Schierke station

Schierke station is the railway station in the village of Schierke operated by the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways on the Brocken Railway in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. Schierke itself lies as the foot of the highest mountain in the Harz, the Brocken, and is located in the borough of Wernigerode in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.HistoryThe station, which is located at a height of 687 metres above sea level, was opened on 20 June 1898 and has been in continuous use as a railway station ever since. On the completion of the line up to the Brocken on 4 October 1898, trains to the highest mountain in North Germany, which were predominantly used by tourists, called at Schierke station. Because Brocken station was not served in winter due to heavy snowfalls, trains always terminated in Schierke from 16 October to 29 April. Not until the German Winter Sports Championships in spring 1950 did trains run to the Brocken in winter as well.As a result of the location of the Brocken in the border zone between the GDR and FRG the Brocken Railway section between Schierke and Brocken station was closed to the public from 13 August 1961. Railway and station were then only used for military purposes or by the local population. After the Wende - the political changes in 1989 - the Brocken line was inspected and repaired, and Schierke station used for its original purpose again.