The Bârzava or Brzava (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: ''Bârzava'', Serbian: Брзава / ''Brzava'', Hungarian: ''Berzava'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Bersau'') 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 ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. The Bârzava is part of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

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, ...

and flows into the river

Timiș The Timiș or Tamiš (, , , ) is a river that flows through the Banat region of Romania and Serbia and joins the Danube near Pančevo, in northern Serbia. Due to its position in the region, it has been labeled as the "spine of the Banat". N ...

(or Tamiš). It is 166 km long and has a drainage area of 1,190 km².

Name

The

forms ''Bârzava'' and ''Bêrzava'' (last form still used in 19th century newspapers) are of Slavic origin and mean "birch river", from the Slavi
"breza"
meaning "birch" (see also

Breaza Breaza () is a town in Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. The town center consists of at least two former villages, ''Podu Vadului'' and ''Breaza de Sus'', which were later merged. Today, ten villages are administratively part of the town: Breaza ...

; cf. Latvian river names ''Bērzupe'' and ''Bārzupe'', i.e. 'birch river'). Alternatively, the name could also come from the Serbianbr>"brz"
meaning 'quick', thus meaning "the quick river" in

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...

Romania

The Bârzava springs out in the Semenic Mountains part of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

, western Romania, east of the city of

Reșița Reșița (; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caraș-Severin County. It is located in the Banat region. The city had a population of 58,393 in 2021. It administers six villages: Câlnic (''Kölnök''), Cuptoare (''Kupt ...

. The river runs to the northeast, close to the Piatra Goznei peak and through the village of Vâliug, reaching the northernmost part of the Semenic mountains, where it turns to the northwest. It runs through the cities of

and Bocșa the largest settlements on its course, and continues next to the villages of

Berzovia Berzovia () is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Banat, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to ...

, and Șoșdea, where the Bârzava leaves the mountain region of

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

for the lower western plain. This is also where the river turns to the southwest, spills in several parallel streams and flows next to the villages of Sculea, Gătaia, Sângeorge, Rovinița Mare and Denta. From this point, until its confluence into the Tamiš, the Bârzava's river bed is channeled. After it flows next to the village of Partoș, it forms the Romanian-Serbian border for a few kilometers and after the course of 127 km through Romania, the Bârzava enters the Serbian province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

near the hamlet of

Markovićevo Markovićevo (; ) is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Plandište municipality, South Banat District, Vojvodina province. Name Older Serbian name for the village was ''Kriva Bara'' (Крива Бара). In Hungarian the village is kn ...

Serbia

The Brzava runs next to the villages of Konak and Banatska Dubica, where it becomes part of the largest canal system in Serbia, Canal Danube-Tisa-Danube. The only remaining settlement on the river is the village of Jarkovac, before it empties into the Tamiš, south of the village of Botoš. The river's complete 39 km course through Serbia is statistically classified as a Canal Brzava, but it is not navigable.

Tributaries

The following rivers are tributaries to the river Bârzava (from source to mouth): Left: Crivaia Mare, Grindieș, Văliug, Lișcovu Mare, Râul Alb, Secu, Sodol, Doman, Bârzăvița, Moravița (upper Bârzava), Copăș, Moscădin, Fizeș, Boruga, Gorova, Ciopa, Moravița Right: Berzovița, Alibeg, Pârâul Băilor Mari, Bolnovăț, Gozna, Izvoru Rău, Breazova, Groposu, Pietrosu, Țerova, Cremeni,

Vornic Vornic was a historical rank for an official in charge of justice and internal affairs. He was overseeing the Royal Court. It originated in the Slovak '' nádvorník''. In the 16th century in Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrilli ...

, Stoiconic, Birdanca

Settlements located near the river

In Romania: Văliug,

, Bocșa,

, Gătaia, Denta In Serbia:

, Konak, Banatska Dubica, Jarkovac

References

* Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo; * ''Atlas svijeta'', Fifth edition (1974); Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod {{Portal bar, Romania Rivers of Romania Rivers of Serbia Geography of Vojvodina Banat Reșița Rivers of Timiș County Rivers of Caraș-Severin County