Pleasure Bike Paradise | Stage 10b | Wernigerode - Halberstadt - Schöningen

We begin our stage at the marketplace of the historic half-timbered town of Wernigerode, also called "the colorful town at the Harz." The medieval town hall and the "Leaning House" are worthwhile photo spots. Additionally, the Harz narrow-gauge railways network connects Wernigerode with the Brocken. We cycle northwards and follow the course of the Holtemme on a comfortable bike path. On our right, we always have the river in view. We stay on the Holtemme cycle path and pass Reddeber, Minsleben, and Silstedt. Shortly before Derenburg, a visit to the Harzkristall glass manufactory is worthwhile, where you can watch glassblowers and even try glassblowing yourself. At Mahndorf near Halberstadt, we turn onto the village road that also leads to Halberstadt parallel to the Holtemme. From afar, we see the impressive ensemble of the magnificent Dom St. Stephanus and St. Sixtus and the romantic Liebfrauenkirche. We cycle directly through the historic cathedral city, which is also regarded as the Gateway to the Harz. The cathedral treasure with over 600 valuables from several centuries is one of the finest church treasures in the world. We leave the city via Gleimstraße. Shortly after crossing the Holtemme, we pass on the left the St. Burchadi Monastery, in whose basilica an organ composition by the American avant-garde artist John Cage has been playing since 2001 over a period of 639 years, making it the longest piece of music in the world. Via the Sargstedter Weg, fields, and the village of Sargstedt, we head north over the wooded Huy ridge into the Northern Harz Foreland. The Huy consists almost exclusively of beech forest and reaches 314.8 meters at its highest elevation. Here we gain some altitude. We cycle along the imposing Huysburg Benedictine monastery, head toward the Röderhof monastery, and finally leave the wooded area near Dingelstedt. The tour leads through the hilly Harz foreland across the Große Bruch, a biologically significant wetland in the former inner-German border area. Along the way, we pass through the villages of Anderbeck, Badersleben, Dedeleben, Jerxheim, Söllingen, and Hoiersdorf until we reach Schöningen, where our stage ends at the Burgplatz near Schöningen Castle, which today houses a hotel.