Nordhausen

In Germany Nordhausen is a household name, mostly for the "Nordhäuser Doppelkorn" that has been produced here continuously since at least 1507, when the first mention of a tax on locally produced liquor was made. Korn or its higher alcohol variety Doppelkorn is a distilled spirit made from grain, usually rye.
Just out of town lies one of the most notorious concentration camps on German soil from World War II. Mittelbau-Dora is the site where forced laborers had to produce V2 rockets that were later fired on London, Antwerp and other cities throughout the Western front in the waning months of the war. Despite the deadliness of the weapon itself, conditions in the forced labor camps were so horrific that actually more people died producing V2 than through its actual use.

By train

• Nordhausen station

Nordhausen lies along the train line that connects Kassel with Halle, there are regional trains (RE and RB) in either direction at least every two hours, with more trains available on the Nordhausen-Halle part of the connection. Furthermore there are trains from Erfurt (hourly) and Göttingen (hourly) via Herzberg am Harz.
Nordhausen also lies on the Harzer Schmalspurbahn (HSB) a narrow gauge steam railway that covers most of the Harz, including a line up to the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz. The Nordhausen tram (streetcar) system is connected to the HSB network and in fact one line uses part of it for an interurban connection to Ihlfeld.

By car

By plane

The few airports in the vicinity of Nordhausen have a rather limited number of flights. As such your best bets are probably Leipzig-Halle (LEJ) to the east or (a bit further away and to the southwest) Frankfurt Airport (FRA). Both airports are connected to the S-Bahn network of their respective cities and you can book a train and plane combined ticket with most airlines. See rail air alliances for more on specifics.

By bus

• Meinfernbus serves the city daily. With twice daily connections to Erfurt.

By tram (streetcar)

Nordhausen has a tram system that also connects to neighboring Ihlfeld via an interurban line that uses the tracks of the Harzer Schmalspurbahn. The line is unique in the sense that the trains have a diesel-electric hybrid engine, using electricity from the overhead wires for most of their trip and the internal diesel generator for the stretches without overhead wires. The fare system is zone based and divided into five zones with one zone costing 1.60€ and the full five zones costing 3.70€ per single ride. Week tickets are also available on a zone basis. The cheapest (one zone) week ticket costs 10.40€ (meaning it is worth it after the seventh trip) whereas the full five zone week ticket costs 24.10€ (making it break even after seven five zone trips).

• KZ Gedenkstätte Mittelbau Dora

  phone: +49 3631 495 80
  address: Kohnsteinweg 20
  Just out of town this Nazi-era concentration camp is where forced laborers built the V2 rockets that were fired on London and Antwerp. The conditions for the forced laborers were truly horrific and visiting this place can be a disturbing experience.

• IFA Musem Nordhausen

  phone: +49 3631 47 91 54 3
  address: Montaniastraße 13
  A technology museum with the focus on engines and locomotives

• Südharz Galerie

  phone: +49 3631 90 94 0
  address: Landgrabenstraße 6a

• Echte Nordhäuser Marktpassage

  address: Pferdemarkt 1

• India Namaste

  phone: +49 3631 46 28 94
  address: Töpferstraße 31
  Indian food and takeaway. No delivery.

• Restauran bar fuss

  phone: +49 3631 65 15 87 0
  address: Altendorf 1

• Traditionsbrennerei

  phone: +49 3631 63 63 63
  address: Grimmelallee 11
  As mentioned above, Nordhausen is famous for its Doppelkorn and no visit to the city would be complete without a visit to the distillery. There is an on site shop and tasting is included in the tour (mon-sat. 14:00). The factory is well reachable by tram line 2 and you should take the tram for DUI considerations if nothing else.

• Hotel zur goldenen Aue

  phone: +49 3631 60 30 21
  address: Nordhäuser Straße 63

• Hotel Handelshof

  phone: +49 3631 62 50
  address: Bahnhofstraße 12

• This town is a good entry point for the rest of the Harz area.