The Black Elster or Schwarze Elster ( German, ; ; ) is a long river in eastern

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 ...

, in the states of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

and

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

. It is a right tributary of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

. Its source is in the

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

region, near

Elstra Elstra () or Halštrow ( Upper Sorbian, ) is a town in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 6 kilometres southeast of Kamenz, and 34 kilometres northeast of Dresden. The name "Elstra" stems f ...

. The Black Elster flows through the cities Kamenz/Kamjenc, Hoyerswerda/Wojerecy, Senftenberg/Zły Komorow,

Lauchhammer Lauchhammer (, ) or Łuchow is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the Black Elster river, approx. 17 km west of Senftenberg, and 50 km north of Dresden. History From 1815 to ...

, Elsterwerda, Bad Liebenwerda, Herzberg and Jessen. It flows into the river Elbe at Elster (Elbe), upstream from

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

Geography

The

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

rises in the Lusatian Highlands (

) about south of the village Kindisch in the borough of

on the eastern flank of the high ''Kuppe'', a subpeak of the Hochstein. From here the ''Black Elster'' flows initially in a northerly direction through Elstra, Kamenz, Milstrich and Wittichenau; from Hoyerswerda it flows in westwards to Elsterheide. Further downstream, after , it crosses the Saxon-Brandenburg border and flows through

Senftenberg Senftenberg ( German, ) or (Lower Sorbian, ) is a town in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, capital of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district. Geography Senftenberg is located in the southwest of the historic Lower Lusatia region at t ...

, Ruhland and

to Elsterwerda. From here it heads in a northwesterly direction through Bad Liebenwerda, Herzberg and Jessen before emptying into the Elbe in the municipality of Elster (Elbe) (river kilometre 198.5). The most important tributaries of the ''Black Elster'' are the Hoyerswerdaer Schwarzwasser, the Pulsnitz, the Große Röder, the Kleine Elster and the Schweinitzer Fließ.

Tributaries

History

Field Marshal Blücher crossed the Elbe River near its confluence with the Black Elster on 3 Oct 1813 on his march to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Wright, George Newenham (1836). ''A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3'', p. 78.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Brandenburg Rivers of Saxony Rivers of Saxony-Anhalt Geography of Lusatia Rivers of Germany

Geography

Tributaries

History

See also

References