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 town of Elbingerode and the municipalities of Brocken-Hochharz in the district of Harz decided to merge on 1 January 2010, as part of regional reforms in Saxony-Anhalt, into a new town with the name 'Oberharz am Brocken'.