The Recknitz (historically known as ''Raxa'') is a

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 ...

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

in northeastern

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 betwee ...

. The Recknitz's

glacial valley U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

stretches as far south as the heights at

Glasewitz Glasewitz is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of G ...

near Güstrow. The river has no definite source, but rather builds up from streams and drainage ditches. The ditches of the ''Schaalbeke'' and ''Pludderbach'' have their water flow split between Liessow and Laage, but most of the water flows north as the Recknitz, while the lesser flow, called the ''Augraben'', runs south to the river Nebel. The lower Recknitz (from

Ribnitz-Damgarten Ribnitz-Damgarten () is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated on Lake Ribnitz (''Ribnitzer See''). Ribnitz-Damgarten is in the west of the district Vorpommern-Rügen. The border between the historical regions of Mecklenburg an ...

Bad Sülze Bad Sülze (, until 1927 Sülze) is a town in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Recknitz, 35 km southwest of Stralsund, and 35 km east of Rostock Rostock (), of ...

) is the historic boundary between

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

and

Vorpommern Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, West ...

. Nowadays, however, it is only a boundary between the Mecklenburg Regional Evangelical-Lutheran Church and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church. Starting at Tessin, the Recknitz is navigable by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

the year round. A number of measures have been undertaken along the river's course to restore the natural environment. Along one stretch of 30 km, three sections of riverside have been declared nature protection areas. Mouth of the river Recknitz, Ribnitz-Damgarten (DSC04873)

Mouth of the river Recknitz, Ribnitz-Damgarten (DSC04873)

The Recknitz empties into the

Saaler Bodden The Saaler Bodden forms the southwestern part of the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain and lies east of the Fischland peninsula about 30 kilometres northeast of Rostock.''Die General Karte No. 1 - Schwerin-Rostock-Rügen'', 1:200,000 scale, Mairs Geograp ...

, the coastal waters of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

near Ribnitz-Damgarten. In October 955 A.D. the vicinity of river was the site of famous ''Schlacht an der Raxa'' ( Battle of Recknitz) between the German (

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and

Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...

) army of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Otto I of Germany Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

commanded by Gero the Great and the Obodrite and other

Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs ( dsb, Połobske słowjany, pl, Słowianie połabscy, cz, Polabští slované) is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic ( West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Ger ...

warriors army under prince Stoigniew, brother of prince Nakon.

External links

Regional map
(in German) Rivers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Geography of Mecklenburg Rivers of Germany {{Mecklenburg-river-stub