The Dubysa, at 131 km, is the 15th longest river solely in Lithuania. It originates just a few kilometers from

Lake Rėkyva The Lake Rėkyva () is a lake on the southern edge of the city of Šiauliai in Lithuania. The lake is named after Rėkyva, which is a southern part of the city of Šiauliai. The lake's western and south-western shores are declared the Rėkyva Bot ...

near

Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...

city in northern Lithuania. At first it flows south, before turning southeast at

Lyduvėnai Lyduvėnai is a small town in the , Raseiniai District Municipality, Kaunas County in central Lithuania. The town is 15 km north of Raseiniai and is near the confluence of the Dubysa and rivers. Lyduvėnai is the home of the longest (599 met ...

and southwest near

Ariogala Ariogala () is a town in central Lithuania. It is located on the Dubysa River, which flows through the town. Name Ariogala is the Lithuanian name of the town. Versions of the name in other languages include Samogitian: ''Ariuogala'', Polish: ...

. Dubysa is a

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

n river. The first few kilometres of Dybysa are also known as ''Genupis'' or ''Šventupis''. Dubysa2

The Dubysa has about 40 tributaries, the largest being Kražantė on the right and Šiaušė, Gryžuva, and

Gynėvė The Gynėvė is a river of Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for and has a basin area of . It is a left tributary of the Dubysa. The Gynėvė starts near Šetkaimys village, from Betygala. It flows mostly southwards, at the upper cours ...

on the left. Kražantė (86 km) is almost twice as long as the upper reaches of Dubysa before the confluence (47 km). Even though Kražantė's basin is somewhat smaller, it should be considered the main river. Dubysa is mainly fed by rainfall and melting snow, therefore its water levels change rapidly. The maximum depth is about 4 m. The Dubysa valley is one of the highest and widest in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. The valley reaches 20–40 m in height and 300–500 m in width. It was formed during the last glacial period. The

Lyduvėnai Bridge Lyduvėnai Railway Bridge () is one of the longest bridges in Lithuania.railroad bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

across the valley, which is the highest and longest such bridge in Lithuania. The bridge was first built by the Germans during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1918 an iron railway bridge replaced it. Dubysa Baseino plotas

Dubysa is connected with the

Venta River The Venta (Latvian pronunciation , Lithuanian , , , Livonian ''Vǟnta joug'') is a river in north-western Lithuania and western Latvia. Its source is near Kuršėnai in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County. It flows into the Baltic Sea at Vents ...

by the abandoned Windawski Canal started in 1825 by the authorities of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. The canal is 15 km in length and was supposed to have 20 locks. The intention was to connect the

Neman Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

basin with the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

through the port of

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

. The lower reaches of Neman were under

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n control. The work was interrupted by the

Uprising of 1831 The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 ...

. The work resumed only at the beginning of the 20th century but was interrupted again by the World War I. After the war there was no purpose for the canal as Lithuania gained control over the

Klaipėda region The Klaipėda Region () or Memel Territory ( or ''Memelgebiet'') was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when, as Memelland, it was put under the administr ...

and lower reaches of Neman. The canal was based on the Kartuva rivulet. Dubysa

ichthyological Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

reserve was established in 1974. It protects spawning areas of

vimba ''Vimba'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related fishes. Ths fishes in this genus are found in Europe and western Asia. ''Vimba'' are found in bra ...

and other ca. 25 species of fish. The reserve protects Dubysa below Ariogala down to its mouth (some 25 km of the river).

Dubysa Regional Park The Dubysa, at 131 km, is the 15th longest river solely in Lithuania. It originates just a few kilometers from Lake Rėkyva near Šiauliai city in northern Lithuania. At first it flows south, before turning southeast at Lyduvėnai and so ...

was established in 1992 to protect the Dubysa valley, landscape and cultural heritage, including the birthplace of poet

Maironis Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, ; – 28 June 1932) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and the greatest and most-known Lithuanian poet, especially of the period of the Lithuanian press ban. He was called the Bard of Lithuanian Na ...

. The park also encourages eco-tourism. It covers is located in the territories of the

Kelmė Kelmė (; ; Yiddish: קעלם) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, a historical region of Samogitia. It has a population of 8,206 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė District Municipality. Name Kelmė's name is likely derived from t ...

and Raseiniai district municipalities.

References

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External links

Map of Dubysa basin

Kurtuvėnai Regional Park
{{Tributaries of the Neman Rivers of Lithuania