Löcknitz (river)

Löcknitz near Polz

The Löcknitz is a right tributary of the Elbe. It flows through Mecklenburg and Brandenburg until after Lower Saxony, 43 of a total of 66 kilometers of river run in Brandenburg. The catchment area of ​​Löcknitz comprises 937 km ², of which 460 km ² are in Brandenburg.

Course

The headwaters of the Löcknitz located in Mecklenburg- Vorpommern in the district of Ludwigsburg pleasure Parchim northeast of goat village on the western slopes of the mountains Ruhner.

From the source of the Löcknitz flows in a southerly direction. In height Balow their flows to the Brandsöhler Bach. Approximately at Streesow flows right side the Tarnitz in the Löcknitz that there crossed the border to Brandenburg ( Prignitz ), and shortly afterwards left side opens the Karwe. West of Karstädt crosses the main road 5 Löcknitz that continues to flow between vast forest areas. From Karstädt Löcknitz reaches a width of 10-14 meters and an average water depth of between 0.7-1.3 meters. At the weirs depth reached up to two meters.

The Löcknitz crosses the Gadower forest in Bernheide flows from the east to the narrow Diemen. Here the river bends to the west and flows a few kilometers away and parallel to the Elbe River to the small town Lenzen. In Baekern Löcknitz is up to 70 meters wide and to up to four meters deep. In the old Seedorf Elde flows to. In the further course to the west Löcknitz limits the Lenzer Wipe that was historically often flooded by the Elbe and Löcknitz. From 1.5 km west of Polz Löcknitz makes for a short section of the border between Brandenburg and Mecklenburg- Vorpommern. For small Schmölen was located until 1973 its confluence with the Elbe.

In order, for the purpose of flood control to improve its drainage into the Elbe, which has a stronger gradients that Löcknitz was extended parallel to the Elbe by about ten kilometers. This New Löcknitz bent about a kilometer before the old estuary north of the Löcknitz from, crossed with small Schmölen the federal highway 191 and then flows west to Doemitz. There she is guided by a culvert under the Eldekanal and is then bypassed north to the city. Six kilometers northwest of Doemitz flows into the river since 1973 Wehningen ( river kilometer 513) into the Elbe. In Elbe flood the weir Wehningen can be closed and thus the inflow of water into the same Löcknitz be prevented. As a result of the inclusion of the Office Neuhaus back to Lower Saxony in 1993 is thus ever since the Löcknitzmündung in this state.

History

Until about 1900 the river from the Association of Old Elde Löcknitz at Seedorf was considered the Old Elde. Only after this piece was called Löcknitz.

Nature

The Löcknitz is important for irrigation and drainage of agricultural land, but also important for nature conservation. The lower reaches of the Löcknitz is located in the nature reserve Löcknitztal - Altlauf. In the village there are goats in the Löcknitz the largest river mussel population with the highest income in young mussel Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Especially in the upper reaches, there were aquatic structural intervention, several built weirs dam the water for the irrigation of adjacent agricultural land. These river sections are largely ameliorated and without copse. In the fully exposed parts to heavy growth of aquatic plants forms. In Löcknitztal are classified as ecologically "valuable" or " particularly valuable" because of the presence of numerous amphibian, bird, butterfly and dragonfly species some parts. In the lower reaches, for example, in the field of Gandower Schweineweide and Lenzer Wipe forms the Löcknitz and their tributaries, oxbow lakes and ponds a highly branched water system, it can be found breaking and remnants of alluvial forests, large-scale reeds stocks, bank crashes, sandbanks and impact and Gleithänge. This landscape provides habitat for many protected species of plants and animal species such as beaver, bat and several rare birds, including bald eagles, and also numerous insects including dragonflies, such as the Southern Hawker and the Southern Emerald Damselfly. For the migration of the otter, the river is also an important link in the waters dar. Löcknitz numerous species of fish, especially lead, roach, bream, ide, tench, carp, pike, trout, eel, perch and walleye.