Unstrut

The Unstrut is a river in eastern Germany and a left tributary of the Saale. It originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Basin. It breaks out of the basin through the Thuringian Gate west of Heldrungen and, in its lower reaches, flows through Saxony-Anhalt before emptying into the Saale near Naumburg. The total length of the Unstrut is 192 kilometres (119 mi). Towns along the Unstrut include Mühlhausen, Sömmerda, Bad Frankenhausen, Artern, Roßleben, and Freyburg. The main tributaries of the Unstrut are the Gera, Wipper, Helme, and Lossa.

The countryside around the Saale and Unstrut rivers forms the wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut. The well-known brand of sparkling wine, Rotkäppchen ("Little Red Riding Hood") is produced in the cellars of Freyburg.

Name

Strödu in Old High German means a boggy thicket, un- is a prefix to intensify the meaning, so the Unstrut region was a very swampy area. In 575, the river was called the Onestrudis, in the 7th century it was referred to as the Unestrude and, in 994, as the Vnstruod.