The Abzucht, also known in its upper reaches as the Wintertalbach, is a long, orographically left-hand,

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 drai ...

of the

Oker The Oker is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction. Origin and meaning of the name The ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

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 ...

. The stream flows through the town of

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...

Geography

The Abzucht rises in the upper Winter valley (''Wintertal'') as the ''Wintertalbach'' at an elevation of NN. Its source lies on the northeast flank of the Schalke. From here the stream flows initially in a northeasterly direction. West of the

Rammelsberg The Rammelsberg is a mountain, high, on the northern edge of the Harz range, south of the historic town of Goslar in the North German state of Lower Saxony. The mountain is the location of an important silver, copper, and lead mine, the only min ...

the Abzucht is impounded by the Herzberger Teich. Below this pond the canalised stream passes through the area of the Rammelsberg Mine and reaches the southern edge of the town of

. Here it is joined by the

Gose Gose () is a warm fermented beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. It is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Dominant flavours in gose include a lemon sourness, a herbal characteristic, and a strong salti ...

from the left before the Abzucht swings towards the east. After running through the Old Town (''Altstadt'') of Goslar it continues on, accompanied by the B 498 federal road to Goslar-Oker where it discharges into the

from the left at an elevation of . Along its long course the Abzucht descends a total of , which represents an average incline of 15.5

‰ Per mille (from Latin , "in each thousand") is an expression that means parts per thousand. Other recognised spellings include per mil, per mill, permil, permill, or permille. The associated sign is written , which looks like a percent si ...

. The stream drains a catchment area of before its waters pass down the Oker,

Aller Aller may refer to: Places Rivers * Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany *Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain *River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England Inhabited places in the United Kingdom *Aller, Devo ...

and

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

History

While the water of the Gose can be used for brewing (

Beer), the Abzucht was heavily polluted by mining on the Rammelsberg. The name is derived from the word ''Abziehen'' i.e. 'flushing' or 'removing' the contaminated waters of the smelting works.Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, Band 1. Leipzig 1793, p. 141 In the area of the Winter valley and the Rammelsberg Mine the Abzucht drove

water wheels A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucket ...

and was used for washing the ore. Inside the town walls and outside on its way to its confluence with the Oker it drove numerous water wheels that supplied the mills or other industrial works (

fulling mill Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

s, etc.) with energy. The use of its name interchangeably after its confluence with the Gose is still reflected today in several road names, such as ''An der Abzucht'', ''An der Gose'' or ''Abzuchtstraße''.

References

Sources

Nds. Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft und Küstenschutz (NLWK), ''Gewässergütebericht Oker 2002'', 2002. {{commons category, Abzucht (Oker), Abzucht Rivers of Lower Saxony Rivers of the Harz Rivers of Germany