The Werra (ˈvɛʁa) is a river in central 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...

, the right-source river of the Weser. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld

Eisfeld

Eisfeld is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 12 km east of Hildburghausen, and 19 km north of Coburg....

 in southern 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....

. After 293 km the Werra joins the river Fulda in the town of Hann. Münden

Hann. Münden

Hann. Münden is the German official name of a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. The city is located in the district of Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the river Weser. It has 28,000 inhabitants...

, forming the Weser.

The Werra Valley ("Werratal") forms a natural border between the Rhön hills and the Thuringian Forest

Thuringian Forest

The Thuringian Forest running northwest to southeast, forms a continuous stretch of ancient rounded mountains posing ample difficulties in transit routing save through a few navigable passes in the southern reaches of the German state of Thuringia. It is about long and wide...

. Highlights here include Eiben Forest near Dermbach, the fairytale sandstone cave at Walldorf, the deepest lake in Germany formed by land subsidence, which is near Bernshausen, and the "Krayenburg

Krayenburg

The Krayenburg was a castle situated on the Krayenberg, having the townships of Tiefenort and Merkers-Kieselbach at its foot, and overlooking an extensive section of the Werratal....

", the ruins of a castle (dating back to the year 786), restaurant and a tower with a wide outlook into the Werra valley near Tiefenort.

The following towns or townships lie along the Werra: Hildburghausen

Hildburghausen

Hildburghausen is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. It is situated on the river Werra, 20 km south of Suhl, and 25 km northwest of Coburg....

, Meiningen

Meiningen

Meiningen is a town in Germany - located in the southern part of the state of Thuringia and is the district seat of Schmalkalden-Meiningen. It is situated on the river Werra....

, Bad Salzungen

Bad Salzungen

Bad Salzungen is a town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wartburgkreis district. It is situated on the river Werra, 5 km east of Tiefenort and 20 km south of Eisenach. Near the town, there's a Bundeswehr barrack, the Werratal-Kaserne, which was built in 1972 for the GDR Army....

, Tiefenort

Tiefenort

Tiefenort is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 5 km west of Bad Salzungen, and 8 km east of Vacha, Germany....

, Merkers, Heringen

Heringen

Heringen is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany lying right at the boundary with Thuringia.- Geography :- Location :...

, Philippsthal

Philippsthal (Werra)

Philippsthal is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany, right at the boundary with Thuringia.-Location:Philippsthal lies between the outliers of the Rhön and the Thuringian Forest on the river Werra...

, Gerstungen

Gerstungen

Gerstungen is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany.-History:Between 1945 and 1990 Gerstungen served as East German inner German border crossing on the Thuringian Railway...

, Wanfried

Wanfried

Wanfried is a town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeasternmost Hesse, Germany. It is classified as a Landstadt, a designation given in Germany to a municipality that is officially a town , but whose population is below 5,000. It literally means “country town”.-Location:The town lies right on the...

, Eschwege

Eschwege

Eschwege , the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Werra at the foot of the Leuchtberg northwest of the Schlierbachswald and east of the Hoher Meißner...

, Witzenhausen

Witzenhausen

Witzenhausen is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.It was granted town rights in 1225, and until 1974, it was a district seat....

 and Hann. Münden

Hann. Münden

Hann. Münden is the German official name of a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. The city is located in the district of Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the river Weser. It has 28,000 inhabitants...

.