---
title: "Walpurgis in the Harz Mountains | Harzer Tourismusverband e. V."
url: "https://www.harzinfo.de/en/events-in-the-harz/walpurgis-in-the-harz"
description: "Experience the mystical Walpurgis Night in the Harz Mountains: witches, devils and traditions come together to create a magical festival full of bonfires, dancing and thrilling tales."
language: "en"
breadcrumb: "Root > Harzinfo > Events in the Harz > Walpurgis in the Harz"
---

Walpurgis in the Harz
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The festival of dark powers
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When talking about devil worship and witches’ rides, it usually refers to Walpurgis Night in the Harz.

The Walpurgis Festival is a traditional European celebration that dates back to pre-Christian times. More than 1,000 years ago, the “original inhabitants” of the Harz already celebrated a spring festival, during which various offerings were made to the supreme Germanic god Wodan to welcome spring.

The Harz Walpurgis Nights are celebrated in more than 20 towns across the region. The main hub of the bubbling witch’s cauldron is found in the towns of Bad Grund, Braunlage, Hahnenklee, Sankt Andreasberg, Schierke and Thale.

 

 

Devil’s Dance or Witches’ Ride
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What does Walpurgis in the Harz mean? (in German only)

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- Blankenburger Kräuterhexe
- Walpurgis in Wolfshagen
- Walpurgis in Hahnenklee - drei Hexen
- Kinder vor der Baumannshöhle in Rübeland
- Walpurgis auf dem Marktplatz in Goslar
- Walpurgis in Braunlage
- Walpurgis im Altenauer Hexenkessel
- Walpurgis im Kurpark Hahnenklee
- Walpurgis in Bad Grund

 

> The witches are heading for the Brocken, the stubble is yellow, the crop is green. There the great crowd gathers, Lord Urian sits on top. Thus they go over rock and stone, the witch farts, the goat stinks.

from FAUST by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

### Walpurgis films from the Harz

(in German only)

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Walpurgis in Sankt Andreasberg

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Truly, then the devil is loose in the Harz

On the last night of April, the dark forces celebrate a festival with their witches. Like a bubbling witch’s cauldron, the magical mountain world attracts thousands of guests from all over Germany during these days.

And every year anew, the towns around the mysterious Blocksberg are taken over by devilish witch festivities.

 

### Antje Wedde \| Wolfshäger Witches' Brood

Podcast “The Harz Behind the Scenes” (in German only)

Oberhexe Antje Wedde der Wolfhäger Hexenbrut

Today everything feels a bit bewitched around here!

Walpurgis Night is just around the corner, and for this occasion, Andreas met with the  for our podcast "The Harz Behind the Scenes" — more precisely with chief witch Antje Wedde. He finds out why the Wolfshäger Hexenbrut is part of a sports club and what the so-called "Knatterfurz" is all about.

 

### Behind the scenes of Walpurgis Night in the Harz

Special episode of the podcast “The Harz Behind the Scenes” (in German only)

Walpurgis in Hahnenklee - drei Hexen

In many places throughout the Harz, Walpurgis Night is celebrated on 30 April: traditional, modern, colourful, and full of witches and devils.

In this special episode of our podcast "The Harz Behind the Scenes", we take you behind the scenes of the Walpurgis celebrations in the Harz. Andreas and Luca talked to both professional and volunteer organisers of the festivities and even managed to get two witches in front of the microphone.

 

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