Verbandsgemeinde Goldene Aue

The municipality of Goldene Aue is located in Saxony-Anhalt in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz on the Helme and partly in the eponymous Goldene Aue, more precisely between the Harz and Kyffhäuser mountains. The association municipality borders the federal state of Thuringia in the south-west of Saxony-Anhalt and comprises a total of five member municipalities covering an area of around 127.2 km². The municipality is easy to reach both by car and by train. On the one hand thanks to the A 38 motorway running to the north, and on the other thanks to the railway stations in Berga and Wallhausen.

The main areas of development in the member villages include tourism and the associated leisure activities, which is why cultural, traditional and sporting events are regularly organised for the benefit of guests and residents.

Idyllic landscape in the southern Harz - the Goldene Aue

The region known as the "Goldene Aue", which stretches across the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, is characterised by the extensive, undulating landscape in the southern foothills of the Harz Mountains and is ideal for long hikes and cycling tours. The centrally located Kelbra reservoir is also particularly characteristic. The idyllic landscape stretches from Nordhausen in the west to Sangerhausen in the east and as far north as the Harz Mountains. In the south, however, the region is bordered by the Kyffhäuser Mountains.

Excursion destinations worth seeing in the area

The Kelbra reservoir with its extensive water sports and hiking opportunities as well as numerous other sights and excursion destinations attract visitors to the region year after year. Worth mentioning here are buildings such as the Kyffhäuser monument or the Kelbra town hall dating back to 1777, which was completely renovated in 2003 and 2004. Another highlight of the region are the historic castles and fortresses, including the ruins of Rothenburg Castle and Wallhausen Castle.

The latter was built between 1606 and 1613 by the noble von der Asseburg family, served as a school until 2004 and is now run as a hotel, restaurant, exhibition centre and meeting place for modern art. There are also many religious buildings worth seeing, such as churches and monasteries, in the member municipalities of the Goldene Aue association. The Martini Church in Kelbra, for example, with its late Romanesque and Gothic elements, is considered one of the oldest churches in the region, as is the Georgii Church in Kelbra with its characteristic "1000-year-old lime tree" on the church square, which was once part of a Cistercian nunnery from the 13th century.