Bode | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Germany |
State | Saxony-Anhalt[1] |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Harz |
• elevation | 860 metres (2,820 ft) |
Mouth | |
• location | Saale |
• coordinates | 51°50′27″N 11°46′17″E / 51.84083°N 11.77139°E |
• elevation | 80 metres (260 ft) |
Length | 169 kilometres (105 mi) |
Basin size | c. 3,000 km2 (1,200 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• average | 3.5 m3/s (120 cu ft/s) |
Basin features | |
Progression | Saale→ Elbe→ North Sea |
Tributaries | |
• left | Holtemme |
• right | Rappbode, Luppbode, Selke |
Towns and villages | Quedlinburg, Oschersleben, Staßfurt, Thale, Wegeleben, Gröningen |
The Bode is a river in the 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 169 kilometres (105 mi) it discharges into the Saale at 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 of Princess Brunhilde in the Kronensumpf ("crown marsh") in the present-day Bode Gorge (German: Bodetal). The gorge is the narrow section of the Bode valley between Treseburg and Thale.