It is situated at the south foot of the Harz, at the entrance to the Bährethal, 8 miles (13 km) north from Nordhausen by the railway to Wernigerode.

By the end of the 13th century, the counts had split their territories among several lines due to divisions among the respective male heirs.

This was reformed in 1545, and a year later converted into the school mentioned above, which under the rectorship of Michael Neander enjoyed a reputation for scholarship, which it maintained for centuries.

By the early 20th century, Ilfeld contained a Lutheran church, a celebrated gymnasium, once a monasterial school, with a fine library.

Until 1903, the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover ran a consistory in Ilfeld competent for the former County of Hohnstein.