Unstrut
Encyclopedia
The Unstrut is a river
in Germany
and a left tributary of the Saale
. It originates in northern Thuringia
near Dingelstädt
(west of Kefferhausen
in the Eichsfeld
area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Basin
. It breaks out of the basin through the Thuringian Gate
west of Heldrungen
and, in its lower reaches, flows through Saxony-Anhalt
before emptying into the Saale
near Naumburg
. The total length of the Unstrut is 192 kilometres (119.3 mi). Towns along the Unstrut include Mühlhausen
, Sömmerda
, Bad Frankenhausen
, Artern
, Roßleben
, and Freyburg
.
Tributaries of the Unstrut are the Gera
, Wipper
, Helme
, and Lossa
.
Together with the Saale, the Unstrut forms the winegrowing district of Saale-Unstrut
. The well-known brand of sparkling wine, "Rotkäppchen" ("Little Red Riding Hood
") is produced in the cellars of Freyburg
.
In 575 the river was called Onestrudis, in the 7th century Unestrude, in 994 Vnstruod.
, the decisive battle between the Franconia
ns and Thuringia
ns took place along the Unstrut, which resulted in the destruction and annexation of the early medieval Thuringian kingdom by the Frankish empire. In 933 the German king Heinrich I fought, after a ten-year truce, against a Hungarian army in the Battle of Riade
, a place near the Unstrut, but which is now unknown. His victory led to a period of peace, until the Hungarians returned in 955 and were defeated again.
One of his favourite places was Memleben
on the Unstrut, where a so called Pfalz, palatium or villa regia was built. He died there in 936, and his son, Otto I, in 973. A monastery was built there in the next years, becoming one of the most important in the German realm for a short time. Remains are still to be seen; the exact location of the palatium is not known any more.
Due to its swampy character, the Unstrut was not navigable for ships for a long time. Finally, in the years 1790-1794, the river was made navigable on the orders of the Elector of Saxony. It became an important shipping lane for a century; in particular, sandstone and limestone were shipped. From 1889, when the railroad, the Unstrutbahn, alongside the river was built, the significance of the river route was much reduced.
The Unstrut region is, with an area of 300 ha, one of the smallest wine growing districts, but quite well known.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in 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...
and a left tributary of the Saale
Saale
The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
. It originates in northern Thuringia
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....
near Dingelstädt
Dingelstädt
Dingelstädt is a Thuringian city in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany.-History:Anton Thraen the German astronomer, minister and native of Holungen died in Dingelstädt on February 18, 1902 .-Twin towns - Sister cities:Dingelstädt is twinned with:...
(west of Kefferhausen
Kefferhausen
Kefferhausen is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany....
in the Eichsfeld
Eichsfeld
The Eichsfeld is a historical region in the southeast of Lower Saxony and northwest of Thuringia in the south of the Harz mountains...
area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Basin
Thuringian Basin
The Thuringian Basin is a depression in the central and northwest part of Thuringia in Germany which is crossed by several rivers, the longest of which is the Unstrut. It stretches about from north to south and around from east to west...
. It breaks out of the basin through the Thuringian Gate
Thuringian Gate
The Thuringian Gate near Sachsenburg, a district of Oldisleben, west of Heldrungen in central Germany, is where the gorge of the river Unstrut breaks out of the Thuringian Basin through the Hainleite and Schmücke hills to the north. It is also known as the Sachsenburg Gate.This topographical...
west of Heldrungen
Heldrungen
Heldrungen is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, Thuringia, Germany.Nearby rivers are the Unstrut and the Wipper.It is known for its fortification with two water ditches, four vauban bastions and five rondells. In the center of the fortification is a renaissance castle, which was built within...
and, in its lower reaches, flows through Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
before emptying into the Saale
Saale
The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
near Naumburg
Naumburg
Naumburg is a town in Germany, on the Saale River. It is in the district Burgenlandkreis in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. It is approximately southwest of Leipzig, south-southwest of Halle, and north-northeast of Jena....
. The total length of the Unstrut is 192 kilometres (119.3 mi). Towns along the Unstrut include Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...
, Sömmerda
Sömmerda
Sömmerda is a town near Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany, on the Unstrut river. It is the capital of the district of Sömmerda.-History:Archeological digs in the area that is now Sömmerda, formerly Leubingen, have uncovered prominently buried human remains dating to around 2000 BCE...
, Bad Frankenhausen
Bad Frankenhausen
Bad Frankenhausen is a spa town in the German state of Thuringia. It is located at the southern slope of the Kyffhäuser mountain range, on an artificial arm of the Wipper river, a tributary of the Saale. Because of the nearby Kyffhäuser monument dedicated to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, it is...
, Artern
Artern
Artern is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, Thuringia, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Unstrut and Helme, 12 km south of Sangerhausen. It has railway connections to Erfurt and Sangerhausen. The railway connection to Naumburg was cancelled in December 2006. The...
, Roßleben
Roßleben
Roßleben is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Unstrut, 22 km southeast of Sangerhausen....
, and Freyburg
Freyburg
Freyburg may refer to:* Germany** Freyburg* United States** Freyburg, Ohio** Freyburg, Texas-See also:* Freiberg * Freiburg * Freyberg* Friberg* Fribourg...
.
