Before our train pulled up to the station Friday evening (pre-Brocken hike) I had never heard of Wernigerode. My colleague mentioned that the 12th century town was supposed to be quite nice. From the window I could see the castle on top of the hill, so I was immediately convinced. We discussed checking out the town on the way back on Sunday and I was intrigued although not overly enthusiastic. Little did I know that by the time we were on the return train to Berlin I would be raving about this town along the German Timber-Frame Road in Sachsen-Anhalt.
Arriving in Wernigerode
The train and bus station are located next to the Harz’s specialty steam engine train, the Harzer Schmalspurbahn, and are all a short walk from the center of town. The first main street we encountered was undergoing quite a lot of construction, but I was already amazed by all of the Fachwerkhäuser (half-timbered houses) lining the streets.
It was only 9am but we were starving and searching for a café or even a hotel with a buffet. We stopped at Schlemmercafe, just beyond the Nikolaiplatz, for another typical German breakfast. I had the Parisian version which came with Brie and a croissant.
Hanger taken care of, we continued strolling the main thoroughfare before reaching the main marketplace dominated by an incredible Rathaus (town hall) from 1498! It was early, but we scoped out some of the establishments around the Markt for later; I had my heart set on ice cream and Daniel’s was on a refeshing beer.
The Castle
Then we started hiking up to Schloss Wernigerode (castle). If you prefer not to hike up you can always take the Bimmelbahn train. At the top we had an even more impressive view of the castle and a less impressive view of the surrounding mountains. No luck this weekend with weather, it was incessantly foggy. The Brocken was faintly visible in the distance, but only as an outline. After purchasing tickets inside, we grabbed a seat in the courtyard to take in the castle for a short while.
The tour is self-guided with placards in English and German in each room, although audio guides are available to rent or you can purchase a guided tour. There are two round trip tours of the castle to follow around. One is on the main floor and the other through the second floor guiding you through the chapel, bedrooms, sitting rooms, etc. All of the rooms have excellent views of the surrounding mountains (probably even more impressive on clear days) and the town below.
Wandering the Altstadt
Done in the castle, we worked our way back to town to check out some of the smaller side streets with really quaint houses. In the process we bumped into a bell tower and couldn’t pass up another chance to view the town from above. On the way up we passed several large bells before arriving at the uppermost floor. There we were able to open doors in three of the four corners which lead to balconies overlooking the city in each cardinal direction.
Strolling through town, we stumbled upon many adorable streets filled with tiny, adorable half-timbered houses. The thing that amazed me about Wernigerode was the sheer amount of traditional-style buildings. Many towns in Germany have an Altstadt (old town), which because of war and time are often one to a few streets with some old houses. Wernigerode is an entire city filled with these kinds of buildings. And if there are new homes, they aren’t eye sores but actually blend in with the existing architecture and style of the city quite well.
Satisfied with having seen enough cute half-timbered houses, we mosied back to the main square and took a seat at the Café am Markt to have our promised beer and ice cream while watching the ongoings on the square. People passed by with suitcases and ice cream cones. We watched a photography group make giant soap bubbles and taking snapshots in front of various old buildings on the Markt. The sun came out and the square became busier, but it was time for us to catch our train to Berlin.
Although I had never heard of Wernigerode before passing through it on our way to Schierke the night before, I cannot recommend visiting the town highly enough. If you love everything typisch deutsch, you will fall in love with this charming town as much as I did!