The Franconian Saale (german: Fränkische Saale) is a 140 km long

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 ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

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 ...

. It is a right-bank

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

, in

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally r ...

. It should not be confused with the larger Saxon

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, ...

(german: Sächsische Saale), which is a 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 ...

River. The Franconian Saale flows through

Bad Königshofen Bad Königshofen im Grabfeld is a small spa town in the German state of Bavaria, located in the Rhön-Grabfeld district in northeast Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. According to the Bavarian State Office for Statistics and Data, Bad Königsh ...

Bad Neustadt Bad Neustadt an der Saale, officially Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale and often simply called Bad Neustadt, is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Rhön-Grabfeld district in Lower Franconia. It is situated on the rivers Fränki ...

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which be ...

Hammelburg Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Franconi ...

and flows into the

River in

Gemünden am Main Gemünden am Main (officially ''Gemünden a.Main'') is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany and lies roughly 40 km down the Main from Würzburg. Gemünde ...

Course

Headwaters

The Franconian Saale begins in the region of

Grabfeld The Grabfeld is a region in Germany, on the border between Bavaria and Thuringia. It is situated southeast of the Rhön Mountains. Its highest elevation is 679 metres high in the little Gleichberge mountain range. The Grabfeld gave its name to t ...

east and southeast of

at the confluence of two headstreams: *The ''Saalbrunnen'', its northern headstream, rises at the so-called "Source of the Franconian Saale" (''Fränkische Saale Quelle''), 1.7 km east of

Alsleben Alsleben () is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, south of Bernburg. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Saale-Wipper. Personality Sons and dau ...

(a district of

Trappstadt Trappstadt is a municipality in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria, Germany. Notable people *Joseph Brunner (26 November 1706 - 19 November 1827), born in Trappstadt and died in Altenstein. It has been suggested that he was the oldest man ...

) on the road to

Gompertshausen Gompertshausen is a village and a former municipality in the region Heldburger Land in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It i ...

below the ''Kapellenberg'' at a height of 313 metres above sea level ( NN). The first enclosed wellspring was made of sandstone in the 1940s, it was redesigned in 1973, but its present appearance dates to 1985. Since 1987, it has had a bronze plaque by the artist, Erich Husemann, affixed to it, explaining the significance of the Franconian Saale. *The ''Salzloch'', the southern headstream of the Franconian Saale, rises a few miles to the south near the mill of ''Heckenmühle'' at the "Source of the Saale" (''Saale Quelle''), which is found near Obereßfeld (part of the municipality of Sulzdorf an der Lederhecke). It is also known as the ''Saalegraben'' und ''Dagigbach'' and its confluence with the northern stream is near Bad Königshofen-Untereßfeld. The names of the two headstream sources indicate that they both claim to be the source of the Franconian Saale itself. A possible third source is

Brennhausen Brennhausen (german: Burg Brennhausen) is a castle in the municipality of Sulzdorf a.d.Lederhecke in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria in Germany. It is located the Haßberge Nature Park. Origin of name Houses of Springs Josef Braun e ...

Course and mouth

From the confluence of its headwaters, south-east of Bad Königshofen, the Franconian Saale flows in a broadly southwesterly direction along the southeastern edge of the Rhön Mountains. It passes through

Bad Bocklet Bad Bocklet is a municipality in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria in Germany. It is a market town and a health spa. Geography Bad Bocklet lies in a bend in the river Fränkische Saale in Franconia about 10 km north of the district c ...

and Gräfendorf to Gemünden, where it joins the River Main from the northeast.

Catchment area

The water

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of the Franconian Saale is 2,765 km². Its kilometrage is measured from its confluence with the Main (0.00 km on the Saale, 211.0 km on the Main) to its more distant source at Alsleben (135.0 km).

Name

The Franconian Saale is mentioned for the first time in the year 777 under the names ''Salu'' and ''Sala'' in a register from the town of

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

. These terms both have the general meaning of "flowing waters" and had already been documented by the Greek geographer,

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

(''ca''. 63 ..–.. 23).

Ecology

The Franconian Saale has been altered by man for centuries in order to farm the Saale valley more intensively. The river was straightened by cutting across its

meanders A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

. The width of the river has also been standardized for long sections. Riparian forests were cleared and its banks reinforced,

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

s and small

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

stations and

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s were built and former

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

zones were built on. All this has seriously affected the

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

function of the river. Embankments and dams change its flow rate and consistency (''Durchgängigkeit''), destroying the unity of the river and meadow and encouraging devastating

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

. For several years the water authority in

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...

has instigated projects to try, at least in part, to return the Franconian Saale to its former ecological role by removing bank reinforcements, circumnavigating weirs and regenerating riparian woodland.

Fauna

The ''Franconian Saale'' is a habitat for the

European eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around and rarely reach more than , but can reach a length of up to in exceptional cases. Eels have been important sources of fo ...

