A steam train ride, an astounding 10th-century church and a cuckoo clock museum are among the best things to do in Gernrode, a small spa village on the edge of the Harz Mountains range.
Gernrode is way off the beaten track for English-speaking visitors, more so than Quedlinburg, the nearby World Heritage town from which you can reach it.
We went there to see the superb Church of St Cyriakus, one of the few pre-Romanesque churches in Germany. If anything it exceeded my high expectations, and the same can be said for the village as a whole.
We visited in late March, just a week or so before several places would open for the tourist season. Even so, we were enchanted by this lovely village, somewhere you’d love if you like stepping back into yesteryear for a few hours, and don’t mind brushing up on your high school German to find your way around. It also makes a great potential base for exploring the Harz Mountains for a few days – either by steam train or driving.
In this brief guide I’ll show you what there is to see, advise when it’s open, explain how to get to Gernrode and back, and suggest one or two places to stay in the village.
I hope you find it useful.
Things To Do In Gernrode
St Cyriakus Church
This former abbey church is one of the most beautiful churches in Germany. It is one of the few surviving examples of Ottonian architecture, built in the 960s AD by local ruler Margrave Gero. The style of architecture is named after Otto the Great, who ruled the Kingdom of the East Franks from 936 until his death in 973 AD, and was continued over the following 50 years. Ottonian architecture also precedes – but is similar to – Romanesque architecture, which followed it in the 11th century.
The church exterior is hugely impressive, with twin towers at the west end, which were added in the 12th century.
The interior of the church is magnificent. It was deliberately built slightly out of alignment, the chancel (with the high altar) constructed at a slight angle to the nave, where the congregation sits during services. This is meant to symbolize Christ’s head leaning at an angle when he was crucified. You can appreciate this best by looking up at the painted nave ceiling, which looks rather wonky.
In the south aisle of the nave, don’t miss the replica of the Holy Sepulchre (also called the Holy Grave) of Christ in Jerusalem. This astonishingly detailed work dates from the late 11th century, and is the first of its kind to have been completed in Germany.
Like many places in the region, winter opening hours are limited – to 2.00 to 3.00 pm daily, except for public holidays, between November and Easter. Between Easter and October it’s open between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm, except Sundays, when it’s open from 12.00 pm to 5.00 pm.
Harz Cuckoo Clock Museum
One surprise we got when visiting Gernrode was the Harz Cuckoo Clock Museum. It’s basically a front for the local cuckoo clock factory, which is one of the largest in the country.
The large cuckoo clock (pictured) is said to be one of the largest in Germany. Elsewhere on this site you may have encountered what is claimed to be the world’s largest cuckoo clock in St Goar, in the Rhine Valley. This clock is the world’s largest free-hanging cuckoo clock.
I must admit that, having had a broken one hang on the wall of my family home for over a decade, cuckoo clocks have never really set my pulse racing. That said, the three of us would have liked a look inside, even if we weren’t shopping for one. However, the curse of the off-season struck again, and it was closed. Its website states that it’s open daily between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm, so if you visit, I hope you have better luck than we did.
Old Elementary School
We were very curious to see the Alte Elementarschule, the Old Elementary School in the village. It’s in a fine old half-timbered house near the church, and we visited on a day when the website said it would be open. Sadly, it was not meant to be.
The school was in operation in the 16th century, and it’s one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in Germany. The building was rescued from a ruinous state in the 1990s, and has been fully restored, complete with a classroom with desks in a timber-framed room.
The School is open to visitors on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm, and from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm on Saturdays. The website has an English version, but I wouldn’t count on there being a great deal of information in English (to put things into perspective, there are only occasional guided walking tours of nearby Quedlinburg in English).
Take A Trip On The Harz Steam Railway
The Harz Steam Railway – Harzer Schmalspurbahnen – is a network of three lines covering the picturesque Harz Mountain range that straddles the three Länder (states) of Saxony-Anhalt, Lower Saxony and Thuringia.
