Wesenitz
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The Wesenitz (; ) is a
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 ...
in
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
,
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 ...
, a right tributary of the
Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
. Its total length is . The Wesenitz runs through the tourist regions of the
Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 2011. or Lusatian HillsSaxon Switzerland Saxon Switzerland (, ) is a hilly climbing area and national park in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. It is located around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany, adjoining Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic. Toge ...
. Its name is derived from the Sorbian language ''wjaz'' (
Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...
).


Geography

The Wesenitz originates near Neukirch/Lausitz and flows southwest through
Bischofswerda Bischofswerda (; ) is a small town in eastern Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony. Geography The town is located 33 km to the east of Dresden at the edge of the Upper Lusatian mountain country. The town is known as t ...
, passes Großdrebnitz, and flows through
Stolpen Stolpen (, ) is a town in the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, in Saxony, Germany. It is a historical town, that grew at the foot of the ''Schloßberg'' with the castle ''Burg Stolpen''. Burg Stolpen Burg Stolpen is a castle bui ...
and
Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach () is a municipality in the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Wesenitz, 6 km west of Stolpen, 9 km northeast of Pirna and 18 km east of Dresden. ...
. The Wesenitz joins the Elbe near
Pirna Pirna (; , ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a ''Große ...
.


Touristic attractions

The Stolpen Castle is officially documented for the first time in 1222, when it was a property of the
Bishop of Dresden-Meissen The Bishop of Dresden-Meissen is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen in the List of Catholic dioceses in Germany#ecclesiastical Province of Berlin, ecclesiastical Province of Berlin. The dioc ...
. In 1559 it was handed over to
Augustus, Elector of Saxony Augustus (31 July 152611 February 1586) was Elector of Saxony from 1553 to 1586. First years Augustus was born in Freiberg, the youngest child and third (but second surviving) son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, and Catherine of Mecklenburg. He c ...
. The castle's fame originates from the period 1716 until 1765 when
Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...
imprisoned there his
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...
Countess of Cosel. The '' Liebethaler Grund'', the "Gateway to Saxon Switzerland", is a picturesque ravine. Near a former
hydropower station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
the world's biggest memorial to
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
can be visited.


Historical usage

Beginning with the
inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
of Johann V. of Weißenbach in 1476, the Bishops of
Meißen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...
until 1559 and later the
prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...
s of
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
performed
fish farming Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of ...
of
carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...
s in two
pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...
s between Goldbach and Kleindrebnitz respectively in
Bischofswerda Bischofswerda (; ) is a small town in eastern Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony. Geography The town is located 33 km to the east of Dresden at the edge of the Upper Lusatian mountain country. The town is known as t ...
, which were fed with Wesenitz water. The fish farms were of approximately 20 ha each and had to be closed due to economic and technical reasons about 1815. In 1895, 63 industrial plants made use of the water power, among them 44
mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...
s. Today, five such water mills can still be visited. One of them with two
Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The pro ...
s is operated by
Lohmen Lohmen is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. History Lohmen was first officially recognized as a village in 1292. The village name comes from the Slovak term ''lom'' or "fissure". There were ...
in the Liebethaler Grund.


Fauna

With an average width of 10 m and an average slope of 0.53%, grayling resp.
brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...
s are the leading
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
in the lower and middle part, resp. the upper part of the river Wesenitz. Down from Helmsdorf, the river Wesenitz is protected according to the
Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The ...
, referring to the appearance of
European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ...
and
common minnow ''Phoxinus phoxinus'' (known colloquially as the Eurasian minnow, minnow, Channel minnow, or common minnow) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, minnows and related fishes. It i ...
. In 1994, the
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
was renaturalized. The Wesenitz historically inhabited a large population of
otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
s, which were hated by the fishermen. The otters been extinct until 1920, but revived in recent years due to conservation measures. Since 1969, a migration from the river system of Schwarze Elster is reported at Großharthau respectively
Bischofswerda Bischofswerda (; ) is a small town in eastern Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony. Geography The town is located 33 km to the east of Dresden at the edge of the Upper Lusatian mountain country. The town is known as t ...
and is noticed in traffic victims at crossing points over the B6.Frank Fiedler. Zum Vorkommen des Fischotters im Landkreis Bischofswerda. Ber. Naturforsch. Gesellschaft Oberlausitz, Görlitz. H. 2, pages 35-39, 1993


See also

*
List of rivers of Saxony A list of rivers of Saxony, Germany: A * Alte Luppe B * Bahra * Bahre * Batschke * Bauerngraben * Biela * Black Elster * Black Pockau * Bobritzsch * Borlasbach * Brunndöbra * Burgauenbach C *Chemnitz * Colmnitzbach * Cunnersdorfer Wasser D * ...


References

{{Authority control Rivers of Saxony Rivers of Germany