Sophienhof is a village in the municipality of Ilfeld

Ilfeld

Ilfeld is a municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the south foot of the Harz, at the entrance to the Bährethal, north from Nordhausen by the railway to Wernigerode.-Establishments in 1911:...

 in the district of Nordhausen in the German federal state of Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

.

Location

Sophienhof is situated in the so-called Hohnstein Forest (Hohnsteiner Forst), that once belonged to the counts of Stolberg, in northwest Thuringia only a few kilometres away from the state borders with Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

 and Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

. The village is only accessible by motor vehicles over a secondary road from Rothesütte or from the B 81 federal road

Bundesstraße 81

The German Bundesstraße 81 acts as a main road link between the Magdeburg, Halberstadt and Nordhausen.- Course :...

 between Hasselfelde

Hasselfelde

Hasselfelde is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Harz, approximately 17 km south of Wernigerode. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oberharz am Brocken...

 and Ilfeld

Ilfeld

Ilfeld is a municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the south foot of the Harz, at the entrance to the Bährethal, north from Nordhausen by the railway to Wernigerode.-Establishments in 1911:...

. In addition several walking trails run from surrounding villages to Sophienhof.

Sophienhof has a halt on the Harz Railway, which is located in the forest to the west outside the village. There is also a Harzer Wandernadel

Harzer Wandernadel

The Harzer Wandernadel is a network of checkpoints for walkers in the Harz mountains in North Germany. It includes a system whereby the hiker can earn badges at different levels by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and recording them...

 hiking checkpoint (no. 97) in the village by the Ziegenalm cafe.

History

The village appeared at the beginning of the 18th century and bears the name of the wife of Count Christian Ernest of Stolberg-Wernigerode

Christian Ernest of Stolberg-Wernigerode

Count Christian Ernest of Stolberg-Wernigerode was a German politician. He ruled the County of Wernigerode in the Harz mountains, which in 1714 became a dependency of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1710 to 1771.- Life :Christian Ernest was the tenth child from the second marriage of Count Ludwig...

, Sophie Charlotte.