Tributaries of the Unstrut are the Gera
Gera River
The Gera is a river in Thuringia, Germany, a right tributary of the Unstrut. It originates in the Thuringian Forest, west of Ilmenau. The Gera is formed in Plaue, by the confluence of the Wilde Gera and the Zahme Gera. It empties into the Unstrut in Straußfurt. The total length of the Gera is...
, Wipper
Wipper
Wipper can refer to:*Wipper , a river in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, originating in the Harz*Wipper , a river in Thuringia, Germany*Wipper, the name of the river Wupper in its upper course*the German name for the river Wieprza in Poland...
, Helme
Helme
Helme may refer to:* Helme a long river in central Germany*Helme Parish, a rural municipality in Valga County, Estonia**Helme, a small borough in Helme Parish**Helme Castle in Helme...
, and Lossa
Lossa
Lossa is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the municipality Finne....
.
Together with the Saale, the Unstrut forms the winegrowing district of Saale-Unstrut
Saale-Unstrut
Saale-Unstrut is a region for quality wine in Germany, and takes its name from the rivers Saale and Unstrut. The region is located on various hill slopes around these rivers...
. The well-known brand of sparkling wine, "Rotkäppchen" ("Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings....
") is produced in the cellars of Freyburg
Freyburg
Freyburg may refer to:* Germany** Freyburg* United States** Freyburg, Ohio** Freyburg, Texas-See also:* Freiberg * Freiburg * Freyberg* Friberg* Fribourg...
.
Name
Strödu in Old High German means a boggy thicket, un- is a prefix to intensify the meaning, so the Unstrut region was a very swampy area.In 575 the river was called Onestrudis, in the 7th century Unestrude, in 994 Vnstruod.
History
In 531, according to the Decem Libri of Gregory of ToursGregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
, the decisive battle between the Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
ns and Thuringia
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....
ns took place along the Unstrut, which resulted in the destruction and annexation of the early medieval Thuringian kingdom by the Frankish empire. In 933 the German king Heinrich I fought, after a ten-year truce, against a Hungarian army in the Battle of Riade
Battle of Riade
The Battle of Riade or Battle of Merseburg was fought between East Francia and the Magyars at an unidentified location in northern Thuringia along the river Unstrut on 15 March 933. The battle was precipitated by the decision of the Synod of Erfurt to stop paying an annual tribute to the Magyars in...
, a place near the Unstrut, but which is now unknown. His victory led to a period of peace, until the Hungarians returned in 955 and were defeated again.
One of his favourite places was Memleben
Memleben
Memleben is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the municipality Kaiserpfalz...
on the Unstrut, where a so called Pfalz, palatium or villa regia was built. He died there in 936, and his son, Otto I, in 973. A monastery was built there in the next years, becoming one of the most important in the German realm for a short time. Remains are still to be seen; the exact location of the palatium is not known any more.
Due to its swampy character, the Unstrut was not navigable for ships for a long time. Finally, in the years 1790-1794, the river was made navigable on the orders of the Elector of Saxony. It became an important shipping lane for a century; in particular, sandstone and limestone were shipped. From 1889, when the railroad, the Unstrutbahn, alongside the river was built, the significance of the river route was much reduced.
The Unstrut region is, with an area of 300 ha, one of the smallest wine growing districts, but quite well known.
Sights
- Historical city Mühlhausen
- castle ruin Wendelstein
- cloister ruin Memleben
- castle Neuenburg at Freyburg
Sources
- Hermann Größler: Führer durch das Unstruttal von Artern bis Naumburg für Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, bearbeitete Ausgabe des Originaldrucks von 1904, Dingsda-Verlag Freyburg, 2. Auflage 1995, ISBN 3-928498-04-5
- Christel Foerster, Christian Kupfer: Unteres Unstruttal, Greifenverlag 1992, ISBN 3-7352-0295-0
- Fritz Kühnlenz: Städte und Burgen an der Unstrut, Greifenverlag, 1. Auflage 1962 oder Sondereinband - Verlagshaus Thüringen 1999, ISBN 3896831216
- Christian Kupfer, Michael Pantenius: Die Weinstraße an Saale und Unstrut - Kulturlandschaft in Mitteldeutschland, Mitteldeutscher Verlag 1997, ISBN 3932776011
- novum castrum. Schriftenreihe des Vereins zur Rettung und Erhaltung der Neuenburg e.V.
- Saale-Unstrut-Jahrbuch des Saale-Unstrutvereins für Kulturgeschichte und naturkunde e. V. Druckhaus Naumburg. Erscheint jährlich seit 1996
- Andreas Schmölling, Klaus Schmölling: 200 Jahre Schiffbare Unstrut 1795-1995, Heimatverein Artern 1995
- Th. Sommer, G. Hesse: Hydrogeologie einer anthropogen überprägten Flusslandschaft - das Unstruttal zwischen Quelle und Sömmerda (Thüringer Becken) in: Jber. Mitt. Oberrhein. Geol. Ver., Neue Folge 84, Stuttgart 2002
- Sagen der Unstrut-Finne-Region. Bearbeitet von Frank Boblenz (Sömmerdaer Heimatheft; Sonderheft 1). Sömmerda 1999.
- Unstrut Sagenbuch. Die schönsten Sagen von der Quelle bis zur Mündung. Herausgegeben von Harald Rockstuhl. Bad Langensalza 2007. ISBN 978-3-938997-81-9