Editing Harz (section)

== Dialects of the Harz ==
The main dialects of the Harz region are [[Eastphalian language|Eastphalian]] and [[Thuringian Dialect|Thuringian]].

A feature of the Upper Harz is, or was, the Upper Harz dialect (''Oberharzer Mundart''). Unlike the Lower Saxon, Eastphalian and Thuringian dialects of the surrounding region, this was an [[Erzgebirgisch|Ore Mountain dialect]] from Saxony and Bohemia, that went back to the settlement of mining folk from that area in the 16th century.

The Upper Harz dialect was used only in a few places. The best known are Altenau, Sankt Andreasberg, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Lautenthal and Hahnenklee. Today the dialect is heard only rarely in the Upper Harz in everyday life and it is mainly members of the older generations who still use it, so occasional articles in the local papers are printed in "Upper Harz", which helps to preserve it.