The Harz hiking stamps / Harzer Wandernadel
Do you like hiking? Are you the collecting type? If you answered yes to both questions, you will really like the idea behind the Harz hiking stamps / Harzer Wandernadel, a badge system for the travelers in the mountain region of Harz, Germany.
The Harz is one of the most beloved mini-mountain ranges in Germany. A highland area, really, a Mittelgebirge, it is great for moderate difficulty hiking trails, which has made it very popular ever since the Romanticism period, when painters, writers and philosophers would get lost in reverie looking for solitude, introspection and the meaning of life in the beauty of nature. Goethe was one of the most avid wanderers of the time, he even has a trail named after him. En vogue ever since the late 18th century, the Wanderlust became part of the German culture, and hiking is still a very popular pastime for all ages and all seasons.
The Harz range stretches for over 100km; Saxony Anhalt has the lion’s share, but it also reaches Thuringia and Lower Saxony. Its highest point is the mountain Brocken, 1141 meters high, which makes it the tallest peak in Northern Germany.
Although Brocken is not very tall, it has a surprisingly grumpy alpine microclimate, and it is quite common to find it covered in snow or clouds in the cold season. It is also the place where the local witches usually gather. But that’s a story for a different time.
Back to the Harzer stamp passport. Since hiking in the Harz is so very popular, why not make a reward system, have something to show for? And work hard for, since it comes with honorary prizes for the most energetic travelers.
Presenting… The Harzer Wandernadel Wanderpass (the hiking pin passport of Harz):
A passport and travel journal at the same time, the little booklet (which you can buy for a few euros at tourist info points in the area) has 222 empty slots to be stamped in as many checkpoints of the Harz region.
Sometimes the stamps can be found in mountain refuges and huts, sometimes they are stand-alone on a trail, sometimes they can be found near a landmark.
The Bremen Hut on Ilse valley stands on the spot where some 200 years ago a group of hikers from Bremen first built a little mountain refuge. This is stamp checkpoint (Stampelstelle) 6.
The number is clearly marked on the door and they all contain an ink pad and a little stamp, with a witch riding a broom (because we are in an area where the witches roam, remember?).
Flip through your Harz hiking passport, find the right checkpoint number, stamp it, and keep on walking. It’s a long way to Tipperary.
Remember to count them occasionally, and see for what badge you qualify already.
For example, the Harzer Hexen Stieg / Witches’ trail badge requires you to get a number of stamps on this 100-km long trail. The Goethe badge is for finding literary references to the most famous local wanderer. The Grenzweg (border path) takes you along the former East-West Germany border. For the Emperor’s Boot you need 150 stamps and for the Harz Hiking Emperor you will need all 222 stamps.
And what are these badges, you might ask? They’re actual pins, which you can purchase and proudly wear on your hunter green felt hat. But you can only buy them if you have the stamps to show for your hiking achievements.
Happy hiking, everybody!
We’re close to getting our golden pin. Yay!
Want to find out more about the Harzer Wandernadel? Check out the official website to see the pins and the complete checkpoint map, or hit Wikipedia for the executive summary.
