The White Elster^[1][2][3] (German: Weiße Elster, Czech: Bílý Halštrov) is a 257-kilometre (160 mi) long river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into eastern Germany where it cuts through the Vogtland in (according to the Encyclopædia Britannica) a "deep and picturesque valley".^[4] In Germany it flows through the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. The White Elster flows through the cities of Plauen, Greiz, Gera, Zeitz, Pegau and Leipzig, and into the river Saale in Halle.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (November 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Weiße Elster]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|de|Weiße Elster}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Quick Facts White Elster Weiße Elster, Bílý Halštrov, Location ...

White Elster Weiße Elster, Bílý Halštrov
White Elster valley near Wünschendorf/Elster
Location
Countries	Germany Czech Republic
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Hazlov, Karlovy Vary Region, Czech Republic
• elevation	724 m (2,375 ft)
Mouth
• location	Saale
• coordinates	51°25′57″N 11°57′10″E
Length	257 km (160 mi)
Basin features
Progression	Saale→ Elbe→ North Sea
Tributaries
• left	Weida
• right	Schwarzbach, Trieb, Göltzsch, Schnauder, Pleiße, Parthe, Reide

Close

Although "Elster" is German for "magpie", the origin of the name has nothing to do with the bird. It is of Slavic origin: alstrawa = hurrying water. The White Elster never meets the Black Elster, which flows from Lusatia into the River Elbe. The rivers have the names "white" and "black" to distinguish between them.

The White Elster proved disastrous to the French troops when they retreated from Leipzig in October 1813, as a part of the Napoleonic Wars.^[2] Józef Poniatowski, Marshal of France, drowned in the river on 19 October 1813.

• Source of the White Elster

• Black Elster
• Elster glaciation
• Leipzig River Network