Karst Hiking Trail – Circular Route 12 through Himmelreich

This route runs almost entirely on the signposted Karst Hiking Trail between the historically significant towns of Ellrich and Walkenried with the gypsum karst landscape in the Himmelreich nature reserve. From Ellrich station, head to the Julius Hut, the site of former gypsum factories and a concentration camp subcamp, now a memorial. Information boards provide details about the site and its horrors. The path soon ascends, passing gypsum cliffs and shallower sinkholes to the summit of Himmelreich. Here the “Witches' Dance Floor” offers a panorama over Ellrich and the southern Harz. We are already above the 300 m long railway tunnel, driven through the anhydrite mountain in 1868, where the largest natural cavity in Germany was discovered and extensively tunneled. A loop north leads above huge sinkholes (Bierensloch) to the rest area at the Jürgen-Thiele Hut and back to the ridge of Himmelreich, now with a view of the trains entering the tunnel and the Itelteich pond.

In the Middle Ages, the Walkenried monks dammed a large sinkhole (polje) with a karst spring and disappearing stream to create a fish pond, the Itelteich. Today a technical monument and part of a nature reserve, it is a haven for waterfowl and many other animal species. Over the impressive cliff path with ancient trees, the route goes into the Wieda valley, where the river usually sinks underground in summer. The floodplain forest is crossed, and at the foot of the Röseberg gypsum cliffs, the tour continues to Walkenried.

The final stop is the Cistercian monastery with catering options, now a cultural tourism highlight. The museum was opened in 2006 as one of the largest and most innovative monastery museums in Europe. Visitors take a fascinating journey through the fully preserved cloister buildings of the 13th century, where acoustic and visual staging brings the Middle Ages and monastic life vividly to life. In summer, the famous Walkenried cloister concerts take place here. After circumnavigating the monastery complex over the car park and the Wieda riverbank with the ruins of the Gothic church, the path goes through the Romanesque gatehouse to the station. Just before, it is worth pausing at a garden railway. The circular route is completed by using the train to return to the start point.