Saale River

The Proto-Indo-European root séles, which meaning "marsh," is most likely the source of the Saale River's name. It's also possible that it comes from the Indo-European root sal, which means "salt." The Saale River is a 265-mile-long river that originates at an elevation of 728 meters on the slope of the Großer Waldstein mountain near Zell in the Fichtelgebirge of Upper Franconia (Bavaria) (2,388 ft). Currently, this river is in the top 10 longest rivers in Germany. It takes a tortuous route north, passing through the manufacturing town of Hof before entering Thuringia. It flows through the Thuringian Forest's well-wooded low mountains till it enters the Saalfeld valley. The Saale reaches Rudolstadt after leaving Saalfeld. Here it receives the waters of the Schwarza, in whose valley lies the ruined castle of Schwarzburg, the ancestral seat of the formerly ruling House of Schwarzburg.

The Saale is navigable from Naumburg and is planned to be connected by an unfinished canal from Leuna to the White Elster at Leipzig. The soil in the valley's lower reaches is very fertile, producing abundant sugar beet among other crops. On the right bank, the White Elster, Southern and Northern Regnitz, and Orla, while on the left, the Ilm, Unstrut, Salza, Wipper, and Bode. It has a fast upper course. Many castles cap the encircling heights in its valley, which runs all the way down to Merseburg.

Length: 413 km