Breite Straße is located in the upper town. The name was first documented in 1399. The street led from the east through the Rimbecker Gate, which was demolished in 1843, into the new town of Wernigerode, which was independent until 1529, and through another gate into the old town of Wernigerode to the market square, where the town hall is located.[1] The extension of Breite Straße towards the western end of the town is Westernstraße with the Western Gate, which still exists today.
Until the renumbering, the houses on Breite Straße 1 to 61 had the local list numbers 163 to 212.
During the bombing raid on Wernigerode in February 1944, several historic half-timbered houses on Breite Straße, including the Gasthof zum Bären, were completely or partially destroyed.
In the area of the historic old town of Wernigerode, Breite Straße is used as a shopping mile and is closed to public traffic during the day. Coming from the south, Breite Straße is joined by Burgstraße, which is also partly used as a pedestrian zone.
Along with Westernstraße, Burgstraße and Marktstraße, Breite Straße is one of Wernigerode's main shopping streets.
Numerous listed half-timbered houses have been preserved to this day on the north and south sides of Breite Straße.