The river Bille () is a small, slow-flowing German river in
Stormarn,
Schleswig-Holstein and
Hamburg, a right tributary of the
Elbe. Its source is near
Linau
Linau () is a municipality in the district of Lauenburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...
, north of the heathland
Hahnheide forest. It then flows south of
Trittau, representing the border between
Stormarn and
Lauenburg, continues south of
Reinbek and reaches the river
Elbe near Billwerder. A lot of old estates and tasteful parks are laid out along its riverbank. Its total length is 65 km.
The Bille is one of three rivers which flow through the city of
Hamburg, the other two being the
Elbe and the
Alster.
Tributaries
The upper Bille drains a wide catchment area with many brooks and small stretches of water. Main tributaries are the ''Corbek'' feeding the Bille near
Witzhave and the ''Schwarze Au'' at
Aumühle, having drained wide parts of the large
Sachsenwald forest.
Landmarks
* ''Grander Mühle'', an ancient watermill at
Kuddewörde, dating back to 1303
* ''Schloss
Reinbek'', a castle from 1572
* ''Schloss
Bergedorf'', a castle showing wooden raftwork and
Brick Gothic
Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...
See also
*
List of rivers of Schleswig-Holstein
*
List of rivers of Hamburg
External links
Much information on Bille from the ''Hamburg Department of the Environment''(German)
{{Authority control
Rivers of Hamburg
Rivers of Schleswig-Holstein
Rivers of Germany