum of technological and cultural history in Clausthal-Zellerfeld in the Harz mountains of central Germany. It is one of the oldest technological museums in Germany and concentrates on the history and presentation of mining in the Upper Harz up to the 19th century.

The Upper Harz Water Regale (German: Oberharzer Wasserregal, pronounced [ˌoːbɐhaːɐ̯tsɐ ˈvasɐʁeɡaːl]) is a system of dams, reservoirs, ditches and other structures, much of which was built from the 16th to 19th centuries to divert and store the water that drove the water wheels of the mines in the Upper Harz region of Germany. The term regale, here, refers to the granting of royal privileges or rights (droit de régale) in this case to permit the use of water for mining operations in the Harz mountains of Germany. The Upper Harz Water Regale is one of the largest and most important historic mining water management systems in the world. The facilities developed for the generation of water power have been placed under protection since 1978 as cultural monuments. The majority are still used, albeit nowadays their purpose is primarily to support rural conservation (the preservation of a historic cultural landscape), nature conservation, tourism and swimming. From a water management perspective, several of the reservoirs still play a role in flood protection and the supply of drinking water. On 31 July 2010 the Regale was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site affiliated with the Mines of Rammelsberg and the Historic Town of Goslar because of its importance in the development of mining techniques and testimony to the medieval history of ore mining.The water system covers an area of roughly 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi) within the Lower Saxon part of the Harz, the majority of structures being found in the vicinity of Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Hahnenklee, Sankt Andreasberg, Buntenbock, Wildemann, Lautenthal, Schulenberg, Altenau and Torfhaus.

The small village of Buntenbock lies on the plateau of the Harz mountains in Germany and is part of the mining and university town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld. It is a state-recognised climatic health resort and has accommodation for 200 visitors as well as 700 inhabitants. The village lies on the Innerste at a height of 550–600 m above sea level. Surrounded by meadows, woods and numerous lakes (see Upper Harz Ponds), it is a base for all sorts of leisure activities such as hiking, cycling, fishing, swimming and, in winter, cross-country skiing. From the Kuckholzklippe observation tower there is an impressive view over the mountains to the Harz Foreland. In the nearby refuge hut is a checkpoint (no. 139) on the Harzer Wandernadel hiking network.

The Bärenbrucher Teich ("Bärenbruch Pond") is an historic reservoir in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. It lies east of Buntenbock near Clausthal-Zellerfeld. It belongs to the Upper Harz Ponds, that were originally laid out to supply water power for the Upper Harz mines. Its retaining capacity is 186,000 m³ and its barrage is around 7 metres high. The history of the Bärenbrucher Teich goes back to 1634. The water of the Bärenbrucher Teich can be channelled along the Bärenbruch Ditch (Bärenbrucher Wasserlauf), laid in 1948, through a sequence of six water tunnels and intermediate ditches to the Rosenhof, where it was used to supply power to the Rosenhof Pit and, later, the Ottiliae Shaft Power Station. Another drainage outlet is the normal bottom outlet, which discharges water into the Ziegenberger Teich located immediately below it. Today the Bärenbrucher Teich is normally operated as a spillway basin, that is, the bottom outlets are closed and water simply flows over the spillway into the Ziegenberger Teich. There is a Harzer Wandernadel hiking checkpoint (no. 137) in the refuge hut at the eastern end of the dam.

Zellbach is a small river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It flows into the Innerste west of Clausthal-Zellerfeld.

The Upper Harz (German: Oberharz, pronounced [ˈoːbɐhaːɐ̯ts]) refers to the northwestern and higher part of the Harz mountain range in Germany. The exact boundaries of this geographical region may be defined differently depending on the context. In its traditional sense, the term Upper Harz covers the area of the seven historical mining towns (Bergstädte) - Clausthal, Zellerfeld, Andreasberg, Altenau, Lautenthal, Wildemann and Grund - in the present-day German federal state of Lower Saxony. Orographically, it comprises the Harz catchment areas of the Söse, Innerste and Grane, Oker and Abzucht mountain streams, all part of the larger Weser watershed. Much of the Upper Harz area is up to 700 metres (2,300 ft) above sea level. In a wider sense, it also comprises the adjacent High Harz (Hochharz) range in the east, climbing to over 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in the Brocken massif.

The Huttaler Widerwaage is a small reservoir that is a part of the Upper Harz Water Regale, an old mining water management system in the Harz Mountains of Germany that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reservoir lies east of the mining town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld. It is designed to feed water from the Huttal river during times of low water to the reservoir pond of the Hirschler Teich and, during times of high water, to handle the overflow of water from it.

Lerbach is a village of Osterode am Harz in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is based in the south-western part of the Harz mountains.

The Lower Grumbach Pond (German: Unterer Grumbacher Teich), usually just Grumbach Pond (Grumbacher Teich), is an old mining reservoir or Kunstteich between Hahnenklee and Wildemann in the Upper Harz mountains in Germany It is one of the Upper Harz Ponds and was constructed before 1673. After being raised in height at least once, the dam today is 7.5 metres high and just under 60 metres long. There are nine other ponds within its catchment area, all part of the Upper Harz Water Regale: the Kranicher Teichen, the Kuttelbacher Teich, the Auerhahnteich, the Upper (Oberer) and Middle (Mittlerer) Grumbach Ponds and the Upper and Lower (Oberer and Unterer) Flößteich. Its catchment area is 7.92 km² which is very large for an Upper Harz Pond and results in a high volumetric flow. Its impoundment capacity is 82,000 m³.The pond was not only used for generating hydropower for the pits beneath, but also played an important role in timber rafting on the Grumbach stream to Wildemann. The timber, cut into one to two metre-long logs, was led by a rafting ditch around the pond and slid down the Gefluder in the present day Grumbach Waterfall into the stream. In order to transport the wood further downstream, water was periodically released from the Lower Grumbach Pond which ferried the logs down to the River Innerste.By the Lower Grumbach Pond is a refuge hut with checkpoint no. 113 "Grumbacher Teich" on the Harzer Wandernadel hiking network.