The White Elster Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central Europe, right tributary of the Saale. Its source is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of
Hazlov
Hazlov (german: Haslau) is a municipality and village in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,500 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Villages of Lipná, Polná, Skalka, Vlastislav and Výhledy are admi ...
. After a few kilometres, it flows into eastern Germany where it cuts through the Vogtland in (according to the '' Encyclopædia Britannica'') a "deep and picturesque valley". In Germany it flows through the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. The White Elster flows through the cities of
Plauen
Plauen (; Czech language, Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the larges ...
Halle Halle may refer to:
Places Germany
* Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt
** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt
** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany
** Hall ...
.
Name
Although "Elster" is German for "
magpie
Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...
", the origin of the name has nothing to do with the bird. It is of Slavic origin: ''alstrawa'' = hurrying water. The White Elster never meets the Black Elster, which flows from Lusatia into the River Elbe. The rivers have the names "white" and "black" to distinguish between them.
History
The White Elster proved disastrous to the French troops when they retreated from Leipzig in October 1813, as a part of the Napoleonic Wars.Brookes, Richard and Marshall, John (1832). ''A new universal gazetteer: containing a description of the principal nations'', W.W. Reed & Co,, New York, p. 270Józef Poniatowski, Marshal of France, drowned in the river on 19 October 1813.
Elster-Quelle, Aš.jpg, Source of the White Elster