Routes to the Brocken - Heinrich Heine Path

This ascent to the Brocken starts in Ilsenburg and follows the footsteps of Heinrich Heine along the mountain stream Ilse. Along winding forest paths, it goes through the deeply cut Ilsetal past the Ilsestein to the impressive Ilse waterfalls. Primeval beech forests and rugged rock formations border the path. The Heine monument commemorates the poet's ascent to the Brocken in 1824. Soon the path turns west and meets the Harz Border Path at Hermannsklippe. This follows the former patrol road - past the Bismarckklippe and the Little Brocken (1,019 m) - steeply up to the treeless Brocken summit. This section of the path offers, as a reward for the steep ascent, a magnificent view of the Eckertalsperre reservoir and the northern Harz edge.