Brock·en

(brŏk′ən)

A granite peak, 1,141 m (3,743 ft) high, of the Harz Mountains in central Germany. It is the legendary site of the witches' Sabbath on Walpurgis Night.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Brocken

(German ˈbrɔkən)

(Placename) a mountain in central Germany: the highest peak of the Harz Mountains; important in German folklore. Height: 1142 m (3747 ft). The Brocken Bow or Brocken Spectre is an atmospheric phenomenon in which an observer, when the sun is low, may see his enlarged shadow against the clouds, often surrounded by coloured lights

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Brock•en

(ˈbrɒk ən)

n.

a mountain in N central Germany: the highest peak in the Harz Mountains. 3745 ft. (1140 m).

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

The Brocken Railway track runs across many gradients and curves through the mountains in a near complete spiral to the station on the Brocken Summit at 1,125 metres above sea level.

10 exotic train journeys worldwide

Add the splendour of the imperial city of Potsdam, Luther's Wittennberg and a steam train ride to the Brocken, the highest point of the Harz mountains and you have a unique holiday.

Berlin, Potsdam & the Harz Mountains

Sightseeing tour of Berlin and tour of Potsdam; walking tour of Goslar; journey on the Brocken steam railway; visits to Quedlinburg and Luther's Wittenberg ?

Andalucia's Eastern Coast - Granada & [...]

After a coach trip and a day around the cobbled streets of ancient Goslar, the Brocken Steam Railway awaits to carry you onwards and upwards through meadows, forests or snowscapes to the highest point of the Harz Mountains, the Brocken.

Wish CHOO were here; Travel; ALL aboard for the best way to see Europe's stunning scenery. From a day out to a longer lap of luxury, let the train takes the strain for a change, says STEVE RICHES..

This festival - it's a bit like our Halloween - is celebrated at the end of April, when witches are supposed to gather in the area before flying to the highest peak in the Harz range, the Brocken, for a night of revelry.

HEAD FOR THE HILLS TO FIND HIDDEN GEMS; Telegraphtravel

There are lots of different climatic phenomena like the Brocken spectre and fogbows, but it does look amazing and is unique," he added.

Jesus-like figure captured standing on a cloud atop volcanic peak

THEMED TRAVEL * GERMANY BY RAIL: Ffestiniog Travel (01766 772 030) offers return rail journey ex-London Sept 29 to Brussels and Cologne for pounds 810 for gala steam train event at medieval town of Wernigerode and breathtaking climb on steam Heritage train up the Brocken.

TRAVEL

In fact, Cooper's masterful synopsis of the various cultural meanings of the history and legends surrounding the Brocken (the highest peak of the Harz mountains in central Germany and the geographic center of Walpurgis Night celebrations in modern sources) legitimizes his ambitious claims regarding the poet's and composer's intents by outlining the subtle meanings of the history of Walpurgis Night in Germany and explaining their significance to the society of Goethe's and Mendelssohn's generations.

Mendelssohn, Goethe, and the Walpurgis Night: The Heathen Muse in European Culture, 1700-1850

"There is a mountain very high and bare, whereon it is given out that witches hold their dance on Walpurgis Night," writes folklorist Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology about the Brocken, sometimes shown on old maps as the Blocksberg.

Season of the Witch - Walpurgisnacht in Germany's Harz Mountains