# Kaiser Way > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kaiser_Way > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kaiser_Way.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Way > Source revision: 1303132580 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{no footnotes|date=May 2021}} [[File:Kaiserwegstein.jpg|thumb|200px|Stone by the wayside (''Antoniusplatz'' on the [Burgberg](/source/Gro%C3%9Fer_Burgberg), 461 m AMSL) above Bad Harzburg]] thumb|150px|Signage The '''Kaiser Way''' ({{langx|de|Kaiserweg}}), literally "Emperor Way", is a thematic [long distance footpath](/source/long_distance_footpath) in the [Harz mountains](/source/Harz_mountains) of Germany, which is about 110 km long and crosses both the Harz and the [Kyffhäuser hills](/source/Kyffh%C3%A4user). From [Goslar](/source/Goslar) and [Bad Harzburg](/source/Bad_Harzburg) on the northern edge of the Harz it runs across the Harz to [Walkenried](/source/Walkenried) in the south; and then via [Nordhausen](/source/Nordhausen%2C_Thuringia) to [Tilleda](/source/Tilleda_(Kyffh%C3%A4user)) on the Kyffhäuser. == Route == Kaiserpfalz Goslar - [Oker](/source/Oker_(Goslar)) - [Bad Harzburg](/source/Bad_Harzburg) - [Molkenhaus](/source/Molkenhaus_(Bad_Harzburg)) - [Königskrug](/source/K%C3%B6nigskrug) - Kapellenfleck - Helenenruh - [Walkenried](/source/Walkenried) - [Ellrich](/source/Ellrich) - Kammerforst - Woffleben - Komödienplatz - Salza - [Nordhausen](/source/Nordhausen%2C_Thuringia) - [Heringen](/source/Heringen%2FHelme) - [Hamma](/source/Hamma) - [Badra](/source/Badra%2C_Germany) - [Kyffhäuser](/source/Kyffh%C3%A4user)gebirge - Königspfalz [Tilleda](/source/Tilleda_(Kyffh%C3%A4user)). The starting point for the Kaiser Way depends on one's interpretation. One view sees the Kaiser Way beginning as one of the "Ways of the German Emperors and Empresses of the Middle Ages in the Harz" (''Wege Deutscher Kaiser and Könige des Mittelalters in the Harz'') at the Kaiserpfalz Goslar and running along the northern perimeter of the Harz, initially in an easterly direction, via Oker to Bad Harzburg. Here is where the real Kaiser Way begins! From Bad Harzburg it climbs southwards into the [Harz National Park](/source/Harz_National_Park) (''Harzquerung'') via Molkenhaus to Königskrug, then descends to Walkenried on the southern edge of the Harz; it therefore crosses the Harz on its north-south axis, keeping to the mountain ridges and avoiding the valleys and then runs along the southern edge of the Harz from Lower Saxony into Thuringia. Via Ellrich, the Kammerforst and Woffleben it then continues east to Nordhausen. From there it passes through the [Goldene Aue](/source/Goldene_Aue) (Heringen - Hamma - Badra) to the Kyffhäuser. It crosses the heights - the walker switching from Thuringia (KYF) to Saxony-Anhalt (SGH and MSH) - and reaches the "village of a thousand souls", Tilleda, and Königspfalz on the other side of this small range of hills. The Kaiser Way thus runs through three federal states: [Lower Saxony](/source/Lower_Saxony) - [Thuringia](/source/Thuringia) - [Saxony-Anhalt](/source/Saxony-Anhalt), and also through several rural districts: [Goslar](/source/Landkreis_Goslar) (GS) - [Göttingen](/source/Landkreis_G%C3%B6ttingen) (GÖ) - [Nordhausen](/source/Landkreis_Nordhausen) (NDH) - [Kyffhäuserkreis](/source/Kyffh%C3%A4userkreis) (KYF) - [Sangerhausen](/source/Landkreis_Sangerhausen) (SGH, ''today [Mansfeld-Südharz](/source/Landkreis_Mansfeld-S%C3%BCdharz)'' MSH). This is the actual route of the Kaiser Way, an "old trade route over the Harz, named after the flight of Emperor [Henry IV](/source/Henry_IV%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor) from his Harzburg Castle to the shelter of abbeys in the South Harz and to Tilleda in the year 1074". Despite that, there is also a bigger network of paths in the East Harz which goes by the name "Ways of the German Emperors and Empresses of the Middle Ages in the Harz" and also bears the imperial crown, but should not be referred to as the Kaiser Way. == Description == This thematic footpath runs along an old, historic trail – the Kaiser Way. Until around the start of the 21st century, the few routes over the Harz were only steep footpaths, like the ''Weidenstieg'' and the ''Salzstieg''. The footpath, bridleway and, later, drive, that is most steeped in history is the Kaiser Way. As a 'high way' it followed the heights and avoided the deepest valleys, so that travellers expended the least possible amount of effort as they crossed the Harz. The way ran immediately past the [Achtermann](/source/Achtermannsh%C3%B6he), at {{Höhe|926|DE-NN}} the