It was formed on 1 January 2012 by the merger of the former municipalities Ilfeld and Niedersachswerfen.
Since 1 January 2012, it is part of the municipality Harztor.
Rüdigsdorf Switzerland lies in the extreme southern foothills of the Harz Mountains of central Germany between Nordhausen to the southwest, Krimderode to the west, Niedersachswerfen to the northwest, Harzungen and Neustadt to the north, Buchholz to the east and Steigerthal to the southeast.