, Chub, Ide, Grayling,

Brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

, Stone Loach,

Barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...

Bitterling The bitterling-like cyprinids form the cyprinid subfamily Acheilognathinae. This subfamily contains four genera, although the Khanka spiny bitterling is often placed in '' Acheilognathus'', and at least 71 described species to date. Over half of ...

Bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...

Minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens. Smaller fish in the subfamily Leusciscidae are co ...

Perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

Gudgeon A gudgeon is a socket-like, cylindrical (i.e., ''female'') fitting attached to one component to enable a pivoting or hinging connection to a second component. The second component carries a pintle fitting, the male counterpart to the gudgeon, ...

Dace A dace is a small fish that can be one of many different species. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the common dace (''Leuciscus leuciscus''). This, like most fish called "daces", belongs to the family Cyprinidae, mostly in subfamily ...

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

Ruffe The Eurasian ruffe (''Gymnocephalus cernua''), also known as ruffe or pope, is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America, reportedly with unfortuna ...

, Bullhead,

Nase ''Chondrostoma'' (from the Ancient Greek roots (''khondros'') 'lump' + (''stoma'') 'mouth' = 'lump-mouth') is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are commonly known as nases, although this term is also used locally to de ...

Roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...

Rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). Th ...

Burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments di ...

and

Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

, as well as the occasional

Signal crayfish The signal crayfish (''Pacifastacus leniusculus'') is a North American species of crayfish. It was introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the North European ''Astacus astacus'' fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague, but ...

Flooding

Towns and villages close to the Saale that are particularly affected by regular flooding are

, Westheim,

Diebach Diebach is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in 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 ...

, Gräfendorf, Wolfsmünster and Gemünden, as the highwater marks on historic buildings show. Bad Kissingen rarely escapes several flooding each year. However, flood protection measures involving the construction of weirs and defensive barriers have been implemented in its historic town centre.

Gauging stations

Gauging station A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...

s are located in Bad Kissingen (the Prinzregentenbau Gauge) and Wolfsmünster (Saale Bridge Gauge). The measurements are published by the Schweinfurt Water Authority (''Wasserwirtschaftsamt Schweinfurt'').

Tributaries

After the confluence of the two headstreams the following tributaries flow into the Franconian Saale: * The Krummengraben near Bad Königshofen (from the right) * The Barget near Kleineibstadt (from the left) * The Milz near

Saal an der Saale Saal an der Saale is a municipality in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria in Germany. It is situated on the river Fränkische Saale. The municipality consists the two townships Saal an der Saale and Waltershausen. Ever since the 1978 "Ge ...

(from the right) * The Streu near Heustreu (from the right) * The Brend in

(from the right) * The

Lauer Lauer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Lauer (born 1965), American filmmaker * Bonnie Lauer (born 1951), American golfer * Brad Lauer (born 1966), Canadian ice hockey coach * Bruno Lauer (born 1965), American profe ...

near Niederlauer (from the left) * der Kellersbach between Steinach and Roth an der Saale (from the right) * The Aschach near Aschach (from the right) * The Thulba near

(from the right) * The Schondra in Gräfendorf (from the right) * The

Sinn In the philosophy of language, the distinction between sense and reference was an idea of the German philosopher and mathematician Gottlob Frege in 1892 (in his paper "On Sense and Reference"; German: "Über Sinn und Bedeutung"), reflecting the ...

in Gemünden (from the right) A comprehensive list including the smaller tributaries is in the List of tributaries of the Franconian Saale (German).

Municipalities on the Franconian Saale

The Franconian Saale flow through or past the following municipalities: *

Aura an der Saale Aura an der Saale is a municipality in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria in Germany. Geography Aura lies on the left bank of the Franconian Saale in Franconia about 7 km from the district capital of Bad Kissingen. It is the smallest ...

Bad Neustadt an der Saale Bad Neustadt an der Saale, officially Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale and often simply called Bad Neustadt, is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Rhön-Grabfeld district in Lower Franconia. It is situated on the rivers Fränki ...

Elfershausen Elfershausen is a municipality in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria in Germany. Elfershausen is a market town (''Markt'') or municipality that includes the following towns: *Elfershausen *Engenthal *Langendorf *Machtilshausen *Trimberg H ...

Euerdorf Euerdorf is a municipality in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Euerdorf lies in the Main-Rhön region at the confluence of Sulzbach and the Franconian Saale. Divisions of the municipality The municipality is divide ...

* Gräfendorf *

Großeibstadt Großeibstadt is a municipality in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Ru ...

* Hollstadt * Kleineibstadt * Niederlauer *

* Trimberg * Wülfershausen an der Saale

Castles in the Saale valley

There are several picturesque castles in the Saale valley: * The ''

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

'' near

* The ruins of ''Steineck Castle'' near Roth an der Saale * Aschach''Castle '' in Aschach * Ruins of ''

Botenlauben Castle Botenlauben Castle is a ruined castle in Reiterswiesen, a district of the Bavarian spa town of Bad Kissingen. History of the castle The castle was home of the minnesinger and crusader Otto von Botenlauben and his wife Beatrix de Courtenay ( ...

