The Altenau Heart Trail

A hiking trail that is particularly close to our hearts

The Altenau Heart Trail is a 12.4-kilometre adventure trail that focuses on the topic of the heart. Here you will learn interesting facts about an organ that plays a very important role in human life. This important powerhouse of the body is explained on 17 information boards at various hiking stations. For example, how can you protect yourself from diseases that affect the heart? How can love have a positive effect on your heart health? Read sayings about the heart and what great poets have written about the heart.

This unique hiking trail gives you the opportunity to see, read and learn a lot about the heart. Actively and interactively discover exciting facts about this valuable organ at the stations and "hike" your way to knowledge. Enjoy the fun of movement and embark on a journey that combines nature with medicine in a playful and fascinating way. If you are in good health, you can hike the trail in around five hours. But partial sections are also possible. Listen to your heart!

Are you travelling along the Heart Trail and want to collect your own souvenir? No problem - from June 2024, there will be seven stamp boxes along the entire Altenau Heart Trail. One of them is even for the Harzer Wandernadel 149 and therefore counts towards the official Harzer Wandernadel badges! On the new stamp circuit, you can combine a 12.4 km hike on the Heart Trail with sporting ambition and discover not only the 17 stations on the trail, but also the stamp points!

Stamping station 1: Barefoot path (Heart Trail station 4)
Stamping station 2: Blood circulation (Heart Trail station 6)
Stamping station 3: A heart and soul (Heart Trail station 9)
Stamping point 4: Breathing (Heart Trail station 10)
Stamping point 5: Harzer Wandernadel 149: Social Media (Heart Trail station 13)
Stamping point 6: Favourite place (Heart Trail station 15)
Stamping point 7: Barrels (Heart Trail station 17)
Further special stamp: Altenau heritage centre

Download flyer about the Heart Trail (PDF)

For the "Altenauer Herzweg" hiking pin, all 6 stamps of the stamping stations on the Altenauer Herzweg as well as the stamp of the Harzer Wandernadel 149 (Herzweg station 13) can be hiked in the accompanying booklet, which was published in co-operation with the Harzer Wandernadel.

The hiking pass and the "Altenauer Herzweg" hiking pin are available from the tourist information centres in Altenau, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Wildemann, Buntenbock and Torfhaus available.

If you have not only lost your heart to Altenau, but also to a loved one, then you can attach a love lock to the large metal heart as a sign of eternal love. Seal your love in the castle with a magnificent view over Altenau! You can either bring your own lock or get love locks to engrave yourself at the Altenau Tourist Information Centre.

Experience an unforgettable time together with us with wonderful moments and feelings of happiness in Altenau! If you would like to remember your time and your hike on the Herzweg, then we have just the thing for you! Postcards, jewellery, heart stones, love locks or the Heart Trail hiking pass with hiking pin are waiting for you at the Altenau Tourist Information Centre waiting to be discovered and taken home or given as a gift.

With a length of 12.4 km and an ascent of around 300 metres, the Heart Trail is something very special. It offers a unique opportunity to actively explore interesting facts about the heart in the middle of nature! Here you can easily download the map of the route.

Altenauer Herzweg - the stations

On the 17 Altenau Heart Trail stations, you can learn exciting facts about the heart on a beautiful hike. You may even get to know this vital organ in a completely new way.

STATION 1 - HEART PORTAL: Welcome to the Altenau Heart Trail! Start your journey on the adventure hiking trail around the heart and, of course, around Altenau.

STATION2 - HEART CONSTRUCTION: " In the heart of man lies the beginning and the end of all things" - Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy once described it like this. What goes on in our heart? Using a double cross-section of the heart, you will learn a lot about its functionality.

STATION 3 - PHOTO STATION: Capture your cordiality beautifully framed as an eternal memory.

STATION 4 - BAREFOOT PATH (STAMP STATION 1): Consciously feel the ground of the path under your feet as you walk. Notice how your heart reacts to this sensory experience through the reflex zone of the foot. The barefoot path thus creates a connection between your feet and your heart.

STATION5 - HE ART CHAMBER: You can get all kinds of tips on heart-healthy nutrition during a rest in the heart chamber (Köte).

STATION6 - BLOOD CIRCLE RUN (STATION 2): Get your blood pumping as a blood cell! You slip into the role of a blood corpuscle on a 40-metre track symbolising the bloodstream and have to transport oxygen.

STATION 7 - HEART HEALTHY HIKING: Hiking is the heart's delight. Exercise in the fresh air, train your stamina, strengthen your immune system. Spin the wheel and find out what's good for your heart.

STATION 8 - MEASURE YO UR PULSE: Learn how to check your pulse correctly and find out more about pulse measurement.

STATION 9 - HEART AND SOUL (STATION 3): One heart and one soul! Find out at this station what kangaroo videos have to do with blood pressure and whether you can die from a broken heart.

STATION 10 - BREATHING (STATION 4): Pause, listen to nature, let your pulse come to rest. Heart and lungs are an inseparable pair! Take heed of tips for breathing and relaxation exercises while lying on a comfortable healing lounger.

STATION 11 - HEARTS IN ANIMALS: Animals also depend on a healthy heart for their vitality and strength. What does the heart of a lynx look like, for example?

STATION 12 - MYTHOLOGY: This station "speaks from the heart". Read meaningful sayings that focus on the heart. Discover the warmth of heart of well-known poets from Germany and from cultural tribes around the world.

STATION 13 - SOCIAL MEDIA (STAMP STATION 5): Share your warmth of heart in the digital world. The beautiful view of the heart of ALTENAU is worth a post!

STATION 14 - ARTISTIC PRESENTATION: ALTENAU has a big heart. Take a seat in a heart chamber!

STATION15 - LOVING PLACE (STEMPEL PLACE 6): Do you love Rilke? Then relax and read his lines here and discover what once moved his heart.

STATION 16 - REANIMATION: Stayin'alive! This station clearly explains how to administer first aid in the event of a cardiac arrest. To help you find the right rhythm for cardiac massage, a crank station teaches you about resuscitation songs that can serve as "mnemonic bridges".

STATION 17 - BARRELS (STAMP STATION 7): These barrels symbolise the energy of the heart and provide interesting information. How much blood does the heart pump per beat and how many thousand litres in a day? Visualise this in a playful way here.