Saale, river, c.265 mi (430 km) long, rising in the Fichtelgebirge, central Germany, and flowing generally N through E central Germany, past Jena, Naumberg (the head of navigation), and Halle, to the Elbe River SE of Magdeburg. The Weisser Elster, Ilm, and Unstrut are the chief tributaries. The Saale's picturesque course is flanked by numerous medieval castles. Wheat, barley, and sugar beets are grown in the fertile lower valley. On the upper part of the river are two large reservoirs, which bring tourism and support hydroelectric power plants. It is also called the Sächsische (Saxonian) or Thüringer Saale to distinguish it from the Fränkische (Franconian) Saale, which flows 84 mi (135 km) SW from the Thüringer Wald, through W Germany, to the Main River. The river has become heavily polluted, largely from chemical plants in industrialized regions such as Halle.

City (pop., 2002 est.: 243,045), east-central Germany. Lying on the Saale River, Halle's location was the site of settlements that centred around the local salt deposits and flourished circa 1000–400 BC. Halle and its valuable saltworks were granted to the archbishopric of Magdeburg in AD 968. It was a member of the Hanseatic League (1281–1478). The capital of Halle district in East Germany (1952–90), it is an important rail junction and a principal commercial and industrial centre. It was the birthplace of George Frideric Handel and the site of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, founded in 1694.

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The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale (Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale (Leine), a tributary of the Leine.

Course

The Saale originates on the Waldstein, between Bayreuth and Hof in Upper Franconia (Bavaria), springing out of the Fichtelgebirge at an altitude of 728 m. It pursues a winding course in a northern direction, and after passing the manufacturing town of Hof, enters Thuringia. It flows amid well-wooded low mountains (The Thüringer Wald) until it reaches the pleasant valley of Saalfeld. After leaving Saalfeld the Saale reaches Rudolstadt. Here it receives the waters of the Schwarza, in whose valley lies the castle of Schwarzburg, the ancestral seat of the princes of the formerly ruling house of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

From Saalfeld the Saale enters the limestone hill region north of the Thuringian Forest, and sweeps beneath the barren, conical hills enclosing the university town of Jena. It enters Saxony-Anhalt and passes the spa of Bad Kösen, washes numerous vine-clad hills and, after receiving at Naumburg the deep and navigable Unstrut, flows past Weißenfels, Merseburg, Halle, Bernburg and Calbe, and joins the Elbe just above Barby, after traversing a distance of . (It has been shortened by a bypass from its natural length of .)

It is navigable from Naumburg with the help of sluices, and is connected with the Weiße Elster near Leipzig by a canal. The soil of the lower part of its valley is of exceptional fertility, and produces, amongst other crops, large supplies of sugar beet. Among its tributaries are the Weiße Elster, Regnitz and Orla on the right bank, and the Ilm, Unstrut, Salza, Wipper and Bode on the left. Its upper course is rapid. Its valley, down to Merseburg, contains many castles which crown the enclosing heights.

See also

• Saale-Unstrut, a wine-growing region

References