Clausthal-Zellerfeld

Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in the Upper Harz in Lower Saxony. It is the largest town of the Oberharz community and is at an altitude of 535 m ASL. It is great for winter activities, and for walking and mountain biking during the rest of the year. Clausthal has a well-known university, Aula Academica. The town has a picturesque low mountain range landscape with crystal clear waters in more than 60 ponds and flowering meadows.

Understand
Clausthal-Zellerfeld consists of two towns: Clausthal and Zellerfeld. The towns were merged in 1924, and had about 16,000 residents in 2019. Buntenbock, about 3 km south of Clausthal, was added to the town in 1972. It has about 700 residents. Wildemann and its 800 residents were added in 2015.

The university was opened in 1775 and used to be a school for children and a centre for mining apprentices. In 1864 it was established as a mining academy, and also taught physics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering. Today the university has about 3000 students.

Clausthal's focus is on university life and the business world, where as Zellerfeld is the tourist centre of the town. The "culture mile" is worth a visit: St. Salvatoris church with a famous altarpiece by Werner Tübke, the Upper Harz Mining Museum, and the former mint (Kunsthandwerkerhof). Every Thursday evening from May to October there is the Zellerfeld popular farmers' market. The town offers free parking on Adolph-Roemer-Straße in Clausthal. The picturesque houses in the town are built in the style of the typical Upper Harz.

In the town you can buy various local specialities, such as meat and sausages. Why not try the Harzer witch bread (from the Meier confectionery), which is produced only in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, or the Clausthal Elixir.

Both parts of the town have some beautiful historic buildings. In Clausthal is the Market Church "To the Holy Spirit". The original church was destroyed by fire in 1634. It was replaced with a wooden church, which was completed in 1642. It is now the largest wooden church in Germany and can seat up to 2200 people and boasts a massive organ and a great altar. In the south-western corner you can find an alabaster carving of the story of Christ. In Zellerfeld, you can find many craftsmen's houses, which were rebuilt after the fire in 1672. One of the main industries was the production of silver and gold coins. In 1978 the former mint was converted into a glass-blower. Today you can watch the traditional craftsmen close up and discover how glass is blown.

By plane
Hanover Airport is the closest and is 112 km away and will take 1 hr 10 min.

Paderborn Airport is 203 km away and will take 1 hr 51 min. Of those, two Hanover has more connections by far.

By car
Clausthal-Zellerfeld is in the middle of the Harz, and the roads leading to the town have breathtaking views.

From the north, south and west take the A7, leave at exit 67 for B243 towards Osterode, then take the 242 to Clausthal-Zellerfeld

From the east, take the A38 to exit 11 (Nordhausen). Take the B4 through Nordhausen and Braunlage, then the B242 follow all the way to Clausthal-Zellerfeld.

By train
The nearest railway station is in the District of Goslar, some 20 km away. From there you can catch a bus, which run frequently. The Kreiensen and Northeim stops are also within easy reach of Clausthal-Zellerfeld.

By bus
Clausthal-Zellerfeld has a. From there you can catch buses to many other towns within the Harz and the surrounding area. There are good links from Goslar and other local towns. Goslar train station has a direct connection with the bus 830 or 831 of the station forecourt to Clausthal-Zellerfeld. Bus 440 runs from the train station at Northeim. From Clausthall use the Kronplatz bus stop. From Zellerfeld use the Thomas-Merten-Platz stop. Bus routes and timetables are available here..

Get around
Clausthall-Zellerfeld is situated just off the B242.

By bus
The bus station is found between the districts of Clausthal and Zellerfeld, next to the municipal library. The stop in the centre of the village of Clausthal is Kronplatz, in the centre of Zellerfeld Thomas-Merten-Platz. The buses are operated by the RBB, a subsidiary of DBRegio AG.

By taxi
There are taxi ranks at the Kronplatz and the Bornhardstraße in Zellerfeld in Clausthal-Zellerfeld.

By bike
There are many bike routes around Clausthall Zellerfeld.

Mountain biking is very popular in this area. The Volksbank Arena sponsors a huge network of signposted routes for mountain bikers in three difficulty levels (62 routes, 1,800-km circuit). Seven MTB circular routes start directly at the tourist information in Zellerfeld.

See
Clausthall Zellerfeld is surrounded by wonderful countryside and provides many local mountain activities.



Buy
In the Zellerfeld district from May to October every Thursday evening the mountain farmers' market offers a variety of local food. There is also a musical performance every week. The craft courtyard is open every day offering hand-made pieces of wood, glass or silk at affordable prices.

Go next

 * Wildemann - Wildemann is a town in the district of Goslar. It is northwest of Clausthal-Zellerfeld. The pretty Resort owes its name to the old legend of the "wild man" who was though to live in a cave in the forest. There is now a bronze statue to commemorate the tale. You can visit its mining nuseum with 19 tunnels or try out one of its many hiking trails set in quiet valleys, brooks and local pools where you can fish or bathe. In the Winter you can try out the 800-m toboggan run.
 * Bad Grund - This town is found in a romantic valley, surrounded by forests. It is the oldest of the upper Harz mining towns. You can enjoy the lovely timber buildings in the town or visit the historic iberg dripstone cave which had inhabitants over 3000 years ago. It has a cross mountain trail, and in the winter a cross-country skiing track in two parts which is above bad reason, starting at the Taternplatz. Slopes for tobogganing runs are found above the village.
 * Badenhausen - This is a district of Bad Grund. On the edge of the town is ruins of the Pagenberg an old fortress, the Hindenburg, also called giant castle that was built by the Count of Katlenburg in 1080. In the public park there is a playground specially designed to interest everyone across the generations. There is also a large sawmill which entered the Guinness Book of Records for the longest sawn wood sheets in the world!
 * Braunlage - another mining town, today a centre of summer and winter sports.
 * Goslar - the regional hub and a former Free Imperial City with roots in the Middle Ages, you can explore some quite impressive buildings in Goslar and as the world heritage listed Rammelsberg mine just outside.