Würschnitz

BW

The Würschnitz is the western source of the river Chemnitz.

Course

The river is called in its upper reaches Beuth creek and springs on the Beuthaer corridor area, about 450 m ü.NHN, in the Erzgebirge. From Neuwürschnitz he is referred to as Würschnitz and joins in the Steeg meadows with the Gablenzgasse Bach ( = Stollberger water). These two key sources arms have an equally large catchment area of 40 km ² and drain mainly the Stollberg Beuthaer plateau.

Of the Steeg meadows to Klaffenbach the Würschnitz flows through a small landscape of the Erzgebirge Basin, the Pfaff Hainer Würschnitztal. With its gentle slopes, it is hardly sunk more than 20-40 m. Even the widely covered by Staublehmen, mountain -facing slopes rising almost imperceptibly to the foot of the mountain escarpment towards. In between, but with a 400-600 m unusually broad floodplain expands. Only the porphyry of Neukirchen forest constrains this once a short length of about 200 m. On the other hand, it widens at the Steeg meadows even at 1000 m. In order for this section of the valley forms a very flat Muldensohltal as it is rare in this form even in the hill country.

Obviously, the parallel to the Gebirgsabdachung Würschnitz lack the erosion pulses, but is the average longitudinal slope of the valley just 5 meters per kilometer. This explains the once steady oscillation of the river and the broad and covered with predominantly silty sediments associated floodplain. It is widely congestion and grundvernässt. Moderate to strong stauvernässt are also large parts of the shallow valley slopes, especially the South, where agriculture is promising only since the drainage. So this was 10 km long, flat and wet valley sparsely populated for a long time and traffic also remained hostile to the 19th century. With the exception of the company founded on the northern slope Hagen hooves village Pfaffenhain once existed only a few mills and the Neukirchener Wasserburg.

In the area of Harthau the Würschnitz cuts through a narrow Sohlental still the Erzgebirgsrand before it joins the Zwoenitz to Chemnitz. The total length of Würschnitz is 29 km, the longitudinal slope about 230 m. Its catchment area is 137 km ² of the Zwoenitz after barely. As a natural medium outflow to be the union of Würschnitz and Gablenzgasse Bach 0.79 m³ / s indicates, of which 0.38 m³ / s on the Gablenzgasse Bach. Extrapolated to the entire catchment area at the confluence with the Zwoenitz results in a mean outflow of approximately 1.5 m³ / s (compared to 1.72 m³ / s of Zwoenitz ).

Fauna

The Würschnitz was once considered rich in fish; Trout, loach and white fish, crayfish based Chemnitz monks as a Lenten food from here. Four cans of fish and eight guilders a year lease were paid over to the monastery for one of four plots, in which was divided the river. The stream name can be interpreted from the Altsorbischen by stallion: either as Viŕšnica, ie, as a brook, which flows through hilly terrain, or as a fish trap Bach by derivation from the pre-Slavic, which is considered more probable interpretation.

Others

From the road bridge Niederwürschnitz / low- village to the confluence with the Zwoenitz the river is a body of water first order after the Saxon Water Law.

Würschnitzhochwasser 1954 Height Lichtsteiner street in Niederwürschnitz

Würschnitzhochwasser 1954 Height Niederwürschnitz

Würschnitzhochwasser 2010 Height Niederwürschnitz