The Oder 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 wate ...

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 ...

, and a right tributary of the

Rhume The Rhume is a long river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Leine. Its source is the karstic spring of Rhume Spring in Rhumspringe, south of the Harz mountain range. The water drains with high pressure from the ground of th ...

. Its source is in the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

mountains, near

Sankt Andreasberg Sankt Andreasberg is a former town in the Goslar (district), district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2011, it is part of the town Braunlage. It is situated in the Harz, approximately 7 km west of Braunlage proper, and 2 ...

. It flows southwest through

Bad Lauterberg Bad Lauterberg is a town in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the southern Harz, approx. 15 km southwest of Braunlage, and 20 km southeast of Osterode am Harz. Bad Lauterberg is known ''inter alia' ...

Pöhlde Pöhlde is a village in southern Lower Saxony in Germany. It is part of the town Herzberg am Harz. It has a population of 2207 (1 October 2006). Archaeological excavation has revealed traces of settlement dating to the 2nd through 4th centuries AD. ...

and Hattorf am Harz. The Oder flows into the Rhume in

Katlenburg-Lindau Katlenburg-Lindau ( Eastphalian: ''Katelnborg-Lindau'') is a municipality in the Landkreis (district) of Northeim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 10 km southeast of Northeim, and 20 km northeast of Göttingen. Katl ...

Course

The Oder rises in the district of Goslar in the heart of the Harz Mountains. Its source is located in the southern part of the Brockenfeld about north of the

Achtermannshöhe At , the Achtermannshöhe (also just called the Achtermann) in the Harz National Park is the third highest mountain in Lower Saxony and the fourth highest in the Harz mountains. It lies in the unparished area of Harz between the Harz-Heide route ...

. The river's source is called the ''Odersprung'' or "Oder Leap." On the Brockenfeld, which is close to the ''Odersprung'', the rivers Abbe,

Große Bode The Warme Bode is the right-hand headstream of the Bode in the High Harz mountains of central Germany in the states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It is long and is formed by the confluence of the Große Bode and Kleine Bode rivers. Name Th ...

Ecker The Ecker is a , right-hand, southeast tributary of the Oker which runs mainly through the Harz mountains in the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony. Course From its source to Abbenrode the Ecker is a border river, today running ...

and

Kalte Bode The Kalte Bode is the left-hand headstream of the Bode in the High Harz Mountains in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is long. Name The names of the Warme and Kalte Bode ("Warm" and "Cold" Bode) come from their actual temperature differenc ...

also have their respective origins. On its perimeter is the ancient

Dreieckiger Pfahl The ''Dreieckige Pfahl'' ("Triangular Post") is a historic boundary stone, about 1.35 metres high and made of granite, located southwest of the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. The stone, erected before ...

boundary stone. After the Oder passed under the B 4 federal highway in in east-west direction, it is impounded for the first time west of the village in the

Oderteich The Oderteich is an historic reservoir about seven kilometres northeast of Sankt Andreasberg in the Upper Harz in central Germany. It was built by miners from St. Andreasberg in the years 1715 to 1722 and, today, is an important component of the ...

, where it bends to the south. A few kilometres further downstream, the river is impounded for the second time not far southwest of Oder Valley Sawmill (''Odertaler Sägemühle'') by the barrage of the

Oder Dam The Oder Dam (german: Odertalsperre) is a dam in the Harz mountains of Germany. It lies above Bad Lauterberg in the district of Göttingen in Lower Saxony and impounds the river Oder. The dam went into service in 1934 after taking 3 years to build ...

. Thereafter the river flows through

and leaves the Harz. In Bad Lauterberg the Oder swings west, running through

and Hattorf am Harz, passing north of the Rotenberg ridge, and reaches Wulften. In Hattorf it collects the Sieber river coming from the northeast, before emptying into the Rhume (a tributary of the

Leine The Leine (; Old Saxon ''Lagina'') is a river in Thuringia and Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Aller and the Weser and is long. The river's source is located close to the town of Leinefelde in Thuringia. About downriver, t ...

) in Katlenburg from the east. Between

Scharzfeld Scharzfeld is a village in the borough of Herzberg am Harz in the district of Göttingen in South Lower Saxony, Germany. Scharzfeld lies at a height of about 220 m above sea level and has 1,765 inhabitants (as at 1 October 2006). The ...

and Katlenburg the Oder flows through the nature reserve of Oderaue.

Villages where the river flows

* (district of

) * (district of Sankt Andreasberg) *

* Hattorf am Harz *

Wulften am Harz Wulften am Harz is a municipality in Lower Saxony, Germany, near the towns of Northeim and Osterode am Harz. Geography Wulften am Harz lies on the south western edge of the Harz mountains and on the north western end of the Rotenberg hills. The ...

Tributaries

* Sperrlutter * Lutter * Sieber

Pictures

File:Oder oberhalb Oderteich.jpg, The Oder above the ''

'' File:SperrlutterOder.jpg,

Confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Sperrlutter File:OderLauterberg.jpg, The Oder in

File:SieberOder.jpg, Confluence of Sieber (left) in the Oder (right) at

Hattorf Hattorf am Harz is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the southern Harz, approx. 10 km south of Osterode am Harz. Hattorf is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipal ...

File:OderWehrHattorf.jpg, ''Oder-Wehr'' near Hattorf File:Oder wulften.PNG, The Oder in Wulften

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Lower Saxony Rivers of the Harz Rivers of Germany

Course

Villages where the river flows

Tributaries

Pictures

See also

References