The Mže (; ) 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 ...

and shortly in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It flows through

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

in Germany and through the

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

and Central Bohemian regions. It is the upper course of the

Berounka The Berounka () is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Vltava River. It flows through the Plzeň Region, Plzeň and Central Bohemian Region, Central Bohemian regions to Prague. It is formed by the confluence of the Mže and Radbu ...

, but usually is considered a separate river. Until its confluence with the

Radbuza The Radbuza (; ) is a river in the Czech Republic, the secondary source river of the Berounka River. It flows through the Plzeň Region. It is long, making it the List of rivers of the Czech Republic, 17th longest river in the Czech Republic. Et ...

, when it further continues as Berounka, the Mže is long.

Etymology

According to one theory, the name is of Slavic origin and is derived from the verb ''mžít'' (i.e. 'drizzle'). According to the second theory, the name is of Germanic origin and is connected with the root ''mighia'' ('urine', meaning "smelly water"). There is also a theory that the name is of Celtic origin, derived from the word ''mŏsā'' (meaning 'marsh', 'swamp') and related to the names of the rivers Mieß, Maas and Mosel. Originally, the entire stream including the Berounka was called Mže (, ) and the name first appeared in the 12th century in ''

Chronica Boemorum The ''Chronica Boemorum'' (Chronicle of the Czechs, or Bohemians) is the first Latin chronicle in which the history of the Czech lands has been consistently and relatively fully described. It was written in 1119–1125 by Cosmas of Prague. The ...

''. The name was written as ''Mse'', ''Msa'' and ''Mzye''. From the 17th century, the lower course started to be named Berounka, but the name Mže still appeared as a name for the entire stream at the end of the 19th century. In order to avoid confusion, an initiative was created in 2008 to rename the lower course back to the historical name Mže, but it was unsuccessful due to the strongly adopted current name.

Characteristic

From a water management point of view, the Berounka and Mže are two different rivers with separate numbering of river kilometres. The Mže originates in the territory of Mähring in the Upper Palatine Forest at an elevation of , forms the state boundary for a short distance of and then flows to

, where it merges with the Radbuza River at an elevation of and continues as Berounka. It is long, of which is in Germany. In the Czech Republic, it is long, which would make it one of the 25 longest rivers in the country, even if taken separately from the Berounka. 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 , of which is in the Czech Republic. The longest tributaries of the Mže are:

Settlements

The most notable settlements on the river are the towns of

Tachov Tachov (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Mže River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Tachov ...

and

Stříbro Stříbro (; ) is a town in Tachov District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,100 inhabitants. The historic town centre with the Renaissance Stříbro bridge is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech ...

and the city of

Bodies of water

There are two reservoirs on the Mže: Hracholusky with an area of and Lučina with an area of . There are 198 bodies of water larger than 1 ha in the basin area.

Fauna

The upper course of the river is home to a population of

Eurasian beaver The Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber'') or European beaver is a species of beaver widespread across Eurasia, with a rapidly increasing population of at least 1.5 million in 2020. The Eurasian beaver was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur ...

Tourism

The Mže is suitable for river tourism and belongs to the rivers suitable for less experienced paddlers. However, it is often not passable in the summer with higher temperatures and lower rainfall.

References

External links

River flow at VD Hracholusky 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:Mze Rivers of the Plzeň Region Rivers of Bavaria International rivers of Europe Czech Republic–Germany border Rivers of the Upper Palatine Forest Rivers of the Czech Republic Rivers of Germany Border rivers