The Wesenitz (''Wjazońca'' in

Upper Sorbian language Upper Sorbian (), occasionally referred to as "Wendish", is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in Germany in the historical province of Upper Lusatia, which is today part of Saxony. It is grouped in the West Slavic language branch, together ...

) 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 w ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

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 ...

, right 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 Re ...

. Its total length is . The Wesenitz runs through the tourist regions of the Lusatian Highlands and

Saxon Switzerland Saxon Switzerland (german: Sächsische Schweiz) is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sand ...

. Its name is derived from Sorbian language ''wjaz'' (

Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

Geography

The Wesenitz originates near Neukirch/Lausitz and flows southwest through

Bischofswerda Bischofswerda (; hsb, Biskopicy) is a small town in Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony. Geography The town is located 33 km to the east of Dresden at the edge of the Upper Lusatian mountain country. The town is k ...

, passes Großdrebnitz, flows through

Stolpen Stolpen ( hsb, Stołpin) is a town in the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, in Saxony, Germany. It is a historical town, that grew at the foot of the ''Schloßberg'' with the castle ''Burg Stolpen''. Burg Stolpen Burg Stolpen is ...

and Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach. The Wesenitz joins the Elbe near

Pirna Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as ...

Touristic attractions

The Stolpen Castle is officially documented for the first time in 1222, when it was a property of the

Bishop of Dresden-Meissen The Bishop of Dresden-Meissen is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen in the Archdiocese of Berlin. The diocese covers an area of and was erected as the Diocese of Meissen on 24 June 1921. The name was changed to Dre ...

. In 1559 it was handed over to

Augustus, Elector of Saxony Augustus (31 July 152611 February 1586) was Elector of Saxony from 1553 to 1586. First years Augustus was born in Freiberg, the youngest child and third (but second surviving) son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, and Catherine of Mecklenburg. He con ...

. The castle's fame originates from the period 1716 until 1765 when

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as K ...

imprisoned there his

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

Countess of Cosel. The '' Liebethaler Grund'', the "Gateway to Saxon Switzerland", is a picturesque ravine. Near a former

hydropower station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

the world's biggest memorial to Richard Wagner can be visited.

Historical usage

Beginning with the inauguration of Johann V. of Weißenbach in 1476, the Bishops of

Meißen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrech ...

until 1559 and later the

prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prin ...

s of

performed

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

of carps in two

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

s between Goldbach and Kleindrebnitz respectively in

, which were fed with Wesenitz water. The fish farms were of approximately 20 ha each and had to be closed due to economic and technical reasons about 1815. Liebethaler-grund wesenitz-1

In 1895, 63 industrial plants made use of the water power, among them 44

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

s. Today, five such water mills can still be visited. One of them with two Francis turbines is operated by

Lohmen Lohmen is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. History Lohmen was first officially recognized as a village in 1292. The village name comes from the Slovak term ''lom'' or "fissure". There were ...

in the Liebethaler Grund.

Fauna

With an average width of 10 m and an average slope of 0.53%, grayling resp. brown trouts are the leading

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the lower and middle part, resp. the upper part of the river Wesenitz. Down from Helmsdorf, the river Wesenitz is protected according to the

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...

, referring to the appearance of

European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ...

and

common minnow The Eurasian minnow, minnow, or common minnow (''Phoxinus phoxinus'') is a small species of freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is the type species of genus ''Phoxinus''. It is ubiquitous throughout much of Eurasia, from Britain and ...

. In 1994, the

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

was renaturalized. The Wesenitz historically inhabited a large population of otters, which were hated by the fishermen. The otters been extinct until 1920, but revived in recent years due to conservation measures. Since 1969, a migration from the river system of

Schwarze Elster The Black Elster or Schwarze Elster () is a long river in eastern Germany, in the states Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, right tributary of the Elbe. Its source is in the Upper Lusatia region, near Elstra. The Black Elster flows through t ...

is reported at Großharthau respectively

and is noticed in traffic victims at crossing points over the B6.Frank Fiedler. Zum Vorkommen des Fischotters im Landkreis Bischofswerda. Ber. Naturforsch. Gesellschaft Oberlausitz, Görlitz. H. 2, pages 35-39, 1993

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Saxony Rivers of Germany

Geography

Touristic attractions

Historical usage

Fauna

See also

References