The Black Elster or Schwarze Elster () is a long river in eastern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in the states

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

and

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, right tributary of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. Its source is in the

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the ...

region, near

Elstra Elstra (; Sorbian language, Sorbian: ''Halštrow'') is a town in the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 6 kilometres southeast of Kamenz, and 34 kilometres northeast of Dresden ...

. The Black Elster flows through the cities

Kamenz Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian) is a town (''Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotthol ...

, Hoyerswerda,

Senftenberg Senftenberg ( wen, Zły Komorow) is a town in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany, capital of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district. Geography Senftenberg is located in the southwest of the historic Lower Lusatia region at the border with Saxony. It ...

, Lauchhammer,

Elsterwerda Elsterwerda (; Lower Sorbian: ''Wikow'') is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in southwestern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the Black Elster river, 48 km northwest of Dresden, and 11 km southeast of Bad Liebenwerda. Histo ...

Bad Liebenwerda Bad Liebenwerda () is a spa town in the Elbe-Elster district, in southwestern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 57 km northwest of Dresden, and 28 km east of Torgau. History The first written mention is ...

, Herzberg and Jessen. It flows into the river Elbe at Elster (Elbe), upstream from

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

Geography

The

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

rises in the

Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands''Upper Lusatia''
at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 20 ...

(

) about south of the village Kindisch in the borough of

on the eastern flank of the high ''Kuppe'', a subpeak of the Hochstein. From here the ''Black Elster'' flows initially in a northerly direction through Elstra,

, Milstrich and Wittichenau; from Hoyerswerda it flows in westwards to

Elsterheide Elsterheide, in Sorbian Halštrowska hola, is a municipality in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. The municipality is part of the recognized Sorbian settlement area in Saxony. Upper Sorbian has an official status next to German. H ...

. Further downstream, after , it crosses the Saxon-Brandenburg border and flows through

Ruhland ( Sorbian: ''Rólany'') is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in Upper Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 12 km southwest of Senftenberg. Ruhland station is a major railway junction, for f ...

and Lauchhammer to

. From here it heads in a northwesterly direction through

, 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 Hoyerswerdaer Schwarzwasser is a river of Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Schwarze Elster, which it joins in Hoyerswerda. See also *List of rivers of Saxony A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refe ...

, the

Pulsnitz Pulsnitz () or Połčnica (Upper Sorbian) is a town in the district of Bautzen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the small river Pulsnitz, 11 km southwest of Kamenz, and 24 km northeast of the centre of Dresden. ...

, the

Große Röder The Große Röder is a river of Saxony and Brandenburg, eastern Germany. It is a left tributary of the river Black Elster. It rises near Arnsdorf, about east of Dresden. It flows in a generally northwestern direction, through the towns Radeberg ...

, the

Kleine Elster Kleine Elster is a river of Brandenburg, Germany. It flows into the Black Elster in Wahrenbrück. See also *List of rivers of Brandenburg A list of rivers of Brandenburg, Germany: A * Alte Oder * Alte Schlaube B * Bäke *Berste *Black Els ...

and the

Schweinitzer Fließ Schweinitzer Fließ is a river in Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It flows into the Schwarze Elster near Jessen (Elster). See also *List of rivers of Brandenburg *List of rivers of Saxony-Anhalt A list of rivers of Saxony-Anhalt, Germ ...

Tributaries

History

Field Marshal Blücher crossed the Elbe River near its confluence with the Black Elster on 3 Oct 1813 on his march to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. Wright, George Newenham (1836). ''A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3'', p. 78.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Brandenburg Rivers of Saxony Rivers of Saxony-Anhalt Geography of Lusatia Rivers of Germany