The Pleiße () is a river of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It flows from south to north into the

White Elster The White Elster (, ) is a river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into easte ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Originally, its natural length was ; however, south of Leipzig, it has been straightened, which shortened it to around . The river is well accessible via the Pleiße cycle path. The name Pleiße is of old Sorbian origin and means: "the swamp-forming water". It gave its name to the Pleissnerland (Plisni) on its lower reaches, which was important in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Course

The Pleiße has its source southwest of Zwickau in Lichtentanne, locality Ebersbrunn. The

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

towns of Werdau and Crimmitschau are followed by the Thuringian communities of Ponitz, Gößnitz, Nobitz and

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

. Behind Windischleuba, the Windischleuba dam regulates the flow to Fockendorf and Treben. After Haselbach, which is still part of the municipial association ''(Verwaltungsgemeinschaft)'' Pleißenaue in Thuringia, follow the Saxon communities of Regis-Breitingen, Neukieritzsch, Rötha, Böhlen, Markkleeberg, before the Pleiße arrives at Leipzig. It flows into the White Elster via the Pleiße flood channel and the Elster flood channel.

Water quality

In the 20th century, the discharge of waste products from the carbochemical industry in the south of Leipzig led to discoloration, stench, heavy foaming and the death of all life in the lower reaches of the river. This made the Pleiße a synonym for a polluted river during the time of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and earned it the names "Communists' Puddle" and "Rio Phenole". On 5 June 1988, a "Pleiße Memorial March" ''(Pleiße-Gedenkmarsch)'' of oppositional environmental groups with 120 to 140 people took place in Leipzig, which the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

tried in vain to prevent. However, after the industry that caused it was shut down in the 1990s, the water quality improved significantly, so that numerous species of fish can now be found again. In 2016, there is still a slight (non-toxic) brown discoloration due to iron compounds, especially

pyrite The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue ...

, from the water regime of the mostly closed lignite mining.

Music and poetry

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

paid tribute to the river in two works. One, the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

Schleicht, spielende Wellen, BWV 206 he composed based on the poem by an unknown poet on the occasion of the birthday of August III who was Saxon Elector and also

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

. In a typically baroque panegyric, a speech of praise and celebration, the rivers

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Ge ...

, Pleiße and

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

pay homage to the prince and king. The Danube and Elbe quarrel over who may claim the "most august" ruler, the "double ruling sun" (his wife was the Austrian princess Maria Josepha). The little

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

Pleiße, however, triumphs in the war of words over the "mossy heads of strong streams", and the four rivers join in a harmonious song of praise. In the second Auf, schmetternde Töne der muntern Trompeten, BWV 207a, presumably performed in 1735 on the prince's name day, the second movement is dedicated to her, playing

recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...

''Die stille Pleiße''. In 1736 a collection of songs entitled ''Singende Muse an der Pleiße'' was published in Leipzig. Its author, Sperontes, had compiled simple melodies and underscored them with his own texts. The collection was very popular and went through several editions.

The course in pictures

Lichtentanne - Pleissenquelle (aka).jpg, Pleiße source Pleißebrücke-Langenhessen.jpg, Pedestrian bridge in Langenhessen / Werdau 2 Die Pleiße in Neukirchen vor der Deich Sanierung.JPG, In Neukirchen before the dyke was built in 2005 3 Die Pleiße am Pegel in Neukirchen.jpg, At the gauge in Neukirchen Pegelmessstation Schweinsburg.JPG, Level measuring station in Neukirchen A4-Frankenhausen.jpg, Pleiße viaduct in Frankenhausen (locality of Crimmitschau) GößnitzPleiße.JPG, Near Gössnitz Pleisse-deutzen.jpg, Cascade in Deutzen Wehr-Rötha.jpg, Weir at Rötha Pleiße-Rötha.jpg, In front of the Rötha reservoir GaulisWehr.JPG, Weir at Gaulis, locality of Böhlen Pleiße bei Großdeuben (Blickrichtung Norden).jpg, At Großdeuben, locality of Markkleeberg GaschwitzPleiße.JPG, At Gaschwitz, locality of Markkleeberg Pleisse leipzig.jpg, In the Leipzig Riverside Forest Connewitz Floßgrabenmündung.jpg, Mouth of the Elster raft ditch in Leipzig Pleißeflutbett.jpg, Connewitz weir, behind it the Pleiße flood channel Pleißemündung.jpg, Mouth of the Pleiße flood channel (left) into the Elster flood channel in Leipzig

Notes

External links