The Svitava () 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 Svratka River. It flows through the

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

and South Moravian regions. It is long.

Etymology

The river's name referred to its clear water and was derived from ''svítat'', which meant " eclear" in

Old Czech The Czech language developed at the close of the 1st millennium from common West Slavic languages, West Slavic. Until the early 20th century, it was known as ''Bohemian''. Early West Slavic Among the innovations in common West Slavic languag ...

. The river is first documented in 1125 in '' Chronica Boemorum''.

Characteristic

The Svitava originates in the territory of

Svitavy Svitavy (; ) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is the birthplace of Oskar Schindler and the centre of the Czech Esperanto movement. The historic town centre is well pr ...

in the

Svitavy Uplands The Svitavy Uplands or Svitavy Hills () are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Pardubice Region and it belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country. Geomorphology The Svitavy Uplands is a ...

at an elevation of and flows to

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, where it enters the Svratka 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 Svitava are:

Settlements

The river valley is densely populated and there are many relatively notable settlements on the river. Apart from the city of Brno, the most significant towns on the river are

Blansko Blansko (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Svitava River on the border of the Moravian Karst. It is mainly an industrial town. Administrative division Blansko consi ...

and

, named after the river. The river flows through the municipal territories of Svitavy, Hradec nad Svitavou, Banín,

Březová nad Svitavou Březová nad Svitavou (until 1949 Březová; ) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,600 inhabitants. Geography Březová nad Svitavou is located about south of Svitavy and north of Brno. It ...

, Brněnec, Rozhraní, Stvolová, Skrchov, Letovice, Svitávka,

Boskovice Boskovice (; ) is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The area of the historic town centre, Jewish quarter, château complex and castle ruin is well preserved and is protec ...

Skalice nad Svitavou Skalice nad Svitavou is a municipality and village in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. Skalice nad Svitavou lies approximately north of Blansko, north of Brno, and south-east o ...

, Lhota Rapotina, Doubravice nad Svitavou,

Rájec-Jestřebí Rájec-Jestřebí () is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. Administrative division Rájec-Jestřebí consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to ...

, Ráječko, Blansko, Olomučany, Adamov, Bílovice nad Svitavou and Brno.

Bodies of water

There are 583 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the Letovice Reservoir with an area of , built on the Křetínka. Two fishponds are built on the upper course of the Svitava.

Use

There are a large number of mills and hydroelectric power stations on the river.

Tourism

The Svitava is suitable for river tourism. The river is navigable all year round, but there are many

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s on it. The most popular section for paddlers is between Letovice and Blansko.

References

External links

River flow at Bílovice nad Svitavou station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute {{authority control Rivers of the Pardubice Region Rivers of the South Moravian Region Rivers of the Czech Republic