Sustainability in the Harz Mountains

Anyone booking accommodation for their holiday in the participating towns in the Harz Mountains will receive the HATIX ticket with their booking, which enables flexible and, above all, climate-friendly travel during their holiday. The ticket allows guests to use local public transport free of charge, which reduces private transport and thus the emission of climate-damaging CO2 gases. Sights and excursion destinations in the Harz Mountains can thus be reached conveniently and flexibly - without the hassle of searching for a parking space.

If you are travelling to the Harz Mountains by public transport, for example, but don't want to do without the flexibility of private transport by car on holiday, there are various options for environmentally friendly e-car sharing. The cost-effective sharing of communal electric cars enables holidaymakers to travel flexibly and, above all, emission-free to the beautiful places and excursion destinations in the region.

Those travelling by electric car or using e-car sharing can look forward to a well-developed network of various e-charging stations in the Harz Mountains to keep them mobile during their stay. Whether in towns or remote locations - the infrastructure enables stress-free charging during your holiday.

As the forest has been severely damaged in recent years, the "The forest is calling" initiative was launched with the aim of repairing damage and sustainably restoring the forest. Visitors are educated and encouraged to actively participate, for example through sponsorships, donations or planting campaigns. Information campaigns and QR codes placed on site provide further details. There are a total of 13 photo spots designed to sensitise holidaymakers, tourists and locals to the dynamic natural process. The information boards are cut out at certain points and thus offer a special view of the landscape, which can be posted as a photo with the hashtag #DerWaldRuft on Instagram or other platforms. The joint project is supported by the forestry offices in the Harz Mountains, the Lower Saxony state forests, the Harz Tourism Association, the Harz Club, the Karstlandschaft Südharz biosphere reserve, the Harz National Park and the Harz Regional Association.

Hikers in particular will be delighted with the free refill stations in the Harz Mountains, where drinking bottles can be filled with tap water free of charge. The refill stations run under the motto "Avoid plastic waste | Drink tap water | Fill up your water bottle" and can already be found at the tourist information centres in Altenau, Wildemann and Clausthal-Zellerfeld as well as at the Harz Welcome Centre in Torfhaus. The participating tourist information centres in the Harz Mountains are also listed on the website www.refill-deutschland.de and are therefore part of a nationwide network of around 6,150 refill stations and drinking fountains. The concept is very simple, but makes a significant contribution to waste avoidance and promotes the conscious use of resources.

The Harz Mountains, which have already been hit by a number of natural phenomena such as hurricanes, tornadoes and, in particular, the harmful bark beetle, have already suffered considerable damage in recent years. As the Harz has unfortunately been limited to a monoculture consisting of spruce and thus shallow-rooted trees, these can no longer withstand the storms of our time. Enriching the forest by planting deep-rooted and_CO2-binding deciduous trees will once again provide the Harz with sufficient stability against weather phenomena. For this reason, various tree planting campaigns have already set out to reforest the Harz forests. This includes the #heiermann4future planting campaign launched by the managing director of Harzspots GmbH. With the help of this campaign, several tens of thousands of trees have already been planted on designated areas of the state and municipal forests by volunteer planting helpers. Would you like to get involved as a planting volunteer in the next planting campaign or show your support in the form of a donation? You can find all further information on the website heiermann4future.de.

Anyone who is self-catering during their stay in a holiday home or holiday flat and still has food left over after their holiday has the opportunity to donate it to people in need in Altenau and Clausthal-Zellerfeld. The aid project called "Donate food instead of wasting it" in cooperation with the Goslar food bank and the Clausthal table "Lazarus" enables holidaymakers to donate food that still has a shelf life when they leave in order to help people in need and at the same time protect the environment and conserve resources. We particularly recommend long-life items such as tinned food, pasta, rice or other foodstuffs, which can be handed in at the tourist information centres in the two participating towns during opening hours.

The project, which was launched by the Harz Tourism Association under the hashtag #NimmsWiederMit and now involves various partners such as the Harz National Park, the Harzklub and the three regional princes, is committed to a litter-free natural environment in the Harz Mountains. This primarily refers to the pollution caused by everyday waste such as bottles, cans, plastic, paper and organic waste, which pollute nature and the surrounding ecosystem due to their extremely long decomposition times. Visitors are therefore asked to be aware of the problem and to take all their rubbish with them on an excursion into the Harz nature or to pick up other rubbish and dispose of it correctly.

In 2022, the town of Wernigerode became the first sustainable travel destination in Saxony-Anhalt to be awarded the TourCert certificate, with criteria such as environmental awareness and accessibility being scrutinised in particular. TourCert itself is a non-profit organisation that promotes ecological, social and economic corporate responsibility in tourism in order to provide travellers with guidance on environmentally friendly and socially responsible destinations and providers. Through its certification, the town of Wernigerode plays a pioneering role in the state and thus provides an important impetus for companies, initiatives and institutions. Examples of TourCert-certified accommodation include the BergwaldChalets in Schierke and the Ferienwohnungen am Klint holiday flats in Wernigerode.

Wernigerode has been a so-called FairTrade Town since 2017, which means that the town wants to take responsibility for fair world trade. The decisive factor for this is the number of catering establishments and retail outlets in Wernigerode that sell fair trade products.

Regardless of whether it's a holiday home, holiday flat, hotel or campsite - every type of accommodation offers opportunities to reduce the environmental impact. For example, water and electricity can be saved in holiday accommodation when using electronic (household) appliances. In addition, windows should always be kept closed when the heating is on and attention should be paid to conscientious waste separation. If you are staying in a hotel, on the other hand, you can, for example, avoid using the air conditioning or changing your laundry every day.

Self-catering holidaymakers in particular are spoilt for choice when it comes to shopping. However, instead of buying heavily processed products from all over the world in the nearest discount store, holidaymakers should pay attention to the regionality of food when shopping. Local direct marketers and farm shops in the Harz Mountains in particular are a guarantee of the local origin and freshness of the food sold. A particular advantage of visiting one or two farm shops is that you not only get to enjoy fresh food, but can also experience Harz country life up close. This makes shopping sustainable, fresh and an experience for young and old alike.

Sights and excursion destinations in the Harz Mountains do not necessarily have to be reached by car or other means of transport. Hiking and cycling enthusiasts in particular can enjoy the Harz Mountains to the full and reach many of the destinations on foot or by bike. However, when hiking or cycling, always make sure you stay on the marked paths to protect the vegetation. If one route or another is not in the immediate vicinity of your accommodation, use public transport or take advantage of the HATIX ticket to reduce your ecological footprint.

There are numerous ways to lay the foundations for a resource-saving and sustainable holiday, not just during your trip but even before it begins. Simply choosing to spend your holiday in the central Harz Mountains is far superior to many other typical holiday destinations - primarily accessible by plane - in terms of emissions. However, anyone travelling by car emits greenhouse gases on the way there, which can be avoided by using public transport, for example. Travelling by train is particularly popular, with the train stations in Wernigerode, for example, being accessible from all directions. From here, you can access the extensive bus network in the Harz Mountains, which can be used to travel to almost any destination.

• Only take as much luggage with you as necessary to minimise fuel consumption.
• Don't print out your travel documents for the sake of the environment.
• Avoid plastic and use more sustainable reusable products.
• Use digital maps instead of printed materials.(Click here for the Komoot voucher)
• Use digital travel guides such as Harzspots to save more paper. With the help of our holiday planner, you can put together any excursion destinations and accommodation for your holiday and save it digitally as a PDF on your PC or mobile device.
• Respect protected areas and help preserve the natural environment.
• Choose activities with a low ecological footprint such as hiking or cycling.