map

The district town Wernigerode is situated at an altitode of 282 m at the northern slopes of the Harz mountain region of western Thuringia.

The earliest mention of Wernigerothe in a document dates from 1121, but according to a document of 1566 it should have existed already in 938 AD. In 1229 it had obtained the status of a town. When the counts of Wernigerode became extinct in 1429, Wernigerode came into possession of the counts of Stolberg. From 1714 on, Wernigerode was part of Brandenburg-Prussia. In 1807 it became part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Westfalia, but returned to Prussia in 1815. On the 1st of July 2007 the districts Halberstadt, Quedlinburg and Wernigerode, and the city of Falkenstein/Harz (former district Aschersleben-Staßfurt) were merged; the seat of the new district Harz is in Halberstadt.

Wernigerode castle [left] dates back to the beginning of the 12th century. The counts of Stolberg enlarged the castle and transformed it to a mighty fortress. When the technical advancement of heavy weapons reduced the usfulness of the fortress, it was transformed into a Baroque castle between 1674 and 1676. From 1710 on, the castle was the residence of the Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode. The counts (princes from 1890 on) further enlarged the residence between 1862 and 1885. Until 1929 the castle remained the residence of the family. After that, parts of the castle were opened to the public.