The Steinerne Renne is a waterfall and natural monument near the town of Wernigerode in the Harz mountains of central Germany.
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The Steinerne Renne is located west of Hasserode in the borough of Wernigerode in a forested area at the foot of the Brocken.[1] It is part of the upper course of the River Holtemme which, at this spot, cascades over a myriad rocks and boulders forming countless little waterfalls.
This natural feature was already described as the Steinrenne or steinerne Rinne by the Early Modern Period. With the rise of tourism in the middle of the 19th century the Steinerne Renne became one of the most popular beauty spots in the Harz. When the Harz and Brocken Railways were built a small station was even built for the Steinerne Renne which still exists today. In 1869 a log cabin was built immediately next to the waterfall, the predecessor of the present-day hotel.
During the post-war period the spot ended up in East Germany and the hotel building was operated until the mid-1970s as a Handelsorganisation pub. Later it was converted and used as a works holiday home for the VEB Elektroaaparatewerke Berlin-Treptow, a German electrical machinery combine. The holiday home also had a public restaurant . When the building was converted, the romantic woodland path to the pub, which ran along the northern side of the Holtemme and past the waterfall, was blocked. Today the footpath runs along the southern bank of the river.
The Steinerne Renne Hotel (Gasthaus Steinerne Renne) is No. 28 in the system of checkpoints in the Harzer Wandernadel.