Leine
Encyclopedia
The Leine is a river in Thuringia
and Lower Saxony
, Germany
. It is a left tributary of the Aller
river (and so of the Weser river
as well) and 281 km in length.
The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. Forty kilometers downriver, the river enters Lower Saxony and runs northwards.
Important towns upstream to down along its course are Göttingen
, Einbeck
, Alfeld
and Gronau
, before the river enters Hanover
, the largest city on its banks. Downstream some forty kilometers north of Hanover, near Schwarmstedt
, the river joins the Aller
and reaches the North Sea
via the Weser connecting to and flowing north past both the oceanic seaports of Hanseatic
Bremen
and the much newer but equally important city of Bremerhaven
. Although the river occasionally over-floods its banks, damage is usually nominal. Only in its northern (lower) reaches is it navigable by today's smallest commercial carriers, though in the past it served as an important pre-railway barge
transportation artery as far up river as Göttingen.
The river is somewhat polluted from industries and so not used for drinking water but the pollution was never severe enough to prevent fish from living in it. Like many western rivers since the 1960s, it has enjoyed successively cleaner waters since the implementation of environmental controls. People enjoy sport fishing from small boats and from along the banks, although yields are normally low.
At at least one point (Göttingen) the river is partially diverted into a canal that runs more or less parallel to the river.
In his 1986 bestseller Red Storm Rising
, author Tom Clancy
uses the Leine as a major obstacle to the Soviet Union's Red Army
in its drive to the Rhine River and the North Sea ports of the Netherlands and Belgium through West Germany
.
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
and Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is a left tributary of the Aller
Aller
The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...
river (and so of the Weser river
Weser River
The Weser is a river in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann. Münden by the Fulda and Werra, it flows through Lower Saxony, then reaching the historic port city of Bremen before emptying into the North Sea 50 km further north at Bremerhaven, which is also a seaport...
as well) and 281 km in length.
Important towns upstream to down along its course are Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, Einbeck
Einbeck
Einbeck is a town in the district Northeim, in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road.-Economy:Einbeck is famous for its 600 year old beer brewery, home of Einbecker Bier, the origin for the term Bock beer...
, Alfeld
Alfeld
For the town in the district of Nürnberger Land, see Alfeld, Bavaria.Alfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the Leine river in the district of Hildesheim and on the German Framework Road.-History and main sights:...
and Gronau
Gronau, Lower Saxony
Gronau is a town and a municipality in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approx. 15 km southwest of Hildesheim, and 35 km south of Hanover....
, before the river enters Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, the largest city on its banks. Downstream some forty kilometers north of Hanover, near Schwarmstedt
Schwarmstedt
Schwarmstedt is a municipality in the Heidekreis in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the confluence of the rivers Aller and Leine, approx. 20 km south of Bad Fallingbostel, and 30 km east of Nienburg...
, the river joins the Aller
Aller
The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...
and reaches the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
via the Weser connecting to and flowing north past both the oceanic seaports of Hanseatic
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
and the much newer but equally important city of Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
. Although the river occasionally over-floods its banks, damage is usually nominal. Only in its northern (lower) reaches is it navigable by today's smallest commercial carriers, though in the past it served as an important pre-railway barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
transportation artery as far up river as Göttingen.
The river is somewhat polluted from industries and so not used for drinking water but the pollution was never severe enough to prevent fish from living in it. Like many western rivers since the 1960s, it has enjoyed successively cleaner waters since the implementation of environmental controls. People enjoy sport fishing from small boats and from along the banks, although yields are normally low.
At at least one point (Göttingen) the river is partially diverted into a canal that runs more or less parallel to the river.
In his 1986 bestseller Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
, author Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
uses the Leine as a major obstacle to the Soviet Union's Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in its drive to the Rhine River and the North Sea ports of the Netherlands and Belgium through West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
Sources
- Uwe Schmida: Die Leine - Eine fotografische Reise. ISBN 3000205675
- Gerd Lüttig: Neue Ergebnisse quartärgeologischer Forschung im Raume Alfeld-Hameln-Elze. In: Geologisches Jahrbuch Band 77, Seite 337–390. Hannover, Juni 1960.