fourth highest mountain in the Harz after the [Brocken](/source/Brocken), [Wurmberg](/source/Wurmberg_(Harz)) and [Bruchberg](/source/Bruchberg). The condition of the route is extremely varied and changeable. For example, in the National Park it is often a wide and well signed gravel path. In the South Harz and in Thuringia, where visitor congestion is less, the walker often has to negotiate poorly maintained paths. The path has tarmac, gravel and cobblestone sections as well as forest and field tracks of coarse stones, mud or sand, as well as sections through villages and towns. == History == There were definite footpaths here even in prehistoric times, as can be deduced from the significant amount of [Stone Age](/source/Stone_Age) finds along the route. In 744, the army of the [Frankish](/source/Franks) [major domo](/source/major_domo) (''Hausmeier'') [Pippin the Younger](/source/Pippin_the_Younger) moved down this route. Many great armies, but also goods of every sort, especially [ore](/source/ore) from the [Rammelsberg](/source/Rammelsberg), from [Altenau](/source/Altenau) and the [Spitzberg](/source/Spitzberg) were transported over the Harz on this route. The majority of the Kaiser Way is identical with the former ''[Heidenstieg](/source/Heidenstieg)'', which was called a ''via'' (road) in 1258. The Kaiser Way derived its name from the successful escape of Emperor Henry IV in the night of 8/9 August 1073 from the [Saxons](/source/Saxons). He fled from his castle on the Burgberg near Bad Harzburg via Walkenried and [Ellrich](/source/Ellrich) to [Eschwege](/source/Eschwege) on the River [Werra](/source/Werra). Later [Henry the Lion](/source/Henry_the_Lion) in the year 1180, King [Philip of Swabia](/source/Philip_of_Swabia) 1200, Emperor [Otto IV](/source/Otto_IV%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor) 1206/1208 and Emperor [Frederick II](/source/Frederick_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor), in the year 1219 took the same route over the Harz for their armies. The way was never in a good condition. True, [granite](/source/granite) slabs, [erratic](/source/Glacial_erratic)s and tree trunks were used to overcome the largest potholes, but as anything lost along the way belonged by right to the land lords, they were more interested in maintaining the poor condition of the route. All goods had to be transferred, whilst in the lowlands, from four-wheeled [covered wagon](/source/covered_wagon)s to two-wheeled 'Harz carts' (''Harzkarren''), normally used for transporting ore. Each cart was hauled by six to eight, or even more [horse](/source/horse)s over the Harz. Deep ruts in the granite slabs between [Königskrug](/source/K%C3%B6nigskrug) and [Oderbrück](/source/Oderbr%C3%BCck) still bear witness today to this harsh chapter in the history of the ''Kaiserweg''. From 1899 to 1962, a railway halt on the [South Harz Railway](/source/South_Harz_Railway) (Braunlage–Walkenried) called ''Kaiserweg'' was situated at the crossing of the path with the ''[Landstraße](/source/Landstra%C3%9Fe)'' from Wieda to Braunlage. Until 1963 wood was loaded here. == Sources == * ''Wandern in the Westharz'', Landesvermessungsamt Niedersachsen, Karte 1 des Wanderkartensets Wandern im Harz, 1:50.000, {{ISBN|978-3-89435-669-9}}. * ''Südliches Harzvorland'' mit Kyffhäusergebirge und Hainleite, Karte WK50_56 des Thüringer Landesvermessungsamts, 1:50.000, {{ISBN|3-86140-244-0}}. * ''Über den Harz, Natur erleben am Kaiserweg'', Dr. K. George, Broschüre des Regionalverbandes Harz e.V., Quedlinburg 2006. * ''Wandern auf dem Kaiserweg Harz'', F. Genrich, 2007, BoD Norderstedt, {{ISBN|978-3-8370-4695-3}}. == External links == * [http://www.wanderbares-deutschland.de/page.php?ID=W_073 Description of the route with additional information (height profile, points of interest etc.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823004614/http://www.wanderbares-deutschland.de/page.php?ID=W_073 |date=2009-08-23 }} {{in lang|de}} * [http://www.harzregion.de/naturpark/kaiserweg.html Exact signing of the route with numerous photos] {{in lang|de}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080511192109/http://www.bad-harzburg.de/kaiserweg.html Bad Harzburg's page on the Kaiser Way] {{in lang|de}} {{coord missing|Germany}} {{Authority control}} Category:Hiking trails in Germany Category:Harz Category:Goslar (district) Category:Osterode (district) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kaiser Way](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Way) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Way?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.