Black Pockau

The Black Pockau (German: Schwarze Pockau or Schwarzwasser, Czech: Černá) is a river of Saxony, Germany, in the Ore Mountains. It is a left tributary of the Flöha. This virtually unspoilt wild stream with a length of 33 km (21 mi) is known for the picturesque gorge in its middle reaches. Its murky waters flowing from bogs in the hills give the river a dark colour. The name Pockau, which was recorded in similar form in 1292, probably comes from the Czech and means "opposed", i.e. a stream flowing from Bohemia towards the north.

The Black Pockau rises 890 metres above sea level (NHN) in a raised bog northeast of the Jelení hora in the Bohemian Ore Mountains. The Chomutovka (German: Assigbach), which flows into the Czech Republic, also has its source here. After 500 metres (1,600 ft), the stream reaches the German-Czech border at the old road between Přísečnice (Preßnitz) and Kalek (Kallich) and flows through the Satzung municipal pond (Satzunger Gemeindeteich). From here on, it forms the national border for 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), as far as the village of Kühnhaide (a district of Marienberg). In this section it passes the villages of Satzung (the former village of Ulmbach (Jilmová) on the Bohemian side opposite was demolished in 1945) and Reitzenhain (the village of Pohraniční, that used to be on the Bohemian side, was also abandoned). In Reitzenhain, from the rafting pond (Floßteich) by the Neue Welt mill, a ditch known as the Reitzenhainer Zeuggraben provided water from the Black Pockau for overshot waterwheels at the old mines near Marienberg. Water is also diverted from the river at the eastern end of Kühnhaide: the Green Ditch (Grüner Graben) once fed water for overshot wheels at the mine on the Wildsberg mountain near Pobershau. The village of Kienhaid (Načetín I), that formerly stood on the Bohemian side of the border here, was abandoned. East of Kühnhaide the river changes direction from northeast to north. The next section of the valley as far as the Kniebreche, the gorge-like Schwarzwasser valley (Schwarzwassertal), is considered one of the most picturesque of German valleys in the Central Uplands and is protected as the Schwarzwassertal nature reserve.

Flows through: Germany.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.