Schierke itself lies as the foot of the highest mountain in the Harz, the Brocken, and is located in the borough of Wernigerode in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.

On the completion of the line up to the Brocken on 4 October 1898, trains to the highest mountain in North Germany, which were predominantly used by tourists, called at Schierke station.

Because Brocken station was not served in winter due to heavy snowfalls, trains always terminated in Schierke from 16 October to 29 April.

After the Wende - the political changes in 1989 - the Brocken line was inspected and repaired, and Schierke station used for its original purpose again.

In the station building there is a restaurant and a ticket and souvenir shop run by the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways.