Sophienhof (Harztor)
Sophienhof is a village in the municipality of Ilfeld in the district of Nordhausen in the German federal state of Thuringia.
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 and Lower Saxony. The village is only accessible by motor vehicles over a secondary road from Rothesütte or from the B 81 federal road between Hasselfelde and Ilfeld. 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 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, Sophie Charlotte.