The Innerste () is a river in

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 ...

. It is a right tributary of the

Leine The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long. The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriver ...

river and in length. RioInnerste

Origin of the name

The river name is not related to the German word ''innerste'' meaning innermost. ''Innerste'', in earlier times called the ''Inste'' (1805), ''Inderste'' (1567), ''Indistria'' (1313), ''Entrista'' (1065) and ''Indrista'' (1013), probably goes back to the Indo-Germanic root ''oid'' = ''turbulent, strong''. It may be the name referred to in the name of the battlefield of '' ''Idista''viso'' (16 A.D.).

Course

The river's source is in the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

mountains, from the town of

Clausthal-Zellerfeld Clausthal-Zellerfeld () is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The town hosts the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort is locate ...

to the southwest at an elevation of 615 m and is called ''Innerstesprung''. As a small brook, the Innerste flows west and passes a system of lakes, the first of which is called ''Entensumpf''. The next lakes are ''Oberer Nassenwieser Teich'', ''Bärenbrucher Teich'', ''Ziegenberger Teich'', and ''Sumpfteich''. The German word ''Teich'' means "pond". Having passed through the middle of the village of Buntenbock, the Innerste passes ''Prinzenteich'' and turns to the west to Wildemann (390 m), one of the smallest towns in Germany.

Grumbach Grumbach is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Lauterecken-Wolfstei ...

, one of the first tributaries, flows into the Innerste in the middle of Wildemann. The Innerste turns to the North to Lautenthal (300 m), another town on its course and flows parallel to the abandoned track of the Innerste Valley Railway. Here the Laute flows into the Innerste in the middle of Lautenthal. The name of the town means "Laute Valley". Near Lautenthal the Innerste is

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

med (the '' Innerstetalsperre''). When the dam was built 1963–1966, a nice lake for holidays and watersports was created. A few kilometers further on, the Innerste leaves the Harz Mountains near the town of

Langelsheim Langelsheim () is a town in the Goslar (district), district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography The municipality is situated between the river Innerste and its tributary the river Grane (river), Grane, on the northern edge of the Harz ...

(204 m) and turns to the Northwest. The first tributary is river Grane ( in length). From here, the Innerste flows through the ''Harzvorland'', a hilly countryside. Further tributaries are river Nette ( in length), river Lamme ( in length), river Bruchgraben, river Neile and river Beuster ( in length). Some more towns on its course are the southern quarters of

Salzgitter Salzgitter (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city#Germany, independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitte ...

and

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

. The Innerste passes Marienburg Castle, the centre of

(90 m) and Steuerwald Castle in the North of the City. North of Hildesheim, the Innerste enters the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland () is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north, Germany's ...

. About further on, it flows into the Leine near the town of

Sarstedt Sarstedt () is a town in the Hildesheim (district), district of Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany. It has approximately 18,500 inhabitants. Sarstedt is situated 20 km south of Hanover and 10 km north of Hildesheim. Sarstedt station is o ...

, south of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, at an elevation of 65 m.

Media

Wilhelm Raabe wrote a novelle titled ''Die Innerste''.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Lower Saxony Rivers of the Harz Rivers of Germany

Origin of the name

Course

Media

See also

References