Gernrode is on the Selketalbahn branch, just three stops before the northern terminus at Quedlinburg. It’s only a 15-minute ride – three stops – from Quedlinburg to Gernrode (Harz) station, which is on the northern edge of the village, a 10-minute walk from the centre of Gernrode, and closer to 20 minutes from St Cyriakus Church. There is also a small Museum at the station, which was closed when we visited.
The line continues south from Gernrode through the beautiful Selke valley, with possible stops in the (yet another!) fine half-timbered town of Harzgerode. The line continues to Eisfelder Talmühle, which joins the Harzquerbahn line. This runs to Nordhausen in the south, and to Wernigerode in the north. You can change at Drei Annen Hohne station for the hour-long chug up the Brockenbahn to the summit of the Brocken, the highest summit in the Harz and all of northern Germany.
Bear in mind that if you have a Deutschlandticket, it is valid everywhere on the Harz Railway network except between Drei Annen Hohne and the Brocken summit station. There is a flat fare right across the network for the Brockenbahn, which in 2025 is
Romanesque Road
St Cyriakus Church is one of 88 sites on the Strasse der Romanik, or Romanesque Road, a tourist route running around the state of Saxony-Anhalt. It might not be one of the best-known, but it is one of the best routes of its kind in Europe.
Most of the sites on the Romanesque Road are churches, cathedrals or monasteries, but there are also some castles along the way. The churches of St Servatius and St Wiperti in Quedlinburg are on the list, as are the Cathedrals and several more churches in state capital Magdeburg and nearby Halberstadt. The outstanding Naumburg Cathedral, in the far south of the state, is also on the route, as is Merseburg Cathedral, just to the west of Leipzig.
Where Is Gernrode
Gernrode is 5 miles (8 km) from the town of Quedlinburg in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, on the northern fringe of the Harz Mountains.
Here are some sample distances from major cities to Gernrode:
Berlin to Gernrode – 218 km (135 miles)
Leipzig to Gernrode – 123 km (76 miles)
Magdeburg to Gernrode – 55 km (34 miles)
Goslar to Gernrode – 53 km (33 miles)
Hannover to Gernrode – 160 km (99 miles)
Hamburg to Gernrode – 261 km (162 miles)
How To Get To Gernrode
If you’re travelling by public transport, you need to reach Quedlinburg before the final leg of your journey to Gernrode.
Quedlinburg is on the branch line served by the RE11 service from Magdeburg (which has direct connections with Berlin). You can also get there from Leipzig, changing at Halle (Saale) and Halberstadt – this journey takes around two hours.
From Quedlinburg, you can either catch the Harz Steam Railway to Gernrode or a bus to the village. The steam railway has three or four departures per day, the journey taking 15 minutes.
The 253 or 255 bus services (which depart from outside the station) also take 15 minutes. They run hourly.
Where To Stay In Gernrode
Most accommodation in Gernrode village is short-term holiday rental – ferienwohnung, or fewo (pronounced ‘fay-voe’). Of these, the best are Ferienhaus Gero, in the old part of the village, and Ferienwohnung Harzdomizil, in the newer part of Gernrode.
Four miles south of Gernrode, the Sternhaus-Harz Hotel makes a wonderful base for exploring the Harz region. It’s on the 242 bus route to/from Quedlinburg, and is within a 5-minute walk of the Sternhaus-Ramberg steam railway station. But if you want to get around more quickly, I strongly suggest hiring a car!
Where To Stay In Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg has a good range of hotels, mostly in the 3- and 4-star bracket. Here are the best of them:
**** – Romantik Hotel am Brühl – great hotel in medieval building a few minutes’ most of the sights
**** – Apartments Anno 1560 – beautiful apartments in a complex of16th-century buildings in the heart of old Quedlinburg
*** – Hotel Domschatz – half-timbered hotel in beautiful part of Quedlinburg, just below St Servatius Church and Castle Hill
*** – Hotel Zum Bär – wonderful old hotel with outstanding service, our favourite hotel in Quedlinburg
Places To Visit Near Gernrode
The most obvious place to visit near Gernrode is Quedlinburg. The World Heritage town is considered by some to be the ‘cradle of Germany’, as it’s where Duke of Saxony Heinrich I (known in English as Henry the Fowler) was crowned King of the East Franks in 919 AD.
