Editing Unstrut

{{Short description|River in Germany}}
{{Unreferenced|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox river
  | image             = Unstrut Bruecke Weischuetz.jpg
  | image_caption     = Bridge over the Unstrut near [[Weischütz]]
  | source1           = west of [[Kefferhausen]]
  | source1_location  = [[Thuringia]]
  | source1_coordinates= {{coord|51.31623|N|10.2763|E}}
  | source1_elevation = {{cvt|400|m}}
  | mouth             = [[Saale]], near [[Naumburg]]
  | mouth_location    = [[Saxony-Anhalt]]
  | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|51|10|33|N|11|48|7|E|display=inline,title}}
  | mouth_elevation   = {{cvt|102|m}}
  | progression       = {{RSaale}}
  | subdivision_type1 = Country
  | subdivision_name1 = [[Germany]]
  | subdivision_type2 = [[States of Germany|States]]
  | subdivision_name2 = {{ubl|[[Thuringia]]|[[Saxony-Anhalt]]}}
  | length            = {{cvt|192|km}}
  | basin_size        = {{Convert|6364.2|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}
  | tributaries_left  = {{hlist|[[Notter (Unstrut)|Notter]]|[[Wipper (Unstrut)|Wipper]]|[[Helme (river)|Helme]]}}
  | tributaries_right = {{hlist|[[Salza (Unstrut)|Salza]]|[[Gera (river)|Gera]]|[[Lossa (Unstrut)|Lossa]]}}
  | discharge1_avg    = 
}}
The '''Unstrut''' ({{IPA|de|ˈʊnʃtʁuːt|-|De-Unstrut.ogg}} or {{IPA|de|ˈʊnstʁuːt||De-Unstrut2.ogg}}) is a [[river]] in [[Germany]] and a left tributary of the [[Saale]].

The Unstrut 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 {{convert|192|km|mi}}. Towns along the Unstrut include [[Mühlhausen]], [[Sömmerda]], [[Bad Frankenhausen]], [[Artern]], [[Roßleben]], and [[Freyburg, Germany|Freyburg]].
The main tributaries of the Unstrut are the [[Gera (river)|Gera]], [[Wipper (Unstrut)|Wipper]], [[Helme (river)|Helme]], and [[Lossa (Unstrut)|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==
Old High German ''Strödu'' means 'boggy thicket' and ''un-'' is a prefix to intensify the meaning, and so the Unstrut region was a very swampy area.
In 575, the river was attested as the ''Onestrudis'', in the 7th century it was referred to as the ''Unestrude'', and in 994 as the ''Vnstruod''.

==History==
In 531, according to the ''Decem Libri'' of [[Gregory of Tours]], the decisive [[Battle of the Unstrut River (531)|Battle of the Unstrut River]] between the [[Franks|Franconians]] and [[Thuringii|Thuringians]] 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 king [[Henry the Fowler|Henry I]] fought, after a ten-year truce, against a Hungarian army in the [[Battle 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 was [[Memleben]] on the Unstrut, where a royal residence, a so-called ''Pfalz'', ''palatium'' or ''villa 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 the ''palatium'' 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 the [[Elector 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 {{convert|300|ha|acre}}, is one of the smallest, it is quite well known.

== Sights ==

* Historic town of [[Mühlhausen]]
* Ruined castle of Wendelstein
* Ruined abbey of [[Memleben Abbey|Memleben]]
* [[Neuenburg Castle (Freyburg)|Neuenburg Castle]] at [[Freyburg, Germany|Freyburg]]

==See also==
*[[List of rivers of Thuringia]]
*[[List of rivers of Saxony-Anhalt]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Unstrut basin| ]]
[[Category:Burgenlandkreis]]
[[Category:Rivers of Saxony-Anhalt]]
[[Category:Rivers of Thuringia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Germany]]