The Innerste is a river in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. 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 () 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'' derives from the Middle High German w ...

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 City is the location of the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort ...

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 small village of Buntenbock lies on the plateau of the Harz mountains in Germany and is part of the mining and university town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld. It is a state-recognised climatic health resort and has accommodation for 200 visitors as ...

, the Innerste passes ''Prinzenteich'' and turns to the west to

Wildemann Wildemann () is a town and a former municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has been part of the town Clausthal-Zellerfeld since January 1, 2015. It is situated in the west of the Harz, northwest of Clausthal-Zellerfel ...

(390 m), one of the smallest towns in Germany.

Grumbach Grumbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany ...

, one of the first tributaries, flows into the Innerste in the middle of Wildemann. The Innerste turns to the North to

Lautenthal The formerly free mining town ('' Bergstadt'') of Lautenthal in Germany is a state-recognised, climatic spa with around 1,570 inhabitants and has been part of the borough of Langelsheim since 1972. Geography Lautenthal lies in the Innerste ...

(300 m), another town on its course and flows parallel to the abandoned track of the

Innerste Valley Railway The Innerste is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Leine river and in length. Origin of the name The river name is not related to the German word ''innerste'' meaning innermost. ''Innerste'', in earlier times c ...

. Here the

Laute Laute is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Innerste. The Laute rises in the vicinity of Hahnenklee in the Upper Harz and discharges about {{cvt, 6, km later into the Innerste in Lautenthal The formerly fre ...

flows into the Innerste in the middle of Lautenthal. The name of the town means "Laute Valley". Near

the Innerste is dammed (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 district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography The municipality is situated between the river Innerste and its tributary Grane, on the northern edge of the Harz mountain range and the Harz National Park, loc ...

(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 Lamme is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It flows into the Innerste near Bad Salzdetfurth. In 1945 the river was crossed by Allied Forces. See also * List of rivers of Lower Saxony References Rivers of Lower Saxony Rivers of Germany< ...

( in length), river Bruchgraben, river Neile and river

Beuster Beuster is a village and a former municipality in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of ...

( in length). Some more towns on its course are the southern quarters of

Salzgitter Salzgitter (; Eastphalian: ''Soltgitter'') is an independent city in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany, located between Hildesheim and Braunschweig. Together with Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, Salzgitter is one of the seven ''Oberzentren'' of Lower ...

and

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the ...

. 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 (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) 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 Balt ...

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

Sarstedt Sarstedt is a town in the 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 on the Hanoverian Souther ...

, south of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, at an elevation of 65 m.

Media

Wilhelm Raabe Wilhelm Raabe (; September 8, 1831November 15, 1910) was a German novelist. His early works were published under the pseudonym of Jakob Corvinus. Biography He was born in Eschershausen (then in the Duchy of Brunswick, now in the Holzminden Distr ...

wrote a novelle titled ''Die Innerste''.

References

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