Oberharz am Brocken
Introduction '''Oberharz am Brocken''' () is a town in the Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2010 by the merger of the town of Elbingerode with the municipalities of the former  ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ("collective municipality") Brocken-Hochharz (except for Allrode).The name chosen by the new town's administration has caused some disturbance, as the area is not part of the Upper Harz region, which traditionally refers to the seven mining towns (''Bergstädte'') of Clausthal, Zellerfeld, Andreasberg, Altenau, Lautenthal, Wildemann, and Grund, all located in the neighbouring state of Lower Saxony. A lawsuit filed by the Lower Saxon ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Oberharz in 2009 was dismissed by the Saxony-Anhalt administrative court in Magdeburg.
Subdivision Constituent subdivisionsThe town consists of the following ten ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions (former municipalities):*Benneckenstein*Elbingerode*Elend*Hasselfelde*Königshütte*Rübeland*Sorge*Stiege*Tanne*TrautensteinThe merger has united different areas each with its own distinct administrative history: Benneckenstein and Sorge had formed an exclave of the former Bishopric of Halberstadt and were incorporated into the Prussian Principality of Halberstadt in 1648.The town of Elbingerode with the municipalities of Elend, Königshof und Rothehütte (i.e. Königshütte) belonged to the Brunswick Principality of Lüneburg (former Principality of Grubenhagen), from 1814 Kingdom of Hanover. Hasselfelde, Rübeland, Stiege, Tanne, and Trautenstein since 1815 were part of the Duchy of Brunswick.
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