As far as the frontier the Oder flows through a well-defined valley,.
Above, on the western side, and partly lying on the site of the old ramparts, is the residential quarter, consisting mainly of villas and commanding a fine prospect of the Oder valley.
Situated on the high road from Berlin to Silesia, and having an extensive system of water communication by means of the Oder and its canals to the Vistula and the Elbe, and being an important railway centre, it has a lively export trade, which is further fostered by its three annual fairs, held respectively at Reminiscere (the second Sunday in Lent), St Margaret's day and at Martinmas.
With the trifling exception of the south-east of Bautzen, which sends its waters by the Neisse to the Oder, Saxony lies wholly in the basin of the Elbe, which has a navigable course of 72 m.
He extended the Saxon frontier almost to the Oder, improved the Saxon forces by training and equipment, established new marks, and erected forts on the frontiers for which he provided regular garrisons.