The Brunau is a long stream of
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 ...
, in the
district of Celle, on the
Lüneburg Heath
Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is ...
.
Source and course
The Brunau rises in the vicinity of
Nindorf, flows initially northeast to south of (a district of
Südheide). Here it swings east, runs past
Bonstorf to the north and then continues in a southeastern direction. North of the village of
Baven the stream is dammed. Originally it powered a
water mill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...
here, the ''Backebergsmühle'', a water-driven
corn mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
. The Brunau flows right under the building. Shortly before its mouth the Brunau merges with an old, now overgrown, meadow-irrigation channel. With this channel it discharges into the
Örtze
Örtze () is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. The Örtze rises north of Munster in the ''Große Heide'' (in the ''Raubkammer'' federal forest) and, after , joins the Aller southeast of Winsen.
Source and course
The Örtze valley is an old ...
near Baven north of
Hermannsburg
Hermannsburg is a village and a former municipality in the Celle (district), Celle district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the municipality Südheide (municipality), Südheide. It has been a state-recognised resort t ...
.
File:BackMuehle.jpg, The Brunau near the Backeberg mill
File:ÖrtzeAuslassSchleuseBaven.jpg, Old sluice on the Örtze. Right: the Brunau; left: the old meadow irrigation channel
Water quality
The Brunau derives its name from its brown (
Low German
Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...
: ''bruun'') water. Its quality however is Class II throughout: moderately polluted.
Gewässergütekarte vom NLWKN
/ref>
See also
*List of rivers of Lower Saxony
All rivers in the German state of Lower Saxony flow directly or indirectly into the North Sea.
A–Z
A
B
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
*Purrmühlenbach
R
S
T
*Tiefenbeek
*Trillkebach
*Trutenbeek
*Twiste (Oste), Twiste
U
*Uffe ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunau (Ortze)
Rivers of Lower Saxony
Lüneburg Heath
Rivers of Germany