Spring von Plaue

Plauescher Spring

Useful Information

Location:	In Plaue. A4 exit Erfurt-West, B4 south through Arnstadt 17 km bis Plaue. After its completion A71 exit Geschwenda, north around Geschwenda to Gräfenroda, then through Liebenstein to Plaue. At the city limits towards Liebenstein. (50.7752680, 10.8879092)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst spring, shallow karst
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	Y=600-800 l/s
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Stadt Plaue, Hauptstraße 38, 99338 Plaue, Mobil: +49-172-6623621, Tel: +49-36207-56213. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1852	water collected for the Burgbräu Plaue brewery.
1893	dye tracing experiment with salt between the Gera in Liebenstein and the Spring is successful.
1959	declared a natural monument.
1969	end of water use by the Burgbräu Plaue brewery.
1980	special 10 Pfennig stamp issued by the German Post Office of the GDR with the motif of the Plaue spring.

Description

The Spring von Plaue (Plaue Spring) is a shallow karst spring, a shallow opening under a block of shell limestone. The catchment area is the Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic) of the Reinsberge around Plaue and the Gosseler Plateau. Plaue lies in the upper Gera valley, where the Wilde Gera (Wild Gera) and Zahme Gera (Tame Gera) meet. The considerable yield of the Spring contributes to the young river. The water flows through Plaue and then flows into the Gera. This water used to power a mill, which the locals call the E-Werk because it generated hydroelectricity for Plaue at the beginning of the 20th century. The local brewery Burgbräu Plaue also used water near the spring for brewing beer as early as 1852.

The Plaue spring is the second-largest spring in Thuringia after the Salsa spring near Nordhausen. Both are karst springs, and both are fed by loosing rivers in the surrounding area in addition to their catchment area. The Plaue spring is fed by water from the Wild Gera, which partially seeps away near Liebenstein, and from the small Gissel stream, which seeps away completely. The Plaue Spring consists of eight larger karst springs and a number of small springs. Five springs have also been identified in the stream bed. The largest spring, with its characteristic location under a shell limestone block, has a flow rate of 600 to 800 litres per second. The total discharge is not stated as it could only be estimated due to the large number of springs.

The hydrological background has been researched for a long time. As early as 1893, the connection between the Gera in Liebenstein and the spring was proven by the introduction of 20 hundredweights of salt within one and a half hours. After 4.5 hours, the salt content in the spring increased from 0.6 % to 1.2 %. At the time, the relatively slow movement of around one kilometre per hour and the dilution of the salt was explained by the existence of an underground lake. The rather unusually even flow for a karst spring also suggests the existence of an underground lake that serves as an equalising reservoir.