This kingdom, formerly a part of the Holy Roman Empire, is considered the forerunner of what became Germany centuries later. He and his Queen, Mathilde, is buried in the early Romanesque Church of St Servatius, which dominates the medieval town’s skyline. It’s the most impressive of several churches in Quedlinburg, most of which date from later in the Middle Ages.
Quedlinburg is also known for its thousands of half-timbered houses, mostly built between the 16th and 18th centuries. It takes a couple of days to see all of the houses – check out my guide to the most beautiful streets in Quedlinburg for the best of them. It’s like walking through an endless fairytale, and this is why I chose it as the starting point of my Germany Half-Timbered Towns itinerary.
This journey (I suggest two days per town) only extends around 50 miles west from Quedlinburg. It includes a stop in lovely Wernigerode, a gorgeous half-timbered town with a romantic 19th-century castle on a hill, and the Harz steam train to the summit of the Brocken, the highest mountain in northern Germany.
The itinerary concludes just across the former Iron Curtain – the border between East and West Germany – in Goslar. It’s home to one of the best historic industrial sites in Europe, the Rammelsberg Mine, where reserves of silver, copper and lead were exploited from 968 AD to 1988.
There are enough things to do in Goslar to warrant a two- or three-night stay, particularly as it has one of the most beautiful old towns in Germany. One of the reasons Goslar is so special is the incredible wooden carvings on so many of its timber-framed houses.
This was a sign of the town’s considerable wealth, and the artworks also reveal a cheeky humour. One of the funniest carvings shows a woman unimpressed by the advances of a suitor. Rather than pay attention to him, she is depicted stirring butter in a churn with one hand, with the other up her skirt pleasuring herself!
There is also a wealth of hiking in the Harz Mountains. One of the most popular routes is the superb Titan RT suspension bridge, which runs for 450 metres across the Bode Valley, above the Rappbode dam between Elbingerode and Hasselfelde.
Things To Do In Gernrode – Final Thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed this short guide to Gernrode. It’s a wonderfully enchanting place, even when half the places we wanted to visit were closed. And if you’re looking for somewhere fairly quiet to base yourself for travel around the Harz region, Gernrode is ideal.
Even the six World Heritage Sites in Saxony-Anhalt are off the beaten track for most tourists, and this is part of the area’s charm. It’s one of the best unexplored regions in Europe, one you could spend weeks, even a couple of months, exploring.
If you’re planning to travel in the area, don’t miss my guide to the best things to do in Quedlinburg. It’s one of the most beautiful medieval towns in Europe, and makes an excellent base if you’re using public transport to get around the Harz region.
I also suggest checking out my articles on the best day trips from Leipzig, which also covers Saxony-Anhalt, and the best places to visit on the River Elbe , which flows around 30 miles north of Gernrode and Quedlinburg.
I’ve written extensively about Germany, and here is a selection of some of the best articles to inspire you further:
17 Best Places To Visit In Eastern Germany
14 Famous Leipzig Landmarks To Explore
Visiting Nikolaikirche Leipzig – the church where the 1989 Revolution began
One Day In Nuremberg – a short break in the fascinating Imperial City
Frauenkirche Dresden – one of the most beautiful churches in Germany
One Day in Dresden – 24 hours in the Florence on the Elbe
14 Best Day Trips From Dresden
How To Visit The Bastei Bridge – one of the most spectacular landmarks in Germany
Things To Do In Görlitz – the gorgeous border city much loved by filmmakers
10 Best Things To Do In Meissen – the porcelain is just the start of it
10 Best Things To Do In Pirna – much-overlooked historic town just outside Dresden
Things To Do In Bautzen – medieval wonders in the ‘capital’ of the Slavic Sorb people
One Day In Hamburg – 24 hours in Germany’s great port city