Kalte Birke

Refuge hut at the Kalte Birke

The Kalte Birke is a cross tracks in theHarz Mountains of Germany where there is a refuge hut and former settlement. It is located west of the Innerste Reservoir at about 540 metres above sea level. It lies in the unparished area of Harz in the county of Goslar. Historically it is closely linked to the municipality of Hahausen and village of Neuekrug, four kilometres northwest.

History

View of the Innerste Reservoir from the Lageswarte, just under 1 km north of the Kalte Birke

In the area of the Kalte Birke and the Lageswarte (571 m above NHN) just north of it, was an important trading route, the Innerste Rennsteig, which ran between Buntenbock and Neuekrug and had been established since the early Middle Ages. The initial occupation of the site and the origin of its name are unclear. The Kalte Birke was documented as early as 1350. A letter from the year 1391 shows that an enclosure was located at the Kalte Birke in the 14th century. The use of the site as a place where records were kept and negotiatinos were held, is seen in other written records. They also suggest that there had been a permanent building on this spot at least since the late Middle Ages. In the years 1511 and 1518 the Kalte Birke is mentioned as a hunting ground.

Walking

The Kalte Birke lies on the Harzer Försterstieg, a trail that runs from Goslar via Wolfshagen im Harz, Lautenthal, Wildemann, Bad Grund (Harz), Buntenbock and Lerbach to Riefensbeek-Kamschlacken near Osterode am Harz. It is no. 103 in the system of check points in the Harzer Wandernadel hiking challenge.

Three kilometres to the south is the Tränkebach Hut and one kilometre north is the Vereinsplatz, which are checkpoint no. 104 and no. 102 in the Harzer Wandernadel.

Literature

Zum Abschnitt Geschichte: Kalthammer, Wilhelm: Die Chronik von Hahausen; Druckerei M. Wirth GmbH, Hahausen 1983 (S. 182 f.)
(veröffentlicht auf www.hahausen-harz.de: Die Chronik von Hahausen. Abschnitt: Die "Kalte Birke")