The Upper Harz Water Regale
Oberharzer Wasserregal
This is a system of dams, reservoirs, ditches and other structures, much of which was built from the 16th to 19th centuries to divert and store the water that drove the water wheels of the mines in the Upper Harz. The word Regale stands for the granting of royal privileges or rights in this case to permit the use of water for mining operations in the Harz Mountains. The Upper Harz Water Regale is one of the largest and most important historic mining water management systems in the world. In the system of the Upper Harz Water Regale there are over 35 such tunnels with a total length of about 30 km. It has been listed as a UNESCO world heritage since 1992.
Listing from Wikivoyage: Clausthal-Zellerfeld, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.