The Abzucht, also known in its upper reaches as the Wintertalbach, is a long, orographically left-hand,

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Oker The Oker () is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller (Germany), Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction. Origin and meanin ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The stream flows through the town of

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

Geography

The Abzucht rises in the upper Winter valley (''Wintertal'') as the ''Wintertalbach'' at an elevation of NN. Its source lies on the northeast flank of the

Schalke Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a Professionalism in association football, professional sports club from the Gelsenkirchen-Schalke, Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, N ...

. From here the stream flows initially in a northeasterly direction. West of the

Rammelsberg The Rammelsberg is a mountain, high, on the northern edge of the Harz range, south of the historic town of Goslar in the North German state of Lower Saxony. The mountain is the location of an important silver, copper, and lead mine. When it close ...

the Abzucht is impounded by the Herzberger Teich. Below this pond the canalised stream passes through the area of the Rammelsberg Mine and reaches the southern edge of the town of

. Here it is joined by the Gose from the left before the Abzucht swings towards the east. After running through the Old Town (''Altstadt'') of Goslar it continues on, accompanied by the B 498 federal road to Goslar-Oker where it discharges into the

from the left at an elevation of . Along its long course the Abzucht descends a total of , which represents an average incline of 15.5 ‰. The stream drains a catchment area of before its waters pass down the Oker, Aller and

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

History

While the water of the Gose can be used for brewing ( Gose Beer), the Abzucht was heavily polluted by mining on the Rammelsberg. The name is derived from the word ''Abziehen'' i.e. 'flushing' or 'removing' the contaminated waters of the smelting works.Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, Band 1. Leipzig 1793, p. 141 In the area of the Winter valley and the Rammelsberg Mine the Abzucht drove

water wheels A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous blade ...

and was used for washing the ore. Inside the town walls and outside on its way to its confluence with the Oker it drove numerous water wheels that supplied the mills or other industrial works (

fulling mill Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate (lanolin) oils, dirt, ...

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s, etc.) with energy. The use of its name interchangeably after its confluence with the Gose is still reflected today in several road names, such as ''An der Abzucht'', ''An der Gose'' or ''Abzuchtstraße''.

References

Sources

Nds. Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft und Küstenschutz (NLWK), ''Gewässergütebericht Oker 2002'', 2002. {{commons category Rivers of Lower Saxony Rivers of the Harz Rivers of Germany