Bode (river)

{{Short description|River in Germany}} {{For|the river of the same name in Thuringia|Bode (Wipper)}} {{Infobox river | name = Bode | image = Bodetal.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = The upper course of the Bode near [[Treseburg]] as it enters the Bode Gorge Nature Reserve | map = Bodeverlauf Harz Vorland.jpg | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = Das Flusssystem der Bode | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | source1_location = [[Harz]] | mouth_location = [[Saale]] | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|51|50|27|N|11|46|17|E|region:DE-NN|display=inline,title}} | progression = {{RSaale}} | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = [[Germany]] | subdivision_type2 = [[States of Germany|State]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Saxony-Anhalt]]<ref name="Bode">{{cite web|url=http://www.lwi.tu-bs.de/hywa/deutsch/forschung/auszuege/bode.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130106071131/http://www.lwi.tu-bs.de/hywa/deutsch/forschung/auszuege/bode.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-06|title=TU Braunschweig, Leichtweiß-Institut, Abteilung Hydrologie, Wasserwirtschaft und Gewässerschutz, Flussgebietsmodell Bode, 1996}}</ref> | location = | etymology = | length = {{convert|169|km|mi}} | source1_elevation = {{convert|860|m|ft}} | mouth_elevation = {{convert|80|m|ft}} | discharge1_avg = {{convert|3.5|m3/s|abbr=on}} | basin_size = c. {{convert|3000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} | tributaries_left = [[Holtemme]] | tributaries_right = [[Rappbode]], [[Luppbode]], [[Selke (river)|Selke]] | waterbodies = | custom_label = Towns and villages | custom_data =[[Quedlinburg]], [[Oschersleben (Bode)|Oschersleben]], [[Staßfurt]], [[Thale]], [[Wegeleben]], [[Gröningen]] }} The '''Bode''' ({{IPA|de|ˈboːdə|-|De-Bode.ogg}}) is a [[river]] in the [[Germany|German]] state of [[Saxony-Anhalt]], a left tributary of the [[Saale]]. It rises in the [[Harz mountains]] and drains them in a northerly direction. After {{convert|169|km|mi}} it discharges into the Saale at [[Nienburg, Saxony-Anhalt|Nienburg]]. The river is named after a legendary giant, the wild, rampaging, Bohemian, ''Prince Bodo'', who, according to the ''[[Rosstrappe]]'' legend, changed into a marauding dog that guarded the [[Crown (headgear)|crown]] of ''Princess [[Brunhilde]]'' in the ''Kronensumpf'' ("crown marsh") in the present-day [[Bode Gorge]] ({{langx|de|Bodetal}}). The gorge is the narrow section of the Bode valley between [[Treseburg]] and [[Thale]].

== The ''Bodo'' legend == [[Image:Bodetal2.jpg|thumb|left|Bode Gorge, view from the ''[[Hexentanzplatz (Harz)|Hexentanzplatz]]'' plateau near [[Thale]]]] According to tradition, there was once a giant called ''Bodo'' who came from [[Thuringia]], in modern-day central Germany, to pursue ''Brunhilde'', the king's beautiful daughter, whom he wanted to marry against her will. ''Brunhilde'' fled on a white stallion (''Ross''), but they suddenly came to a deep ravine. With one bold leap she reached the rocks on the far side, but her pursuer fell into the abyss. According to legend, the hoofprint of her horse can still be seen today as the so-called ''[[Rosstrappe]]''. Meanwhile, ''Bodo'' was turned into a dog. As her horse leapt the gorge, however, the princess lost her golden crown, which was now guarded by the dog ''Bodo'' in the valley of the river. The river was given the name ''Bode'' after the giant ''Bodo'' who was now under a spell.

== Geography ==

===Source and catchment areas=== The Bode is heavily divided in its [[Source (river or stream)|source]] region on the [[Brocken]], the highest peak in the Harz, but its two most important source streams are the: * [[Kalte Bode]], {{convert|17|km|mi}} long, which rises at ''Bodesprung'' at {{Höhe|860|DE-NN|link=true}} * [[Warme Bode]], {{convert|23|km|mi}} long, with its [[headstream]], the ''Bodebruch''

The two rivers, which actually have a temperature difference of 2 °C, merge not far from the [[Königsburg Ruins]] immediately before flowing into the [[Königshütte Dam]] (a feeder dam or ''Überleitungssperre'').

