Röslau (river)
Encyclopedia
The Röslau or Rösla is a right-hand tributary of the Eger River in northeast Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

It is formed from several small veins that come together on the eastern slope of the Schneeberg
Schneeberg (Fichtelgebirge)
At , the Schneeberg is the highest mountain in the Fichtelgebirge, a mountain range in Upper Franconia in northeast Bavaria, Germany. It can be readily identified from a distance by its squat tower - a relic of the Cold War...

 west of the Vordorf Mill (Vordorfermühle) at Trostau
Tröstau
Tröstau is a municipality in the district of Wunsiedel in Bavaria in Germany....

 in the Russel forest division.

Spring tapping

A spring, impounded by granite rocks, was tapped by the town of Wunsiedel
Wunsiedel
Wunsiedel is the county town of the Upper Franconian district of Wunsiedel in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town became well known for its annual Luisenburg Festival and the Rudolf Hess Memorial March held by the Neo-Nazis here until 2005.- Geography :...

 in 1930 at a height of . The source is the start point of the 44 km long Röslau Path, which was created in 1980 by Fichtelgebirge Club
Fichtelgebirge Club
The Fichtelgebirge Club is a large walking club and local heritage society in Bavaria and recognised conservation group with 20,000 members in 55 local groups. As the name says, its main sphere of activity is in the Fichtelgebirge mountains in north Bavaria...

. The Seenweg path from Weißenstädter See to the Fichtelsee runs past the spring.

Course

After leaving the steep slopes and high forest on the Schneeberg the Röslau runs past the Vordorf Mill, turns initially southeast to Leupoldsdorf
Leupoldsdorf
Leupoldsdorf is a village in the municipality of Tröstau in the district of Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge in Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Leupoldsdorf is located in the Fichtelgebirge in the province of Upper Franconia in northeast Bavaria. The river Röslau flows through area, but numerous smaller...

 and Tröstau
Tröstau
Tröstau is a municipality in the district of Wunsiedel in Bavaria in Germany....

, grazes Wunsiedel
Wunsiedel
Wunsiedel is the county town of the Upper Franconian district of Wunsiedel in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town became well known for its annual Luisenburg Festival and the Rudolf Hess Memorial March held by the Neo-Nazis here until 2005.- Geography :...

 and swings gradually in an easterly and northeasterly direction. Along the way it picks up numerous brooks from the region of the Platte
Platte (Fichtelgebirge)
The Platte is a summit, high in the Fichtelgebirge in central Germany.It is located between two other elevations, the Seehügel and the Hohe Matze, half way between the Ochsenkopf and Kösseine mountains, on the Rhine-Elbe watershed.- External links :* *...

, Hohe Matze
Hohe Matze
The Hohe Matze, also known as the Hohe Mätze, is a mountain in the southern part of the Fichtelgebirge Mountains of central Germany. It lies between Nagel and Tröstau, and its high summit is a jumble of oval-shaped rocks...

 and Kösseine
Kösseine
The Kösseine is a massif in the High Fichtelgebirge mountains in Germany, lying in northeast Bavaria south of Wunsiedel. The highest elevation of this granite massif is the summit of the Große Kösseine, . The border between the Bavarian provinces of Upper Franconia and Upper Palatinate runs over...

. Near Thölau the great railway bridge on the Marktredwitz to Hof line
Regensburg–Hof railway
The Regensburg–Hof railway is a main line railway about 180 km long which links the Upper Palatine regional capital of Regensburg via Schwandorf and Weiden in der Oberpfalz to Marktredwitz and Hof in Upper Franconia. Because the section from Regensburg to Wiesau runs parallel to the River...

 stretches across the Röslau valley. Next it reaches Lorenzreuth and Seußen, where it is reinforced by the Kössein. It flows through the narrow valley of the Gsteinigt to Arzberg and snakes through pastureland to the Schirnding
Schirnding
Schirnding is a municipality in the district of Wunsiedel in Bavaria in Germany....

. East of the village it forms Germany's boundary with the Czech Republic until it discharges into the Eger near Fischern.

Economic usage

Since the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 the river was used to drive the many hammer mills (Hammerwerke) and corn mills (Mahlmühlen) along its length. The town of Wunsiedel also used the watercourse from the 16th century for timber rafting
Timber rafting
Timber rafting is a log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted or pulled across a water body or down a flatter river. It is arguably the second cheapest method of transportation of timber, next after log driving...

.

Origin of the name

The river was first mentioned quite late on, in 1403, under the name of Rosslin and then under various spellings. Colloquially
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...

it is called the Riasla and, on official maps, the Röslau. Recent research suggests the name combines words meaning "in lively motion, stirring" and "flowing" or "streaming".

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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