Weisse Elster

White Elster (Weiße Elster)

Weisse Elster valley
Origin Western Czech Republic
Mouth Saale
Basin countries Germany, Czech Republic
Length 257 km
Source elevation 724 m

The White Elster[1][2][3] or Weisse Elster (German: Weiße Elster, Czech: Bílý Halštrov) is a 257 kilometres (160 mi) long river in central Europe, right tributary of the Saale. Its source is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, near Aš. After a few kilometres, it flows into eastern Germany. In Germany, it flows through the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.

Contents

Meaning of the name

Although "Elster" is German for "magpie", the origin of the name has nothing to do with the bird. It is of Slavic origin: alstrawa = hurrying. The White Elster never touches the Black Elster, which flows from Lausitz into the Elbe. The rivers have the names "white" and "black" to distinguish between them.

The Weisse Elster flows through the cities of Plauen, Greiz, Gera, Zeitz, Pegau and Leipzig. It flows into the river Saale in Halle.

In the history of the Napoleonic Wars, the river is notable as the death site of Józef Antoni Poniatowski in 1813.

History

The White Elster proved very disastrous to the French troops when they retreated from Leipzig in October 1813.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ The "White Elster" river at www.germany-tourism.co.uk
  2. ^ a b Brookes, Richard and Marshall, John (1832). A new universal gazetteer: containing a description of the principal nations, W.W. Reed & Co,, New York, p. 270
  3. ^ White Elster from National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, MD, USA. Accessed on 16 Jan 2011.