Other tributaries of the Bode include the [[Rappbode]] and the [[Luppbode]]. The Rappbode is impounded near [[Wendefurth]] by the [[Rappbode Dam]]. At the northern end of this reservoir, the Rappbode joins the Bode, which is impounded here by the [[Wendefurth Dam]]. Other tributaries of the Bode are the [[Goldbach (Bode)|Goldbach]], the [[Holtemme]] and the [[Selke (river)|Selke]].

=== Waterfalls === The [[waterfall]]s in the Harz are not high. The Upper Bode Falls (''Obere Bode-Fall'') on the Warme Bode are really a fast-flowing stream (''Sturzbach'') with small steps about 1 metre in height. Likewise the Lower Bode Falls (''Untere Bode-Fall'') on the Warme Bode is simply ledge of similar height. The ''Bodekessel'' in the Bode Gorge is a former step in a large hollow, that was reduced in height in 1798 from 2 metres to 1 metre by explosive. The fourth waterfall is in the ''Kästental''.

== Course == The Bode winds its way between Treseburg and Thale through a {{convert|10|km|mi|0|adj=on}} long, narrow valley, the ''Bode Gorge''. Today, the valley is a [[nature reserve]]. The Bode Gorge and its villages are the primary setting for [[Theodor Fontane]]’s novel, ''[[Cécile (novel)|Cécile]]''.

The river then crosses the Harz Foreland in a curving and, in places, diked and canalised, course until it discharges into the Saale at [[Nienburg, Saxony-Anhalt|Nienburg]]. Important Bode tributaries are the Selke and the Holtemme. Other towns on the Bode river are [[Quedlinburg]], [[Wegeleben]], [[Gröningen]], [[Oschersleben (Bode)|Oschersleben]], [[Hadmersleben]], [[Egeln]] and [[Staßfurt]].

The Bode gorge north of Thale is now a [[protected area]].

<gallery mode=packed heights=165> File:bode_warme_grosse_herbst.jpg|The ''Große Bode'' (headstream of the ''Warme Bode'') above [[Braunlage]] File:BodeZusammenfluss.jpg|Confluence of the ''Warme Bode'' (left) and ''Kalte'' (right) ''Bode'' near [[Königshütte (Harz)|Königshütte]] File:Wilde Bode.jpg|The ''Wilde Bode'' File:Stassfurt_Bodebruecke.jpg|View of the Bode bridge in [[Staßfurt]] </gallery>

=== Catchment area and tributaries === The [[catchment area]] of the Bode ist about 3000 km² in area.<ref name="Bode" /> Important tributaries within the Harz are the [[Rappbode]] and the [[Luppbode]]. The Rappbode is impounded at [[Wendefurth]] by the [[Rappbode Dam]]. At the northern end of the reservoir the Rappbode joins the Bode which is also impounded by the [[Wendefurth Dam]]. Other tributaries are the [[Goldbach (Bode)|Goldbach]], the [[Holtemme]] and the largest one, the [[Selke (river)|Selke]]. {| class="wikitable" | width="200" |'''Left tributaries''' | width="200" |'''Right tributaries''' |- |- |colspan="2"| |- | * [[Papenbach (Bode)|Papenbach]] ([[Königshütte (Harz)|Königshütte]]) * [[Jordansbach (Bode)|Jordansbach]] ([[Quedlinburg]]) * [[Sülze (Bode)|Sülze]] ([[Ditfurt]]) * [[Goldbach (Bode)|Goldbach]] ([[Wegeleben]]) * [[Holtemme]] ([[Nienhagen (Schwanebeck)|Nienhagen]]) * [[Limbach (Bode)|Limbach]] ([[Krottorf]]) * [[Großer Graben und Schiffgraben|Großer Graben]] ([[Oschersleben (Bode)|Oschersleben]]) * [[Geesgraben (Bode)|Geesgraben]] ([[Andersleben]]) * [[Sarre (Bode)|Sarre]] ([[Groß Germersleben]]) * [[Bisdorfer Röte]] ([[Unseburg]]) | * [[Rappbode]] ([[Wendefurth]]) * [[Luppbode]] ([[Treseburg]]) * [[Wurmbach (Bode)|Wurmbach]] ([[Neinstedt]]) * [[Quarmbach (Bode)|Quarmbach]] ([[Quedlinburg]]) * [[Bicklingsbach (Bode)|Bicklingsbach]] (Quedlinburg) * [[Tränkegraben (Bode)|Tränkegraben]] ([[Ditfurt]]) * [[Selke (river)|Selke]] (Hedersleben) * [[Ehle (Bode)|Ehle]] ([[Egeln]]) * [[Beek (Bode)|Beek]] ([[Staßfurt]]) * [[Liethe (Fluss)|Liethe]] (Staßfurt) |- |- | colspan="2" align="center" | <small>Locations of confluences in brackets</small> |}

