Ohra (river)

The ear retreating in the old town of Ohrdruf

The Ohra is a 20 km long river in Thuringia. The headwaters of the core water and the silver trench is located west of Oberhof on the edge of a raised bog.

At the foot of Böhler unite both source streams and hot from there Ohra. The river name is Ohra 1378 for the first time preserved in the spelling ora. 1512 he called Ohra, 1580 Uhra, 1642 Uhre. In Stutzhaus the Ohra was also Wilder ditch.

The river had been in the Middle Ages enormous importance. He was stately fish water, was used to drive mills, Pochwerken, copper and iron hammers. In Ohrdruf used it the tanner in leather production. From 1639 timber floating on the Ohra and Apfelstädt was founded. The wood was shipped to Erfurt.

The relatively soft, lime- water because of Ohra was eminently suitable for the operation of steam engines and locomotives, so the part of the Reichsbahn, the construction of a dam has been requested. The south location of Luisenthal Ohra Dam was built, however, until 1957.