'' near

* '' Eiringsburg'' near

* The ruins of '' Aura Castle'' above

* The '' Trimburg'' above Trimberg * The ''Red Castle'' in

* ''

Saaleck Castle Saaleck Castle (german: Burg Saaleck) is a hill castle near Bad Kösen, now a part of Naumburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1922, two of the men who had killed Walther Rathenau, the foreign minister of Germany, hid at Saaleck Castle but were tra ...

'' above

* Arnstein''Castle '' near Morlesau * Kilianstein''Castle '' auf dem

Sodenberg Sodenberg is a 481m high basalt cone (German: ''basaltkegel''), the remnant of an extinct volcanic crater, located in the Franconian Saale (German: ''Fränkische Saale''), in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia (German: ''Unterfranken''). From ...

* ''Thüngensch Castle'' in Wolfsmünster * The '' Scherenburg'' in Gemünden

Bridges over the Saale

Important crossings include: * A 71 motorway bridge at km post 108.3 near Hollstadt * B 279 road bridge at km post 108.0 near Hollstadt *

–

Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popula ...

main line railway bridge at km post 99.8 * B 19 road bridge at km post 96.5 near

road bridge at km post 60.4 * Two road bridges at km post 51.5 near Euerdorf * Road bridge at km post 48.0 in Aura linking Groß- and Klein-Aura * Saale Valley Railway bridge at km post 44.2 near Trimberg * Road bridge at km post 41.5 at the edge of Elfershausen * A 7 Kassel-Würzburg motorway bridge at km post 41.0 * B 287 road bridge at km post 32.8 in Hammelburg-Fuchsstadt * Hammelburg ring road bridge at km post 29.8 * Road bridge at km post 26.4 in Hammelburg * Road bridge at km post 20.0 in Morlesau * Roßmühle pontoon bridge at km post 17.1 near Weikersgrüben * Road bridge at km post 15.0 in Michelau * Road bridge at km post 9.8 near Schonderfeld * Historic road bridge at km post 7.9 in Wolfsmünster * Footbridge at km post 4.0 near

Schönau Abbey Schönau Abbey (''Kloster Schönau'') in Schönau in the Odenwald, in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg, was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1142 from Eberbach Abbey. The present settlement of Schönau grew up round the monastery. ...

* Two road bridges at km post 0.6 in Gemünden *

Main-Spessart Railway Main-Spessart is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northwest of Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Lower Franconia and derives its name from the river Main and the wooded hills of the Spessart. Geography The district is bounded by (from the nort ...

(

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

) bridge at km post 0.1 in Gemünden

Weirs

There are numerous weirs on the Franconian Saale, originally built in order to drive water mills, but today some are used to generate electricity. All weirs are equipped with

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movemen ...

s: * Weir at km post 58.5 near Bad Kissingen * Weir at km post 50.5 Karwinkelsmühle * Two weirs at km post 48.0 near Aura * Weir at km post 43.8 near Trimberg * Saalemühle mill weir at km post 41.9 near Elfershausen * Weir at km post 38.5 near Langendorf * Weir at km post 37.7 near Westheim * Fuchsstätter Mühlen mill weir at km post 36.8 * Hammelburg Herrenmühle mill weir at km post 29.1 * Weir at the old power station for Altstadt Abbey (Hammelburg) at km post 28.1 * Saaleck Castle weir at km post 27.6 * Rödermühle mill weir km post 24.1 * Weir at km post 22.5 Neumühle power station * at km post 17.0 Weir Roßmühle power station * Weir at km post 7.7 Wolfsmünster * Schönau Abbey weir at km post 4.0 * Weir at km post 1.5 Gemünden (ruined)

Boating

In spite of the many weirs the Franconian Saale is popular with

canoeist Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

s as a slowly flowing river route. The river may be canoed from Bad Neustadt to Gemünden with a few restrictions. Boats may have up to four seats, be no longer than 6.00 metres and no wider than 1.10 metres.

Rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

and the coupling of boats is not permitted.

The Saale Valley Railway

The railway line from Bad Kissingen to Gemünden via Hammelburg and Gräfendorf known as the Saale Valley Railway runs along the lower course of the Franconian Saale. Until 1997 the Grabfeld Railway ran along its upper reaches linking Bad Neustadt and Bad Königshofen. Image:Fraenkische Saalequelle 1.jpg, ''Fränkische Saalequelle'' near Alsleben Image:Fraenkische Saalequelle 2.jpg, Bronze plaque at the ''Fränkische Saalequelle'' Image:Saalquelle.jpg, ''Saalequelle'' near Obereßfeld

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankische Saale Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of Germany