== Dams == {{see also|List of dams in the Harz}}

In a hydrological sense every source stream of the Bode has a specific [[Drainage basin|catchment area]] in the Harz, that is part of the catchment area of the Bode. The catchment areas of the various reservoirs are as follows: for the Wendefurth Reservoir, {{convert|309.2|km2|mi2}}, for the [[Rappbode Pre-Dam]] and Rappbode Reservoirs, {{convert|269|km2|mi2}}, and for the Königshütte Reservoir, {{convert|154.2|km2|mi2}}. The [[Mandelholz Dam]] impounds the water of the ''Kalte Bode''. The total catchment area of the Bode is about {{convert|3000|km2|mi2}}.

== History and culture ==

=== Middle Ages === In the [[Early Middle Ages]] the Bode formed the border between the provinces of the ''Harzgau'' in the west and the ''Schwabengau'' in the east. The two most important Bode crossings at that time were the settlements of [[Ditfurt]] und Gröningen, mentioned frequently in the Fuldau annals.

=== Modern era === [[Heinrich Heine]] depicts the romantic Bode valley in his 1826 travelogue ''Die Harzreise'': {{Quote|That dusky beauty, the Bode, did not receive me very graciously, and when I first caught sight of her in the smithy-like darkness of the Rübeland, she seemed even sullen and shrouded herself in a silver-grey veil of rain: but in a rush of love she threw it off when I reached the heights of the Roßtrappe, her face lit up opposite me in sunny splendour, from every aspect breathed a colossal tenderness, and from the conquered breast of rock it issued forth like sighs of passion and languorous sounds of wistfulness.|[[Heinrich Heine]]|[[Die Harzreise|''Die Harzreise'' (1826)]]}}

=== Flood and low water === [[File:Jungfern-Brücke_Board.jpg|thumb|Board by the Jungfern Bridge built in 1927 after its predecessor was destroyed on 30 December 1925]] The 'most devastating' floods from the Bode occurred in the years 1539, 1667, 1730, 1740, 1772 and especially at Christmas in 1925.<ref>Vgl. 'Das Bode-Hochwasser Silvester 1925 in Quedlinburg: Festschrift zur Einweihung der Bahnhofsbrücke am 27. November 1926'. Herausgeben vom Magistrat der Stadt Quedlinburg, 1926.</ref> Only on the completion of the Rappbode Dam in 1959 could the risk of flooding be eliminated. The water quantities in the Bode can vary significantly: during the New Year flooding in 1925 a discharge of {{convert|350|m3/s|cuft/s}} was recorded, whereas in the following summer of 1926 it fell to just {{convert|0.35|m3/s|cuft/s}}.

== See also == *[[List of rivers of Saxony-Anhalt]] * {{portal-inline|Harz}}

== Sources == * Monika Schönau/Edmund Werner: ''Die Bode: ein Fluss führt Hochwasser!'' Sachsen-Anhalt, Staatliches Amt für Umweltschutz Magdeburg, Magdeburg 2000.

== References == <references />

==External links== *{{commons category-inline|Bode}} *[http://www.blaues-band.de/bode/index.htm?bode.htm Further information] {{in lang|de}}

[[Category:Bode basin| ]] [[Category:Rivers of Saxony-Anhalt]] [[Category:Rivers of the Harz]] [[Category:Rivers of Germany]]