page_title: Bode Gorge
section_title: Places of interest
hierarchical_section_title: Bode Gorge / Places of interest
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bodekessel im Bodetal
context_page_description: The Bode Gorge is a 10 kilometres long ravine that forms part of the Bode valley between Treseburg and Thale in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. The German term, Bodetal, is also used in a wider sense to refer to the valleys of the Warme and Kalte Bode rivers that feed the River Bode.
  At the Bode Gorge, the River Bode, which rises on the highest mountain in the Harz, the Brocken, has cut deeply into the hard Ramberg granite rock. The ravine is about 140 m deep at Treseburg and some 280 m deep at Thale where it breaks out into the Harz Foreland. The Bode Gorge was designated a nature reserve as early as 5 March 1937; its boundaries being subsequently expanded. With an area of, currently 473.78 hectares, it is one of the largest nature reserves in Saxony-Anhalt.
context_section_description: The following places of interest are listed in the order they occur along the Bode Gorge from Thale to Treseburg.
  Katersteg: a bridge by the youth hostel (a former hotel dating to 1845) and the Waldkater Café. Legend has it that this was the spot where a hunter spared a wine adulterer who had been turned into a tomcat by a spell. As a reward he received a hoard of treasure which he used to build the inn.
  Schallhöhle: in 1760 a walkway, roughly 20 metres long, was hewn out of the rock and the local innkeeper amused his guests by firing gun salutes into it to create echoes. Spring water from the cave was sold as Lebenswasser. Today it is sealed by a grille. A memorial plaque next to the old entrance commemorates Heinrich Reckleben, who owned the inn for many years and eventually lost his hearing as a result of the firing. He died when he was run over by a beer coach.
  Siebenbrüder or Goethefelsen (Seven Brothers or Goethe Rocks): a granite rock formation with a number of pinnacles. According to legend, seven brothers from the Bohemian Forest had been spurned by a woman, so they wanted to rape her on this spot at the entrance to the gorge. As a punishment they were turned into the seven-headed rock formation. The rocks were renamed the Goethe Rocks on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on 28 August 1949. During his visit to the Bode Gorge, Goethe had studied the jointing of the rock on a granite block in the river below the rock formation.
  Kronensumpf: a kettle hole in the Bode. According to the Rosstrappe legend this is the spot where the hound, Bodo, guards the crown of Princess Brunhilde.
  Jungfrau, or Großer Kurfürst, and Mönch (Virgin, or Great Elector, and Monk): rock formations in front of the Jungfern Bridge. According to the Rosstrappe legend, a monk turned to stone in fright when he saw Bodo fall into the ravine.
  Jungfern Bridge: a stone bridge by the Gasthof Königsruhe. A legend maintains that only virgins may cross it so that it does not collapse. Later the publican had a bell ring whenever a virgin crossed the bridge.
  Königsruhe: a pub with beer garden and guesthouse in the Hirschgrund in the middle of the Bode ravine. This is where the Jungfern Trail (Jungfernstieg) crosses the Bode and where the narrow section of the gorge begins. There is a view of the Bode rushing over the rocks from the terrace. The group of houses includes the Harz Mountain Rescue hut which is occupied during peak visitor periods. Refreshments were being sold in the Hirschgrund as early as 1820. In 1860 a stone building was erected that initially housed a Konditorei or cake shop. The Hirschgrund is No. 178 the Harzer Wandernadel hiking network.
  Steinerne Kirche: the "Stone Church", a rock formation above the Hirschgrund in the shape of a church tower with adjoining nave. A cross has been erected on the top of the rocks.
  Schurre: a former hunting path that was expanded in 1850, and climbs steeply through 18 hairpin bends up a stone run made of granite, hornfels and diabase to the Rosstrappe.
  Teufelskanzel: "Devil's Pulpit". Rocks above the Bode gorge by the Teufelsbrücke ("Devil's Bridge") above the Blauer Sumpf, the narrowest part of the Bode Gorge. It was from here, according to legend, the devil spoke to witches.
  Bodekessel: a kettle hole in the Bode by the Teufelsbrücke. Legend has it that it was formed as follows: the Germanic god, Wasur (eternal circulation of the waters), broke through the rock wall that once linked the Hexentanzplatz and the Rosstrappe, in order to save Wotan from the wrath of his father, Hodir. He paved the way for the Bode and created the Bodekessel. Wotan was consequently placed on the throne of the gods. In fact the kettle hole had been scoured out by a low waterfall that was explosively demolished in 1784 to enable timber rafts to use the Bode.
  Langer Hals: "Long Neck". A river loop on the Bode that extends some distance to the north. The Langer Hals takes the Bode around a hard rock mass made of hornfels and diabase. In the knotenschiefer region the valley widens
caption: The Bodekessel
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