Content area
Full Text
If you are looking for a half-timbered delight, Wernigerode may be the hidden treasure you have always dreamed of
It had been twelve years since the first time I visited Wernigerode during my first trip to Germany and, as the roads began to wind through the Harz Mountains into town, the dramatic sight of the hillside castle made me more than excited to see the town again.
The Harz Mountains are filled with myths and mystery, including those of the witches on Walspurgisnacht. The area is also home to many wonderful small half-timbered towns, including the two UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Goslar and Quedlinburg. Often missing from many tourist books, Wernigerode is one of Germany's most overlooked gems.
Wernigerode lies on two important routes in Germany, the "Deutsche Fachwerk Straße" (German Half-Timbered Road) and the "Straße der Romanik" (The Romanesque Road). It has one of the most stunning castles in Saxony-Anhalt and quite possibly the most beautiful Rathaus (Town Hall) in all of Germany, as well as some of the most interesting half-timbered architecture.
Visitors to Wernigerode are first greeted by the magnificent fairy tale castle, which sits high above the town. Construction on the original Romanesque castle dates back to between 1110 and 1120; however, little more than a few walls and foundations of that structure remain. The castle fell into some disarray following the Thirty Years' War and, by the time Otto Count von Stolberg-Wernigerode took over in 1858, the castle was in dire need of modernization. In 1862, along with his architect Carl Frühling, he initiated a major reconstruction that was completed with the inauguration of the castle chapel in 1883. Today, the castle, with its blend of stone and half-timbered materials, is an important example of the North German "Historismus" (Historicism) building style.
The castle was built as the seat of the Counts of Wernigerode and, when their line ended, was passed to the Counts of Stolberg in 1429....