The Waldnaab (; ; , in its upper course: ''Tirschenreuther Waldnaab'') is the left-hand, eastern and longest headstream of the
River Naab
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The Naab (Czech: ''Nába'') is a river in Bavaria, Germany.
This 97.5 kilometer long river is a left tributary of the Danube. Its average discharge at the mouth is .
The Naab is formed by the confluence of the Waldnaab and the Haide ...
in the
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...
(
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
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 ...
). At its confluence with the
Haidenaab
The Haidenaab is the right and western headstream of the River Naab in the Upper Palatinate in the south German state of Bavaria. At its confluence with the Waldnaab near Luhe-Wildenau, the Naab is formed.
Course
The river rises in the dist ...
near
Luhe-Wildenau
Luhe-Wildenau is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, 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 n ...
, the
Naab
__NOTOC__
The Naab (Czech: ''Nába'') is a river in Bavaria, Germany.
This 97.5 kilometer long river is a left tributary of the Danube. Its average discharge at the mouth is .
The Naab is formed by the confluence of the Waldnaab and the Hai ...
is formed. The Waldnaab is 99.1 km long; combined with the Naab, the total length is .
Course
The Tirschenreuth Waldnaab
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 at on the German-
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
border in the
Upper Palatine Forest
The Upper Palatine Forest ( or ''Böhmischer Wald''; , ) is a mountain range in Central Europe that is divided between the Czech Republic and Germany. It is a part of the larger Bohemian Massif and the German Central Uplands.
Geography
The ...
not far from the 901 m high
Entenbühl
Entenbühl is a mountain of Bavaria, 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 Sta ...
and near its smaller brother, the ''Naabberg'' (). Its source, also called the ''Kreuzbrunnen'', lies in the district of
Tirschenreuth
Tirschenreuth (; Northern Bavarian: ''Dirschnrad'', ''Diascharad'') is the capital city of the district of Tirschenreuth (district), Tirschenreuth. It is located in the northeast of Bavaria, very close to the Czech-Bavarian border.
Geography
Tirs ...
, near ''Silberhütte''. From its wellspring the water flows for just under three metres on German soil, before crossing into
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
for almost a kilometre, where it is known as the ''Lesní Nába'', and then flowing northwest, re-crossing the German border and reaching
Bärnau
Bärnau () is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Czech Republic, 25 km northeast of Weiden in der Oberpfalz, and 26 km southwest of Mariánské Lázně. It obtained town p ...
.
As a result of seasonal fluctuations in the water table and the increasing degradation of the wellspring, its water reaches the surface initially a few metres away from the actual spring, then further and further away as the year wears on and eventually appears on the Czech side of the border.
During the Cold War the spring was a very popular destination for walkers, even though it was next to the heavily guarded border. When collecting blueberries between the border posts, pickers were often closely watched by uniformed guards from both sides.
The first village that the Waldnaab passes through after leaving the forest is the eponymous ''Naab''.
In Bärnau the ''Waldnaab'' bends towards the west and flows through the Liebenstein
flood retention basin
A retention basin, sometimes called a retention pond, wet detention basin, or storm water management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage st ...
, about in area, a little way below Bärnau-Thanhausen and north of
Plößberg. Next it swings northwards and reaches the village of
Tirschenreuth
Tirschenreuth (; Northern Bavarian: ''Dirschnrad'', ''Diascharad'') is the capital city of the district of Tirschenreuth (district), Tirschenreuth. It is located in the northeast of Bavaria, very close to the Czech-Bavarian border.
Geography
Tirs ...
, where it turns west again and flows through the ''Waldnaabaue'' (Waldnaab water meadows), meandering its way through the many lakes in the area.

Passing
Falkenberg Castle in
Falkenberg
Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish ...
it flows southwest and reaches the rocky ''Waldnaabtal'' (Waldnaab valley), where the stream is at its most picturesque over the next 12 kilometres. Here, water erosion has carved a valley in the
granitic
A granitoid is a broad term referring to a diverse group of coarse-grained igneous rocks that are widely distributed across the globe, covering a significant portion of the Earth's exposed surface and constituting a large part of the continental ...
bedrock surrounded by woods.
Beyond that it is joined at Neuhaus/
Windischeschenbach
Windischeschenbach is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated north of Weiden in der Oberpfalz
Weiden in der Oberpfalz (, ; official abbreviation: Weiden i.d.OPf.; Northern Bavarian: ''Weidn in ...
by the
Fichtelnaab
The Fichtelnaab is a river, 47.5 kilometres long, in Upper Franconia and the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany. It rises in the Fichtel Mountains and flows into the Waldnaab near Windischeschenbach.
Course
The source of the ''Fichtelnaab'' is ...
approaching from the northwest.
The Waldnaab below Windischeschenbach
From there the ''Waldnaab'' heads south, accompanied most of the way by the
A 93 motorway and the
B 15 federal road, flowing through
Neustadt,
Altenstadt and Weiden, where it picks up the
Schweinnaab
Schweinnaab is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It flows into the Waldnaab in Weiden in der Oberpfalz.
See also
*List of rivers of Bavaria
A list of rivers of Bavaria, Germany:
A
* Aalbach
* Abens
* Ach
* Afferbach
* Affinger Bach
* Ailsbach
* A ...
coming from the west, before reaching
Luhe-Wildenau
Luhe-Wildenau is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, 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 n ...
. There it is joined in the village of Unterwildenau by the
Haidenaab
The Haidenaab is the right and western headstream of the River Naab in the Upper Palatinate in the south German state of Bavaria. At its confluence with the Waldnaab near Luhe-Wildenau, the Naab is formed.
Course
The river rises in the dist ...
to form the
Naab
__NOTOC__
The Naab (Czech: ''Nába'') is a river in Bavaria, Germany.
This 97.5 kilometer long river is a left tributary of the Danube. Its average discharge at the mouth is .
The Naab is formed by the confluence of the Waldnaab and the Hai ...
, which flows into the
River Danube
The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...
near Regensburg-Mariaort.
Waldnaab Valley
The rich natural environment of the Waldnaab Valley is very popular, particularly with walkers. The erosion of granite has produced a great number of rock formations, such as the ''Kammerwagen'', the ''Tischstein'' or the ''Butterfass'' in this nature reserve. There are also the sites of three old castles on the rocks of ''Altneuhaus'', ''Herrenstein'' and ''Schwarzenschwal''.
Largest tributaries
Sources
* ''Die Naab – mit Waldnaab, Fichtelnaab, Haidenaab.'' 144 Seiten, Pustet, Regensburg.()
References
External links
Source of the Waldnaab
Aerial photographs of this landscape; key word: Waldnaab
{{Authority control
Rivers of Bavaria
Nature reserves in Bavaria
Tirschenreuth (district)
Rivers of the Upper Palatine Forest
Rivers of Germany