Imperial Palace and Maltermeister Tower

The start of our hike in the south of Goslar is the intersection of Nonnenweg and “Am Beek“ below the Frankenberger Church. Immediately on the right, we turn into a path, take the second turn to the left, and cross the federal road B241. Now turn right into Rammelsberger Straße and follow the sign “Blue Dot” up to the Maltermeister Tower. At first, the path leads past some houses before you turn left into Bruchchaussee. On the left lies the youth hostel of Goslar, in front of which you turn right to shorten the serpentine. Back on Bruchchaussee, you initially walk straight along the forest edge, but after a left curve, you leave it on the path branching right, turn right again, and reach the guesthouse at the Maltermeister Tower above the Mining Museum. From its sun terrace, it offers a splendid view of the town of Goslar and the vast Harz foreland. The Maltermeister Tower is the oldest visible above-ground evidence of medieval mining and was first documented in 1548. It belonged to the large complex of the Rammelsberg mine. The term Malter refers to a wooden measure of about 2 cubic meters. About 6000 of these so-called Malters were consumed annually for ore extraction at the Rammelsberg. From the mid-18th century, the tower served as the residence of the Maltermeister, the wood manager, giving it its name. We now follow the “Blue Dot” marking southwards and hike steadily uphill through the nature reserve of the block slopes. On the slope of the Rammelsberg, you reach the Borchersweg path to the “Waldschrat” shelter, turn left here onto Windeweg, immediately leave it on the left side again. In two long curves, we walk through the spruce forest and reach the shelter at Ramseck, also with a beautiful view of Goslar. Now follow the “Green Dot” in zigzags down to Bruchchaussee, turn right onto it, follow it in a bend to the left, and keep to the right at the next intersection. At the following T-junction, orient yourself to the left, then turn right again onto Bruchchaussee and leave it after a few steps on the obliquely right-branching forest path. At both forks, keep right and reach Goslar again via Werenbergstraße. We then turn left onto Wallstraße and come to the Imperial Palace. It was built between 1040 and 1050 under Henry III and is an impressive monument of secular architecture. It houses the Imperial House, the former collegiate church “St. Simon and Judas,” the palace chapel “St. Ulrich,” and the Church of Our Lady. For over 200 years, here in the “Rome of the North,” the course of history was determined at the Reich and court days. Since 1992, the Imperial Palace has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the old town of Goslar and the Rammelsberg. On the streets “Kaiserbleek,” Liebfrauenbergstraße, Neue Straße, “An der Gose,” and Peterstraße, you now walk a bit westwards and soon reach the starting point of the tour below the Frankenberger Church. Those who still have time and inclination should definitely take a tour through the unique old town of Goslar.

Sturdy footwear is recommended.

Tourist-Information Goslar
Markt 7, 38640 Goslar
Tel. 05321 78060
E-mail tourist-information@goslar.de
www.goslar.de

ADAC Hiking Guide Harz | ISBN 978-3-89905-729-4