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| Unstrut | |
|---|---|
 Bridge over the Unstrut nearWeischütz | |
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| Location | |
| Country | Germany |
| States | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | west ofKefferhausen |
| • location | Thuringia |
| • coordinates | 51°18′58″N10°16′35″E / 51.31623°N 10.2763°E /51.31623; 10.2763 |
| • elevation | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
| Mouth | Saale, nearNaumburg |
• location | Saxony-Anhalt |
• coordinates | 51°10′33″N11°48′7″E / 51.17583°N 11.80194°E /51.17583; 11.80194 |
• elevation | 102 m (335 ft) |
| Length | 192 km (119 mi) |
| Basin size | 6,364.2 km2 (2,457.2 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Saale→Elbe→North Sea |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | |
| • right | |
TheUnstrut (German pronunciation:[ˈʊnʃtʁuːt]ⓘ or[ˈʊnstʁuːt]ⓘ) is ariver inGermany and a left tributary of theSaale.
The Unstrut originates in northernThuringia nearDingelstädt (west ofKefferhausen in theEichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of theThuringian Basin. It breaks out of the basin through theThuringian Gate west ofHeldrungen and, in its lower reaches, flows throughSaxony-Anhalt before emptying into the Saale nearNaumburg. The total length of the Unstrut is 192 kilometres (119 mi). Towns along the Unstrut includeMühlhausen,Sömmerda,Bad Frankenhausen,Artern,Roßleben, andFreyburg.The main tributaries of the Unstrut are theGera,Wipper,Helme, andLossa.
The countryside around the Saale and Unstrut rivers forms the wine-growing region ofSaale-Unstrut. The well-known brand of sparkling wine,Rotkäppchen ("Little Red Riding Hood") is produced in the cellars of Freyburg.
Old High GermanStrödu means 'boggy thicket' andun- is a prefix to intensify the meaning, and so the Unstrut region was a very swampy area.In 575, the river was attested as theOnestrudis, in the 7th century it was referred to as theUnestrude, and in 994 as theVnstruod.
In 531, according to theDecem Libri ofGregory of Tours, the decisiveBattle of the Unstrut River between theFranconians andThuringians took place along the Unstrut, which resulted in the destruction and annexation of the early medieval Thuringian kingdom by the Frankish empire. In 933 the German kingHenry I fought, after a ten-year truce, against a Hungarian army in theBattle of Riade, a place near the Unstrut, but which is now unknown. His victory led to a period of peace, until the Hungarians returned in 955 and were defeated again.One of his favourite places wasMemleben on the Unstrut, where a royal residence, a so-calledPfalz,palatium orvilla regia, was built. He died there in 936, as did his son, Otto I, in 973. A monastery was built there in the next years, becoming one of the most important in the German realm for a short time. Its ruins may still be seen; the exact location of thepalatium is not known any more.
Due to its marshy character, the Unstrut was not navigable for ships for a long time. Finally, in the years 1790–94, the river was made navigable on the orders of theElector of Saxony. It became an important shipping lane for a century; in particular, sandstone and limestone were shipped. From 1889, when the Unstrut Railway (Unstrutbahn), was built alongside the river, the significance of the waterway as a transport route was much reduced. Although the Unstrut wine-growing region, with an area of 300 hectares (740 acres), is one of the smallest, it is quite well known.
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