Black Elster

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title: "Black Elster" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["black-elster-basin", "rivers-of-brandenburg", "rivers-of-saxony", "rivers-of-saxony-anhalt", "geography-of-lusatia", "rivers-of-germany"] description: "River in Germany" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Elster" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary River in Germany ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

Field	Value
name	Black Elster
native_name
image	Jessen-Schweinitz an der Schwarzen Elster - geo.hlipp.de - 9904.jpg
image_caption	The Black Elster in Schweinitz.
source1_location	Upper Lusatia
mouth_location	Elbe
mouth_coordinates
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	Germany
length_km	179
source1_elevation	317 m
basin_size_km2	5541
progression
::

| name = Black Elster | native_name = | image = Jessen-Schweinitz an der Schwarzen Elster - geo.hlipp.de - 9904.jpg | image_caption = The Black Elster in Schweinitz. | source1_location = Upper Lusatia | mouth_location = Elbe | mouth_coordinates = | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Germany | length_km = 179 | source1_elevation = 317 m | discharge1_avg = | basin_size_km2 = 5541 | progression = The Black Elster or Schwarze Elster (; ; ) is a 179 km long river in eastern Germany, in the states of Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe. Its source is in the Upper Lusatia region, near Elstra/Halštrow.

The Black Elster flows through the cities Kamenz/Kamjenc, Hoyerswerda/Wojerecy, Senftenberg/Zły Komorow, Lauchhammer, Elsterwerda, Bad Liebenwerda, Herzberg and Jessen. It flows into the river Elbe at Elster (Elbe), upstream from Wittenberg.

Geography

The river rises in the Lusatian Highlands (Upper Lusatia) about 1.5 km south of the village Kindisch in the borough of Elstra on the eastern flank of the 396 m high Kuppe, a subpeak of the Hochstein. From here the Black Elster flows initially in a northerly direction through Elstra, Kamenz, Milstrich and Wittichenau; from Hoyerswerda it flows in westwards to Elsterheide. Further downstream, after 63 km, it crosses the Saxon-Brandenburg border and flows through Senftenberg, Ruhland and Lauchhammer to Elsterwerda. From here it heads in a northwesterly direction through Bad Liebenwerda, Herzberg and Jessen before emptying into the Elbe in the municipality of Elster (Elbe) (river kilometre 198.5).

The most important tributaries of the Black Elster are the Hoyerswerdaer Schwarzwasser, the Pulsnitz, the Große Röder, the Kleine Elster and the Schweinitzer Fließ.

Tributaries

::data[format=table]

Left tributaries	Right tributaries
::

History

Field Marshal Blücher crossed the Elbe River near its confluence with the Black Elster on 3 Oct 1813 on his march to Leipzig.

References

References

1. [http://www.ikse-mkol.org/index.php?id=22&L=2 ''Elbe River Basin''] by the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River. Accessed on 16 Jan 2011.
2. {{usurped
3. [[George Newenham Wright. Wright, George Newenham]] (1836). ''A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer, Volume 3'', p. 78.

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