Clausthal-Zellerfeld sits on a plateau at around six hundred metres in the Upper Harz, and the town has a surprise at its centre: the Marktkirche, a huge church built entirely of wood, said to be the largest wooden church in Germany. It was built in the seventeenth century by a mining community that was rich enough to afford it and short of stone, and it is a fine sight, with its dark timber walls and a roof of slate. Inside it is painted and carved with a quiet grandeur.
Silver is the reason the town exists. Mining began here in the Middle Ages and flourished for centuries, and the Upper Harz became one of the most important mining regions in Europe. To power the pumps that kept the mines dry, the miners built an extraordinary network of artificial ponds, ditches and tunnels that collected rainwater from the high plateau, known as the Upper Harz Water Regale, and it is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Walking around the forest ponds, you see how thoroughly the people of the Harz shaped their landscape.
The town is also home to a technical university, founded as a mining academy in the eighteenth century, which gives the place a lively student population and a good supply of cafes. The university's mineral collection is well regarded. With over fifteen thousand people, the town has fuel, shops and restaurants, and it is the best place to fill up before riding into the high Harz.
The photograph here is of the plateau itself, a high, open landscape of spruce, moor and ponds, where the road runs through long, gentle bends with wide views. The weather can be raw, with cloud and drizzle blowing over the heights, and winter comes early. The roads in the area are well surfaced, though frost can damage them, and traffic is moderate.
In summer the plateau is cool compared with the lowlands, and a light jacket is welcome. Autumn mists lend the ponds an eerie beauty, and spring brings fresh green.