Teufelsmauer

The Teufelsmauer is a line of hard sandstone that was tilted almost vertical when the Harz was uplifted, and because it resists erosion better than the rock around it, it stands as a jagged wall running about twenty kilometres in broken sections across the foreland. It was quarried for building stone until local protest led to protection in 1852, making it one of the oldest protected natural monuments in Germany. Individual formations carry names, and legend explains the wall as built by the devil in a wager with God, left unfinished at cockcrow. Dry grassland and rare plants grow on the ridge, and a path runs along the top.

The landscape

• The vertical beds - sandstone tilted on end and left standing as a wall.
• The 1852 protection - one of Germany's earliest protected natural monuments.
• The named formations - individual rocks with local names and stories.
• The ridge path - a route along and beside the wall through dry grassland.

When to go

April to October; the ridge is exposed and slippery in wet weather. Spring brings the dry grassland flora. Weekends draw walkers from the Harz towns.

Practical notes

The path along the top is narrow and exposed in places. The wall is broken into sections with gaps. Parking at the trailheads is limited.

Nearby

Thale lies southwest; Quedlinburg is north.

Key facts