The Ilm () is a long river in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
, in central
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 ...
. It is a left tributary of the
Saale
The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...
, into which it flows in
Großheringen near
Bad Kösen.
Towns along the Ilm are
Ilmenau,
Stadtilm,
Kranichfeld,
Bad Berka,
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
,
Apolda and
Bad Sulza.
In the valley of Ilm river runs the
federal motorway 87 from Ilmenau 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 ...
and two railways: the
Thuringian Railway between Großheringen and Weimar and the
Weimar–Kranichfeld railway. Part of the
Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway also runs through the upper part of the valley near Ilmenau.
See also
*
List of rivers of Thuringia
Rivers of Thuringia
Rivers of Germany
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