Zwickauer Mulde in the context of Schöneck, Saxony

The Mulde (German pronunciation: [ˈmʊldə] ) is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is 124 kilometres (77 mi) long.

The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (with Freiberg on its banks), both rising from the Ore Mountains. From here the river runs northwards through Saxony (Grimma, Wurzen, Eilenburg, Bad Düben) and Saxony-Anhalt (Jeßnitz and Dessau, the old capital of Anhalt). The Mulde flows into the Elbe 3 kilometres (2 mi) north of Dessau.

The Freiberger Mulde (also called the Östliche Mulde or Eastern Mulde; Czech: Freiberská Mulda) is the right-hand, 124-kilometre-long (77 mi) headstream of the river Mulde, whose catchment covers an area of 2,981 km (1,151 sq mi) in the Czech Republic and Germany in central Saxony. It has a volumetric flow of 35.3 m/s (1,250 cu ft/s) which is greater than that of the other headstream, the Zwickauer Mulde (or Westliche Mulde or Western Mulde) who flow is about 26.4 m/s (930 cu ft/s), which is nevertheless the longer stream.

The source of the river is in the Ore Mountains, near Moldava, in the Czech Republic. It runs northwest, crossing the border with Germany after a few kilometers, to Freiberg (hence the name), and further northwest through Nossen, Döbeln and Leisnig. A few kilometers north of Colditz, the Freiberger Mulde is joined by the Zwickauer Mulde to form the Mulde. The Mulde is a tributary of the Elbe.

The Chemnitz is a river in Saxony, Germany, a right tributary of the Zwickauer Mulde. It gave name to the city of Chemnitz, where it is formed by the smaller rivers Zwönitz and Würschnitz. It joins the Zwickauer Mulde near Wechselburg, south of Rochlitz and has a total length of 75 km (47 mi).

On 22 June 1930, a bridge over the Chemnitz River collapsed, plunging 200 spectators who had been crowding on the bridge into the water and injuring 90 of them.

The Western Ore Mountains (German: Westerzgebirge) is a natural region that forms the westernmost part of the Ore Mountains in the German state of Saxony. It is also part of the major landscape unit known as the Saxon Highlands and Uplands. It extends eastwards to include the valley of the Schwarzwasser, and, below its mouth, that of the Zwickauer Mulde, and incorporates the western parts of the former major units known as the Lower and Upper Western Ore Mountains (Unteres und Oberes Westerzgebirge), no. 423, as well as the Southern Slopes of the Ore Mountains (Südabdachung des Erzgebirges), no. 420.

In the current classification system of natural regions, the Western Ore Mountains only covers the western part of the region that bore the same name in the preceding system, whilst the eastern part of that region is now part of the Central Ore Mountains.

The Central or Middle Ore Mountains (German: Mittlere Erzgebirge or Mittelerzgebirge) is a natural region that forms the central-western part of the Ore Mountains in the German federal state of Saxony. It is part of the overarching unit, the Saxon Highlands and Uplands. It forms the eastern part of the former major units, the Lower Western Ore Mountains (Unteres Westerzgebirge, 423) and Upper Western Ore Mountains (Oberes Westerzgebirge, 421) and is separated from the Eastern Ore Mountains in the east by the (included) valley of the Flöha, and from the Western Ore Mountains in the west by the (excluded) valley of the Schwarzwasser and, below its mouth, by the Zwickauer Mulde.

The upper regions of the Central Ore Mountains are part of the Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park.

Colditz Castle (or Schloss Colditz in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the river Zwickauer Mulde, a tributary of the River Elbe. It had the first wildlife park in Germany when, during 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest menageries in Europe.

The castle gained international fame as the site of Oflag IV-C, a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for "incorrigible" Allied officers who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps.