Harz. 5. Thale, children program in Harz

Last Updated on 13/05/2023

Thale is a town in the middle between Blankenburg and Quedlinburg, but closer to the mountains. It is located at the point where the Bode River leaves the narrow gorge to head for Quedlinburg.

You need to come to Thale not for city historical walks, but for outdoor recreation and sports entertainment. Depending on your plans, this could be a half day trip or a full day trip.

More about Quedlinburg.
Goslar, Rammelsberg Mines
Harz. 1. Wernigerode
Harz. Around Wernigerode, stalactite caves
Harz. 2. Brocken, Wurmberg
Harz Map of attractions. Part 1 – from Goslar to Bad Sachsa
Harz map. Center and East – from Wernigerode to Tilleda
zoo in Hannover

How to get to Thale

Train from Quedlinburg. Bus from Wernigerode or train with transfer (about 1 hour).

Free parking belongs to the cable car (drive to the end of the road according to the sign for the cable cars).

Thale what to do

All the entertainment was concentrated in one place, at the exit from the gorge to the valley, the railway station is also nearby.

Below, along the river, there is a rope park, the entrance to it is opposite the station of the chairlift.
On the same side of the river there are cable car stations, an amusement park (Funpark 1) with a free Tollhaus playground and small paid attractions (train, swing, etc.).

On the other side of the river – the second part of the amusement park with trampolines, the Witch’s Broom attraction (the child lies in a capsule suspended from the bottom of the rails, facing forward and the capsule rides on rails like a roller coaster) and the Ice Cream Villa cafe.

You can go a little deeper into the gorge and walk to the Bodekessel and the Teufelbrücke bridge (3 km).

According to legend, the crown of Princess Brunhilda lies below. One day, the violent knight Bodo fell in love with a princess and wanted to force her to marry him. The princess strongly disagreed and fled on a white horse (Ross). But suddenly an abyss appeared in front of the princess (apparently, the princess was not local, she did not know the way). The princess’s horse was able to jump over the abyss, only the crown fell into the pool, but Bodo was less fortunate – he fell after the crown and now protects it in the form of a large evil dog emerging from the whirlpool Bodekessel.

Above, on Rosstrappe (Ross-trappe), a horse’s hoof print is shown in stone as proof of this story. Historians have a more “prosaic” version: the recess was used for sacrifices by the Germanic tribes.

You can climb Rosstrappe using a chairlift. A steep “cord” (Schnurre) path, cut in the stone, leads down from the observation deck, which descends like a serpentine. The path is often closed due to rockfalls.

View of Rosstrappe from the observation deck near the parking lot on the opposite slope.

On the opposite slope, Hexentanzplatz (“Dance Floor for Witches”), a gondola lift takes you up. The gondolas have a transparent floor, but it’s worth going upstairs not only for this.

There are several viewing platforms upstairs – near the cable car, near the “mountain” theater (Bergtheater), near the parking lot and further from the parking lot into the gorge.

Around the parking lot are: eateries and souvenirs, a playground, a zoo with local animals (Wildpark), a new Adventure Minigolf and an all-weather Harz Bob coaster.

There are double seats in the coaster, you can ride alone and with a child. Entertainment is suitable from the age of four – for sure, earlier – it depends on the child. Do not forget to show your guest book coupons.

Rosstrappe (chairlift) on the right, on the left – Hexentanzplatz (gondolas).

After a day on the rocks, you can relax in the local thermal pool – Bodetal Therme.

Devil’s wall (Teufelsmauer)

How to get
Part 1 – between Blankenburg and Timmenrode (12 km). To Timmenrode – bus 263 from Blankenburg
2 – Warnstedt, bus 11, 9 from Thale or Quedlinburg.
3 – Weddersleben, bus 9 from Thale or Quedlinburg, or simpliest way – Neinstedt (train from Quedlinburg or Thale).
4 – Gernrode, Rieder, Ballenstedt, bus 17 from Thale or bus 318 from Quedlinburg

God and the devil fought with each other – who will own the land. And they agreed that God would get the valleys, and devil – the rich mountains of Harz, if devil had time to build the boundary wall before the first crow of the rooster. The devil had only one stone to put when a rooster crowed in the basket of a woman who was going to the market. In anger, the devil destroyed almost the entire wall.

Remnants of the wall – ridged cliffs – can be seen between Blankenburg and Ballenstedt. The most accessible and easily compatible with other attractions part is located near the village of Weddersleben, you can get there by bus or train to Neinstedt and go further on foot. Not far from the train station in Neinstedt there is a parking lot for those who want to climb the cliffs.

Children’s program in Harz and nearby

I will list the most popular children’s entertainment, based on an accomodation in the northern part of the region (Wernigerode, Goslar or Quedlinburg), many of them have already been described on pages about Harz.

1. Goslar:
Mine Rammelsberg (from 4 years).
Hahnenklee – cable car, coaster.

2. Bad Harzburg:
minigolf,
fairy tale park,
rope park.
Baumwimpfelpfad (the road through the tops of the trees), cable car,
at the top you can reach the corral with lynxes.

3. Wernigerode:
miniature park and playgrounds,
thermal pool,
small free “zoo” of local animals,
glassblowing workshop Harzkrystal in Derenburg,
steam train ride to Brocken, coaster in Schierke.

4. Blankenburg: ruins of the castle and fortress Regenstein, rope park

5. Thale: rope park and attractions, gondola lift (upstairs coaster, local animal park, minigolf), chairlift, indoor playground (Hexenhaus).

6. Hasselfelde: Wild West park Pullman City.

7. Elbingerode: stalagmite caves

8. Osterode: swimmpool Erlebnis- und Freibad Aqua-Land

9. Wolfsburg. Volkswagen Auto City and Science Museum Faeno.

10. Mills museum Gifhorn.

11. Adventure Zoo in Hannover.

Read more abot zoo in Hannover

Other entries on Harz – #Harz.
Harz attractions on the map: part 1 (west) and part 2 (east).