The Ilm is a long river in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

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 left tributary of the

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, ...

, into which it flows in

Großheringen Großheringen is a municipality in the Weimarer Land district of Thuringia, 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, ...

near

Bad Kösen Bad Kösen () is a spa town on the Saale river in the small wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut, Germany. It is a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt. Bad Kösen has a population of around 5,300. Since 1 Januar ...

. Towns along the Ilm are

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

Stadtilm Stadtilm is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, 15 km northeast of Ilmenau, and 11 km southeast of Arnstadt. In July 2018 the former municipality of Ilmtal was merged into Stadtilm. ...

, Kranichfeld, Bad Berka,

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

Apolda Apolda () is a town in central Thuringia, Germany, the capital of the Weimarer Land district. It is situated in the center of the triangle Weimar–Jena–Naumburg near the river Ilm, c. east by north from Weimar. Apolda station lies on the Hall ...

and

Bad Sulza Bad Sulza is a town in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, 15 km southwest of Naumburg, and 18 km north of Jena. The former municipality Ködderitzsch was merged into Bad Sulza in January 2 ...

. In the valley of Ilm river runs the federal motorway 87 from Ilmenau 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 ...

and two railways: the

Thuringian Railway Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria. It is close to Upper Saxon sp ...

between Großheringen and Weimar and the Weimar–Kranichfeld railway. Part of the

Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway The Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway is a German high-speed railway, between Nuremberg and Erfurt. The line is listed in Germany's federal transport plan as '' Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit Nr.'' ("German Unity transport project no") ''8 ...

also runs through the upper part of the valley near Ilmenau.

See also