Native name Schwarze Elster Basin size 5,541 km (2,139 sq mi) Source elevation 317 m | Length 179 km Mouth Elbe | |
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Main source Upper Lusatia317 m (1,040 ft) | ||
The Black Elster or Schwarze Elster is a 179-kilometre (111 mi) long river in eastern Germany, in the states Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, right tributary of the Elbe. Its source is in the Upper Lusatia region, near Elstra.
Contents
Map of Black Elster, Hoyerswerda, Germany
The Black Elster flows through the cities Kamenz, Hoyerswerda, Senftenberg, Lauchhammer, Elsterwerda, Bad Liebenwerda, Herzberg and Jessen. It flows into the river Elbe at Elster (Elbe), upstream from Wittenberg.
Geography
The river rises in the Lusatian Highlands (Upper Lusatia) about 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) south of the village Kindisch in the borough of Elstra on the eastern flank of the 396-metre (1,299 ft) high Kuppe, a subpeak of the Hochstein. From here the Black Elster flows initially in a northerly direction through Elstra, Kamenz, Milstrich and Wittichenau, from Hoyerswerda it flows in a westwards to Elsterheide. Further downstream, after 63 kilometres (39 mi), it crosses the Saxon-Brandenburg border and flows though Senftenberg, Ruhland and Lauchhammer to Elsterwerda. From here it heads in a northwesterly direction through Bad Liebenwerda, Herzberg and Jessen before emptying into the Elbe in the municipality of Elster (Elbe) (river kilometre 198.5).
The most important tributaries of the Black Elster are the Hoyerswerdaer Schwarzwasser, the Pulsnitz, the Große Röder, the Kleine Elster and the Schweinitzer Fließ.
History
Field Marshal Blücher crossed the Elbe River near its confluence with the Black Elster on 3 Oct 1813 on his march to Leipzig.