Ecker

The plug in the Lower Saxony district of Goslar and the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt, is a 25.6 km long, orographic right side and southeast tributary of the Oker. It flows mainly in the resin but also in the northern Harz foreland.

• 3.1 Origin and meaning of the name
• 3.2 rafting

Geography

Course

The Ecker rises on the border of Lower Saxony and Saxony -Anhalt Harz National Park on the eastern edge of the Brocken field at about 893 m above sea level. NHN. Your source Ecker jump is 850 meters west of 1033.5 m high summit of King Mountain, a side peak of the nearby chunks, and 1 km south-southeast of Lower Saxony Quitschenbergs, which is 881.5 meters high.

In the upper reaches of the plug is on the border of Lower Saxony and Saxony -Anhalt fluent in their rather steep and rocky bed of the western border of the Harz Nature Park / Saxony- Anhalt. She takes from the moors of the Brocken area on numerous streams coming from the left as the Abbe and the coming of the Bald Morgendbrodsbach cliff and reaches the west of the sharp stone located Ecker reservoir. Below the dam and hydroelectric power plant, the plug passes through the deeply cut Eckertal in north-east direction and passes through the westernmost Muxklippe and the opposite Zillierwald. Other striking elevations are the left side Rabenklippe and the deaf cliff opposite, and faces east ruin Ahlsburg.

Then the plug runs in the middle Eckertal where there is a cardboard factory since the 19th century. This area, including all access from the north has been excluded as a narrow strip from the national park. The plug remains the nature park boundary, flows further to the north northeast. After leaving the National Park it flows to the border of the eastern Harz Nature Park, in Saxony-Anhalt to the west and the same name Harz Nature Park in Lower Saxony. She leaves the resin and runs directly east past Eckertal, a district of Bad Harzburg in Lower Saxony. She arrived there at about 230 m altitude. Beyond the still running on the border river lies east-northeast of the village with Eckertal Stapelburg a district located in the Saxony-Anhalt unit community Nordharz.

The lower reaches of the plug, which is located in the northern Harz foreland, begins between Eckertal and Stapelburg. There, the river turns to the north- west towards Abbenrode, which also belongs to the municipality of Northern resin. In this town he runs for a short distance only in Saxony- Anhalt and in dortigem Harz Nature Park and below it again a few hundred meters on the border between the two countries and nature parks.

Then the plug reached the final of the Lower Saxony region, leaving the natural parks and underpasses 6n the main road. Shortly after the railway line Stapelburg - Vienenburg also leads over the river as the railway Brunswick- Bad Harzburg, whose looped -scale route crosses the waters twice.

After branching the trench Ecker Ecker flows through the village belonging to Vienenburg Wiedelah to open at its northern edge at about 123 m altitude in the all- inflow Oker.

Border river

From Ecker jump until shortly before Abbenrode and below it again for a little bit is the plug border river of Saxony -Anhalt and Lower Saxony with the county resin with the district of Goslar. Until the German reunification, this corresponded to sections of the inner-German border between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Elbe-Weser watershed

The Ecker jump located on the Elbe-Weser watershed: while the plug, which flows in a predominantly north, drained by the Aller in the Weser River, the water of the Cold Bode, which rises about 350 m south-southwest at the southeastern edge of the chunk field runs, as the source stream Bode through the hall to the Elbe. To the east, the catchment area of ​​also coming from the Brocken Ilse limited that of the Weser, while further east springing river Saale aspire.

Catchment and inflows

The catchment area of ​​the plug is about 77.75 km ², of which 24.3 km ² located in Saxony- Anhalt. The catchment area of the dam is about 19 km ². Its tributaries include the left side Abbe, Fuhler wage Bach, Bach and blue Schamlahbach and right side Morgenbrodsbach and Big Giersbach.

Ecker ditch

The Ecker ditch is a man-made tributary of the plug, the south of Wiedelah branches as predominantly north-north- west running ditch and then the village you pass east. Later, he runs through Wülperode and Göddeckenrode (both in the district of Harz, Saxony- Anhalt) and by Isingerode ( in the district of Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony). Below Isingerode he is passed around to the east to the gravel pond. It flows behind the stone fields mill about at the level of the Imperial Palace Werla in the Oker. Its total length is about 8 km, its catchment area 17.2 km ², of which 6.6 km ² in Saxony -Anhalt are. Its waters code is 48238th The water quality is &bsp; II assigned by NLWKN the class.

Water quality

According to the Water Quality Report of the NLWKN of 2002, the upper curve in the resin is rated as close to nature, but because of some Uferbestigungen and changes in the total resin only to be "conditionally close to nature ", which corresponds to the structure class 2 The dam is a serious obstacle to the exchange and migration of organisms In Drive running Sohlabstürze and further structural changes are present, so that here the structural quality is specified only with 3-4. The grade 4 is due to the outflow changes that result from the reduction in the ditch Ecker: The bed of the plug falls thereby partially dry and the weirs affect the continuity of the water.

The chemical nature is rated as good. The heavy metal loads occurring in some other resin rivers particular, due to the industry are not significantly present. The biological quality is good throughout the course. It stonefly larvae, caddisflies and mayflies were detected. In the lower reaches brook lamprey and bullhead have been seen, according to the quality report. Overall, the water quality in the upper reaches of the class I and otherwise the class I-II is assigned, ie " unloaded " to " very slightly contaminated ".

History

Origin and Meaning of the Name

The name of the river is so delivered in 1222 and 1420 with Ekere Eckere with double consonants. The name origin is interpreted by Herbert flower from the root word Agira, which can also be found in other river names such as Eger or Aire and stands for the " forward thrust " of the water. The Oker is interpreted as opposed to the plug as a " top - forward-pressing ", ie as the main river.

Rafting

The wood from the wooded area of the resin was sought after as bundles of wood and timber as in the cities of Braunschweig and Wolfenbüttel. During the reign of Duke Julius was a brisk expansion of the resin flows wheel and Ecker for rafting. On July 13, 1580, a commission ducal officials about the investigation of the run Ecker said. Accordingly, the plug was in a natural state, that is fitted with all sorts of debris and fallen trees. In the upper reaches, which was well suited with its strong gradient to the rafts, these obstacles could be removed without delay. In the lower reaches of the river had to shut off natural branches and the banks are secured with wattle.

Even in 1580 the first firewood rafts were launched and in 1585 cleared the plug in the upper reaches. The necessary labor were required from the surrounding offices, the costs were financed by special levies for monasteries and offices. The rafting was profitable, which is documented by numerous settlements. The documents also show that vines for the castle of Hesse and the Schladen castle have been floated.

The rafting was applied to the operation of railway Brunswick- Bad Harzburg 1838.

Hiking

Until the opening of the inner German border was near the Ecker jump of the end point of the coming of peat house Goethe path, today there is a resting place among other refuge, and the Goetheweg continues his route, as before, to the Brocken on. The Ecker jump is included as No. 136 in the system of stamp locations of the Harz hiking pin.