The Blanice () is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, a left

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the Sázava River. It flows through the South Bohemian and Central Bohemian regions. It is long.

Etymology

The name is derived from the old Czech word ''blan'', which meant 'meadow'. The name referred to the character of the territory through which it flows. The river is sometimes called Vlašimská Blanice to distinguish it from the eponymous tributary of the Otava.

Characteristic

The Blanice originates in the territory of

Rodná Rodná is a municipality and village in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 90 inhabitants. Rodná lies approximately north-east of Tábor, north-east of České Budějovice, and south-east of Prague ...

in the

Křemešník Highlands The Křemešník Highlands () are highlands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mainly in the Vysočina Region, but it also extends into the South Bohemian and Central Bohemian regions. With an area of , it i ...

at an elevation of and flows to

Soběšín Soběšín is a municipality and village in Kutná Hora District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants. Administrative division Soběšín consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population accordi ...

, where it enters the Sázava River at an elevation of . It is long. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

has an area of . The longest tributaries of the Blanice are:

Settlements

The most notable settlement on the river is the town of

Vlašim Vlašim (; ) is a town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. Vlašim is known for the Vlašim Castle and its English landscape garden, English park. Administrative division Vla� ...

. The river flows through the municipal territories of

Pohnání Pohnání is a municipality and village in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 80 inhabitants. Pohnání lies approximately north-east of Tábor, north-east of České Budějovice, and south-east of ...

, Dolní Hrachovice,

Mladá Vožice Mladá Vožice () is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,700 inhabitants. Administrative division Mladá Vožice consists of 15 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 ...

, Běleč,

Šebířov Šebířov is a municipality and village in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. Administrative division Šebířov consists of 11 municipal parts (in brackets population according to th ...

, Kamberk,

Zvěstov Zvěstov is a municipality and village in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. Administrative division Zvěstov consists of 11 municipal parts (in brackets population according to th ...

Louňovice pod Blaníkem Louňovice pod Blaníkem () is a market town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. Administrative division Louňovice pod Blaníkem consists of five municipal parts (in brackets po ...

, Ostrov,

Kondrac Kondrac is a municipality and village in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Administrative division Kondrac consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to t ...

, Hradiště, Vlašim, Ctiboř, Tehov,

Libež Libež is a municipality and village in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The coun ...

, Všechlapy,

Divišov Divišov () is a market town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,800 inhabitants. It lies near the Sázava (river), Sázava and Blanice (Sázava), Blanice rivers. Administrative division Diviš ...

Český Šternberk Český Šternberk () is a market town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants. It is known for the Český Šternberk Castle, located on the cliffs above the market town. Geography ...

and

Bodies of water

There are 934 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the fishpond Smikov with an area of , built on the Chotýšanka. There are four fishponds built directly on the Blanice.

Nature

The most common fish in the river are common chub,

common roach The roach, or rutilus roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), also known as the common roach, is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the family Cyprinidae, native to most of Europe and western Asia. Fish called roach can be any species of the genera ''Rut ...

and

gudgeon A gudgeon is a socket-like, cylindrical (i.e., ''female'') fitting attached to one component to enable a pivoting or hinging connection to a second component. The second component carries a pintle fitting, the male counterpart to the gudgeon, ...

. Rare is the occurrence of

European eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel. Their life history was a mystery for thousands of years, and mating in the wild has not yet been observed. The five stages of their development were originally thought to be differe ...

. The riverbed in the section between

and Kamberk is protected as Vlašimská Blanice Nature Monument with an area of . The Blanice then flows through the Blaník Protected Landscape Area. The wider area, which includes both sections in protected areas, is also protected as Vlašimská Blanice

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

. The reason for protection is the occurrence of rare and endangered species, especially

thick shelled river mussel ''Unio crassus'', the thick shelled river mussel, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic animal, aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family (biology), family Unionidae, the river mussels.MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Unio crassus Phil ...

brook lamprey The brook lamprey (''Lampetra planeri''), also known as the European brook lamprey and the western brook lamprey is a small European lamprey species that exclusively inhabits freshwater environments. The species is related to, but distinct from, ...

, hermit beetle and

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

Tourism

The Blanice is suitable for river tourism during spring, when the river level is higher. About of the river is navigable.

References

External links

River flow at Radonice I station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the

Czech Hydrometeorological Institute The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI; ) is the central state office of the Czech Republic in the fields of air quality, meteorology, climatology and hydrology. It is an organization established by the Ministry of the Environment of the Cz ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanice (Sazava) Rivers of the Central Bohemian Region Rivers of the South Bohemian Region Rivers of the Czech Republic