Bad Harzburg is a spa town at the northern gate of the Harz, a place of grand villas, a Kurpark, a casino and, on the hill behind it, a cable car that carries visitors to the ruins of a medieval castle. The castle, called the Harzburg, was built in the eleventh century by Emperor Henry the Fourth as part of his campaign to control the Saxon lands, and when the Saxon nobles rebelled in 1074 they destroyed it. The ruin is mostly a few walls and a tower stump now, but the place has a dramatic position, and a viewing area gives a wide look over the plain to the north.
On the same hill stands the Canossa Column, a granite pillar put up in 1877 by order of Bismarck, who wanted to remind everyone of the moment when his chancellorship refused to bend to Rome. It carries a line from his speech, famous in German politics: we will not go to Canossa. You do not have to share his views to enjoy the quiet woods around it, and the walk up is short and easy.
The town's other claim is its water. Brine springs have been used here since the nineteenth century, and the spa buildings, pump rooms and promenades speak of the age when doctors prescribed walks and mineral water for almost everything. The centre today is lively and a bit old-fashioned in a pleasant way, with cafés serving cake, restaurants with Harz specialities such as game and trout, and shops selling local sausages. A little waterfall called the Radau falls in a ravine near the edge of town and is an easy walk.
As a food stop it is a good one, with about twenty-three thousand people, fuel stations, supermarkets and many places to sit down. Parking a motorbike near the pedestrian zone is straightforward, and the cobbles in the centre are short. Weekends in good weather are busy, as riders from Hanover, Brunswick and Hamburg arrive in numbers, and the town can be filled with the sound of engines, so a weekday gives more room to breathe. After a meal, the climb into the hills begins at once, and the road toward Torfhaus and the high Harz gets steep and bendy within minutes.