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White Elster

Coordinates: 51°25′57″N 11°57′10″E / 51.43250°N 11.95278°E / 51.43250; 11.95278
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
White Elster
Weiße Elster, Bílý Halštrov
White Elster valley near Wünschendorf/Elster
Location
Countries
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationHazlov, Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic
 • elevation724 m (2,375 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Saale
 • coordinates
51°25′57″N 11°57′10″E / 51.43250°N 11.95278°E / 51.43250; 11.95278
Length257 km (160 mi)
Basin features
ProgressionSaaleElbeNorth Sea
Tributaries 
 • leftWeida
 • rightSchwarzbach, Trieb, Göltzsch, Schnauder, Pleiße, Parthe, Reide
Map

The White Elster[1][2][3] (German: Weiße Elster, Czech: Bílý Halštrov) is a 257-kilometre (160 mi) long river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into eastern Germany where it cuts through the Vogtland in (according to the Encyclopædia Britannica) a "deep and picturesque valley".[4] In Germany it flows through the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. The White Elster flows through the cities of Plauen, Greiz, Gera, Zeitz, Pegau and Leipzig, and into the river Saale in Halle.

Name

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Although "Elster" is German for "magpie", the origin of the name has nothing to do with the bird. The name comes from the Indo-European root el-/ol- meaning "flow" and the Germanic ending "-str". Alster has the same etymology.[5] The White Elster never meets the Black Elster, which flows from Lusatia into the River Elbe. The rivers have the names "white" and "black" to distinguish between them.

History

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The White Elster proved disastrous to the French troops when they retreated from Leipzig in October 1813, as a part of the Napoleonic Wars.[2] Józef Poniatowski, Marshal of France, drowned in the river on 19 October 1813.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The "White Elster" river Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at www.germany-tourism.co.uk
  2. ^ a b Brookes, Richard and Marshall, John (1832). A new universal gazetteer: containing a description of the principal nations, W.W. Reed & Co,, New York, p. 270
  3. ^ White Elster from National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bethesda, MD, USA. Accessed on 16 Jan 2011.
  4. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Elster" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 300.
  5. ^ Jürgen Udolph: Namenkundliche Studien zum Germanenproblem, S. 245, Sieboldshausen 1993, oder Archived (Date missing) at eurasischesmagazin.de (Error: unknown archive URL), im Eurasischen Magazin, 26. März 2004