World Heritage Day 2025
World Heritage Day at the Rammelsberg World Cultural Heritage Site - A day for the whole family
Do good and talk about it!
Under the motto ‘World Heritage unites - Do good and talk about it’, guests can expect an eventful day with free admission, a colourful programme and numerous hands-on activities.
The big family festival offers something for all generations from 11 am:
- Historic steam locomotive rides and loader parade
- Insights into restoration projects and the preservation of the World Heritage Site
- Workshops in the Einfallsreich workshop and many hands-on stations
- Colourful programme with music and activities
In addition, a tombola with a wheel of fortune and a varied culinary programme will ensure a good atmosphere and enjoyment.
A special highlight: the free funicular railway will take visitors from the town to Rammelsberg - including exciting information about the mining and town's history.
The museum is open from 9 am. Admission is free.
Historic Town Hall Goslar
As part of the nationwide World Heritage Day, the city of Goslar is opening the doors to one of its most important sites: the historic town hall. Under the motto ‘World Heritage connects - do good and talk about it’, guests can expect a special programme with historical insights and unusual guided tours.
- Free admission to the Hall of Homage
Take the opportunity to visit one of the most impressive rooms in the city's history - the splendidly furnished Hall of Homage in the town hall - free of charge.
- Rally through the World Heritage Information Centre
The free rally offers a great opportunity for families and anyone else interested to find out more about our heritage in Goslar - and around the world. Many interactive stations invite you to join in, while loving details and exciting stories make a visit to the World Heritage Information Centre in the former Ratskeller an experience for young and old.
- Special guided tour: ‘Special meeting and tour of the World Heritage Site in the year 623 AD’
This special tour combines a lecture and city tour with unusual perspectives:
Morning:
From 9:50 a.m., a joint walk leads into the barrel vault of the town hall, where topics such as hidden staircases, underground passages and the history of the transformation of the imperial city into a ‘farming town’ are vividly conveyed.
Duration: approx. 1.5 hours
Afternoon:
A tour of the old town follows from 15:00 with stops such as the mysterious Liebfrauenberg, the Pfalzgarten and the Frankenberg settlement centre.
Duration: approx. 2.5 hours | moderate pace, with opportunities to linger
Location: Historic town hall/market square, Markt 1, 38640 Goslar
Cost: €15 per person (tickets available from the Tourist Information Centre)
Goslar Museum
Finissage at the Goslar Museum - Tea culture and bourgeoisie in the 19th century
On World Heritage Day on 1 June 2025, the Goslar Museum invites you to the closing of the special exhibition ‘Tea Culture and Bourgeoisie in the 19th Century’. The exhibition sheds light on the role of tea as an expression of enjoyment, sociability and bourgeois lifestyle in the tense period of the Vormärz.
On display are fine teapots, skilfully crafted samovars as well as manuscripts and contemporary artefacts from the 19th century. The lovingly designed exhibition combines objects from the German Brass Museum in Krefeld with exhibits on the history of the Goslar bourgeoisie.
- On World Heritage Day, visitors have the opportunity to gain a special insight into the exhibition during a free guided tour with curator Dr Jan Habermann:
Practical information:
Guided tours at 11:30 and 15:30
Location: Goslar Museum, Am Museumsufer 2, 38640 Goslar
Free admission
Museum open from 10:00 am
Registration recommended: kultur@goslar.de or 05321 704750
Admission to the Kaiserpfalz Goslar is also free on this day.
Upper Harz water management - adventure hike at the Oderteich pond
On 1 June 2025, the Harz World Heritage Foundation, in cooperation with the Harz National Park, invites you to a guided adventure hike at the Oderteich pond. The event is part of World Heritage Day and offers unique insights into nature and technological history at the oldest part of the Upper Harz Water Management UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Oderteich was once the largest reservoir in Germany and is still an impressive example of historical water management today. Accompanied by a national park ranger and a World Heritage guide, participants explore the cultural and historical significance of the site as well as the diverse flora and fauna. With a bit of luck, rare plants such as the carnivorous sundew or bird species such as the grey wagtail can be observed.
- The tour is around 5 kilometres long and runs through varied terrain with narrow footbridges and natural paths. A certain degree of surefootedness is required. The hike is therefore not suitable for pushchairs or very young children.
Practical information:
Meeting point: Oderteich car park on the B242, near Sankt Andreasberg
Duration: approx. 3 hours
Registration required: 05320 269 or rangerstation.torfhaus@npharz.de
Free guided tour
Cistercian Museum Walkenried Monastery
Visitors can expect an impressive day between the Middle Ages and the present day - with free admission and exciting guided tours.
- Family tour: ‘Little temporary monks’
At 11.00 a.m., children aged 5 to 10 will discover medieval monastery life together with their families. The young guests can slip into real monks' robes and experience a lively journey through time in the monastery.
Practical information:
Cost: €4 per person
Duration: approx. 1 hour
Registration required: info@kloster-walkenried.de or 05525 9599064
- Guided tours through the church ruins:
‘The history of the monastery church from the Peasants' War to the present day’
To mark 500 years of the Peasants' War, this tour sheds light on the destruction in 1525 and the subsequent decay of the Gothic church. Developments in the preservation of monuments up to the present day are also discussed.
Practical information:
Guided tour times: 12:00 and 15:15
Cost: €4 per person
Duration: approx. 1 hour
Registration required (see above)
For hiking enthusiasts:
From 10:00 to 17:00, the special blue stamp box of the Harz monasteries is open - a highlight for all stamp collectors and Harz explorers.
Location: Walkenried Monastery, Steinweg 4a
37445 Walkenried
Free admission to all offers (guided tours for a fee)