Lonau

Lonau is a small village with a population of about 345 situated at an elevation of about 400m in the Harz Mountains of Northern Germany. Besides the clean air and lush forests, it is famous for the capercaillie. It belongs to the city of Herzberg am Harz which is about 4 km to the south. The river Lonau starts here at the confluence of the Große and Kleine Lonau.

History

The village of Lonau goes back to a settlement that was established here as a consequence of the setting up of iron ore mines and iron smelting huts at the beginning of the 16th century.

Lonau was first mentioned in the records in ducal tax documents from 1615, although a smithy in Lonau had been named in 1525.

Geography

Lonau lies in the South Harz, in the middle of the Harz National Park at a height of 355 to 430 m above sea level and has 350 inhabitants (as at 1 January 2011).

The village is divided into three areas: Unterdorf, Kirchtal and Mariental. The Church of St. Michael is roughly in the centre of the village at the junction of all three districts. The Kleine Lonau stream flows through Mariental and the Große Lonau through Kirchtal. After merging in the village centre the river is known as the Lonau and flows down the esst Lonau valley to Herzberg.

Lonau (river)

The Lonau is a roughly 3.5 km long (from Lonau) tributary of the Sieber. It starts in Lonau, formed by the confluence of the Große and Kleine Lonau. It then flows in a southerly (intermittently in a south-southwesterly) direction to Herzberg am Harz, where it discharges into the Sieber after the Lonau Waterfall.