The Stropnice () 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

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, a right

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

Malše The Malše () is a river in the Czech Republic and Austria, a right tributary of the Vltava River. It flows through Upper Austria and the South Bohemian Region. It is long. Etymology The name is derived from the personal name Malch. The land thro ...

River. It originates in

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

, but quickly leaves the territory of Austria and flows further through the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

. It is long.

Etymology

The name is derived from the Slavic word ''strop''. While in modern Czech the word means 'ceiling', its earlier meaning is unclear. According to one theory, it was the name given to the log on which the

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous b ...

rested, and the name could reflect the presence of many

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

on the river. The settlements Stropnice (formerly a market town, today called

Horní Stropnice Horní Stropnice (until 1950 Stropnice; ) is a municipality and village in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,500 inhabitants. Administrative division Horní Stropnice consists of 21 mun ...

), Dlouhá Stropnice (today part of Horní Stropnice) and Stropnice (today Dolní Stropnice, part of Římov) were named after the river.

Characteristic

The Stropnice originates in the territory of Moorbad Harbach in the

Gratzen Mountains The Gratzen Mountains ( or, more rarely, ''Gratzener Gebirge''; ) are part of the Bohemian Massif and run along either side of the border between the Czech Republic and the Austrian states of Upper and Lower Austria. Geography The low mountain ...

at an elevation of and flows to

Doudleby Doudleby () is a municipality and village in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Administrative division Doudleby consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population a ...

, where it enters the Malše River at an elevation of . It is long, of which is in the Czech Republic (including the stretch that partly forms the Austrian-Czech border). 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 Stropnice are:

Settlements

There are no significant towns on the river. The river flows through the municipal territories of Moorbad Harbach,

, Nové Hrady, Petříkov, Olešnice, Jílovice,

Borovany Borovany () is a town in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,200 inhabitants. Trocnov, today a part of Borovany, is known as the birthplace of one of the most notable people of Czech hist ...

Trhové Sviny Trhové Sviny (; ) is a town in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,300 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mo ...

, Ostrolovský Újezd, Strážkovice, Komařice, Římov and

Bodies of water

The middle course of the river flows through the

Třeboň Basin The Třeboň Basin () is a structural basin and Geomorphological division of the Czech Republic, geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the South Bohemian Region and it is named after the town of Třeboň. It is known f ...

, which is known for abundance of fishponds. There are 929 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the fishpond Žárský with an area of , located on the Žárský potok. The Humenice Reservoir is built on the Stropnice. It was built in 1985–1988 on an area of . The main purpose is the protection of agricultural land.

Tourism

The Stropnice is occasionally suitable for river tourism, but only in spring after heavy rains or melting snow.

References

External links

River flow at Pašinovice 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 ...

{{authority control Rivers of the South Bohemian Region Rivers of Upper Austria International rivers of Europe Austria–Czech Republic border Rivers of the Czech Republic Rivers of Austria Border rivers