Sieber (river)

Sieber
The southwestern Harz with the Sieber river
Location
Country	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	on the Bruchberg in the Harz
• elevation	ca. 800 m above sea level (NN)
Mouth
• location	In Hattorf into the Oder
• coordinates	51°38′43″N 10°13′49″E
• elevation	174 m above sea level (NN)
Length	35.3 km (21.9 mi)
Basin size	141 km2 (54 sq mi)
Basin features
River system	Oder→ Rhume→ Leine→ Aller→ Weser→ North Sea
Landmarks	Small towns: Herzberg
Tributaries
• right	Große Kulmke, Große Lonau, Große Steinau, Kleine Steinau

Sieber is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany, in the Harz mountains. It is 35 kilometres (22 mi) long and a right hand tributary of the Oder.

The Sieber rises at 760 metres on the Bruchberg massif and flows through Herzberg before discharging at Hattorf into the Oder which, in turn, flows into the Rhume. Its tributaries include the Große Kulmke, Große Lonau and Goldenke.

In February 1910, as part of his hydrological research into the Rhumequelle, Karl Thürnau dyed the Sieber tributary of the Eichelbach (Herzberg) with six kilogrammes of fluorescein. Three days later, weakly dyed water appeared in the main source of the Rhumequelle. This was confirmed in 1980 by dye tracing carried out by the Geological Survey of Lower Saxony (Niedersächsischen Landesamtes für Bodenforschung). This also indicated links between the Rhumequelle and the Sieber near Hörden and the Oder near Scharzfeld.

The construction of a dam was planned but never realised. As a result the Sieber valley is the only unregulated river valley in the western Harz. The upper Sieber valley has been out-of-bounds to motor traffic since the 1980s from the Forsthaus Königshof and lies partly within the Harz National Park – the road leads to the B 242 federal highway northwest of Sonnenberg.

The river gives its name to the village of Sieber in the middle of the Sieber valley.

• 
  The Schluft is the 'transport hub' of the upper Sieber Valley. Goethe walked here.
• 
  The Sieber in "Paradies" (paradise) between Herzberg and the village of Sieber
• 
  The Sieber Weir near the Herzberg paper factory
• 
  Confluence of the Große Lonau with the Sieber near Herzberg

See also

• List of rivers of Lower Saxony