The Dragonja (; it, Dragogna) is a long

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula. It is a meandering river with a very branched basin and a small quantity of water. It has a pluvial regime and often dries up in summer. It features very diverse

living environment Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

s and is home to a number of animal and plant species. The Dragonja has been a matter of a territorial dispute between Croatia and Slovenia, with its lowest portion ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'' the border of the two countries.

Course

The river is the third-longest river in Istria, after the Raša and Mirna rivers. It is the largest river of the Slovenian coast that flows into the Adriatic Sea. It is also the only Slovenian river that does not flow through settlements and that flows in its entirety over the flysch terrain. The Dragonja originates from several sources in the Šavrin Hills and flows west to the Gulf of Piran, part of the northern

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

. It is joined by two larger tributaries from the right side (Rokava and the Drnica Creeks) and one larger tributary from the left side (Poganja Creek). The

Sečovlje Salina Landscape Park Sečovlje (; it, Sicciole) is a settlement in the Municipality of Piran in the Littoral region of Slovenia. Name The modern Slovene name ''Sečovlje'' is an artificial creation dating from after 1945. It was coined from the Italian name of the s ...

with the Sečovlje Saltworks is located at its mouth. The lowest part of the Dragonja in the Municipality of Piran has been protected since 1990 as a natural monument.

Name

The Dragonja River was first attested in written sources as ''Argao'' (

ablative In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; sometimes abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages; it is sometimes used to express motion away from something, among other uses. ...

''Argaone''), and in later sources as ''Argaone'' (in 670), ''per Argaonem'' (in 1035), ''Dragugne'' (in 1100), and ''super flumine Dragone'' (in 1389). The modern Slovene and Italian names (with initial ''D-'') are derived from Slavic *''Dorgon’a'', from Romance ''d-'' (< ''ad'' 'at') + ''Argaon-'' (with metathesis). Ultimately, the name is of pre-Romance origin, presumably based on the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

root *''h₂arg’-'' 'shining'. Non-linguistic accounts explain the name as based on the meandering course of the river, resembling a dragon ( it, drago).

Territorial dispute

In the lower reaches of the Dragonja, there is a territorial dispute between Slovenia and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

: while Croatian authorities claim that the Dragonja is a border river, Slovenia claims a strip of territory south to the river as well. , the last of Dragonja's course is

border of Croatia and Slovenia. The disputed territory contains four hamlets and Croatia's

Plovanija Plovanija is a village in Croatia, near the border with Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria t ...

border crossing. The Dragonja River became a district border river after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, when the Yugoslav-administered Zone B of the Free Territory of Trieste (FTT) was split into the Koper and Buje districts. After dissolution of the FTT in 1954 and transfer of its former Zone B to Yugoslavia, the Koper district became a part of Slovenia while the Buje district was attached to Croatia.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of the Slovene Littoral Rivers of Croatia Drainage basins of the Adriatic Sea Croatia–Slovenia border Istria Slovenian Riviera Natura 2000 in Slovenia