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The Great Morava ( sr, Велика Морава, Velika Morava, ) is the final section of the Morava ( sr-Cyrl, Морава), a major river system in Serbia.


Etymology

According to Predrag Komatina from the Institute for Byzantine Studies in Belgrade, the Great Morava is named after the Merehani, an
early Slavic The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for the Sla ...
tribe who were still unconquered by the
Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
during the time of the
Bavarian Geographer The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" ( la, Geographus Bavarus) is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin medieval text containing a list of the tribes in Central- Eastern Europe, headed (). The name "Bavarian Geographer" wa ...
. However, after 845, the Bulgars added these Slavs to their ''societas'' (they are last mentioned in 853).


Length

The Great Morava begins at the confluence of the South Morava and the
West Morava West Morava ( sr, Западна Морава, Zapadna Morava, ) is a river in Central Serbia, a 184 km-long headstream of the Great Morava, which it forms with the South Morava. It was known as Brongus in antiquity. Origin The West Mora ...
, located near the village of
Stalać Stalać ( sr-cyr, Сталаћ; ) is a village located in the municipality of Ćićevac, Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 1,521 inhabitants. Features Stalać lies at the banks of South Morava, near its confluen ...
, a major railway junction in
Central Serbia Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nor ...
. From there to its confluence with the Danube northeast of the city of
Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According t ...
, the Velika Morava is 185 km long. With its longer branch, the West Morava, it is 493 km long. The South Morava, which represents the natural headwaters of the Morava, used to be longer than the West Morava, but due to the regulations of river bed and melioration, it is shorter nowadays. At one time (regulations were made on all three branches making them shorter) the Morava was over 600 km long. Today, the most distant water source in the Morava watershed is the source of the
Ibar River The Ibar ( sr-cyrl, Ибар, ), also known as the Ibër and Ibri ( sq, Ibër, Ibri), is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro, northern Kosovo and central Serbia, with a total length of . The river begins in the Hajla mountain, in Ro� ...
, the right and longest tributary of the Zapadna Morava, originating in Montenegro, which gives the Ibar-West Morava-Great Morava river system a length of 550 km, which still makes it the longest waterway in the
Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whol ...
.


Geography

The drainage basin of the Velika Morava is 6,126 km2, and of the whole Morava system is 38,207 km2 (of that, 1,237 km2 are in Bulgaria and 44 km2 are in the Republic of Macedonia). This drainage basin covers 42,38% the area of Serbia. Velika Morava flows through the most fertile and densely populated area of Central Serbia, called the Morava river valley or Pomoravlje. Pomoravlje was formed in a fossil bay of a vast, ancient
Pannonian Sea The Pannonian Sea was a shallow ancient lake, where the Pannonian Basin in Central Europe is now. The Pannonian Sea existed from about 10 Ma (million years ago) until 1 Ma, during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, when marine sediments were depo ...
which dried out 200,000 years ago. Through about half of its length it passes through beautiful Bagrdan gorge (Bagrdanska klisura). In past centuries, it was known for its seemingly endless forests, but there is almost nothing left today of those old woods. It flows into the Danube between the villages of Kulič & Dubravica, in the coal mining basin of
Kostolac The City municipality of Kostolac ( sr-cyrl, Градска општина Костолац, Gradska opština Kostolac is a town in Serbia and one of two city municipalities which constitute the City of Požarevac. It is situated on the Danube ri ...
, one of two major mines in its drainage basin (the other one being
Resava coal basin Resava (Serbian Cyrillic: Ресава) refers to several toponyms and related topics, all of them located around the river Resava in central Serbia: * Resava (river), a river * Resava, a region, surrounding the river * Resava, a monastery * R ...
, in valley of the Velika Morava's right tributary Resava). The average discharge of the Velika Morava on its confluence with Danube is 255 m³/s (120 m³/s brought by Zapadna Morava, 100 m³/s by Južna Morava, and 35 m³/s amounted by the Velika Morava itself).


Tributaries

Tributaries of the Velika Morava are short, the longest one being the Jasenica (79 km) and others rarely exceeding 50 km. Right tributaries are: Jovanovačka reka, Crnica, Ravanica, Resava and Resavica (or Resavčina). Left tributaries are more numerous, including: Kalenićka reka,
Lugomir The Lugomir ( Serbian Cyrillic: Лугомир) is a river in central Serbia, a 57 km-long right tributary to the Velika Morava river. It flows through many villages including Majur. Origin The Lugomir originates from two headstreams, the ...
,
Belica River The Belica ( Serbian Cyrillic: Белица) is a left tributary of the Great Morava in Central Serbia. It is created by the confluence of smaller rivers Voljavica and Bešnjaja, flows through a deforested valley to the town Jagodina ) , image_ ...
, Lepenica, Rača, and Jasenica. Many of them don't carry much water, but in rainy years, they are known for causing major floods, which has been a big problem for the entire Morava river system. Before it meets the Danube, the Velika Morava splits, creating a 47 km long arm called the Jezava, which flows into the Danube separately, in the town of
Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According t ...
. It's joined by a longer (51 km) river, the Ralja, from the left.


Improvements

The Velika Morava represents a textbook example of a
meandering river A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
. It used to be 245 km long, but directly from its origin to the Danube, there is only 118 km in distance; its meandering ratio is 118:245, one of the highest in Europe. The river bed is 80–200 m wide, and the depth as much as 10 m. Notorious for its flooding, the Morava has changed its course many times, and old river bends have become small lakes, known as ''moravište''. Južna Morava, with extremely high erosion in its drainage basin, brings huge amounts of silt which is elevating Velika Morava's river bed, making floods even more frequent. Beginning in 1966, huge works began on all three rivers to prevent future floodings. Series of reservoirs were made on tributaries (lakes Bovan, Ćelije, and others) and meanders were cut through, making river courses straightened, which made them shorter (in the case of the Velika Morava, from 245 to 185 km). It was projected that it would shorten by as much as 152 km, and that it would become navigable again. The Morava and its tributaries still flood often, so its bed remains elevated, despite dozens of gravel-digging companies in cities and villages near the river's upper course (
Lozovik Lozovik is a small town in the municipality of Velika Plana Velika Plana ( sr-Cyrl, Велика Плана, pronounced ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District of Serbia. As of 2011, the town has 16,088 inhabitants, whi ...
, Lugavčina, Lučica, Velika Plana, etc.).


Navigation

Today, Velika Morava is navigable for only 3 km from its mouth. In the past it was navigable all the way to the city of Ćuprija, for about 3/4 of its length. But, as mentioned before, Velika Morava gets buried under the materials brought by the Južna Morava. When the melioration program began in 1966, it was projected it would become navigable again, in the first phase to Ćuprija, and in the next all the way to
Stalać Stalać ( sr-cyr, Сталаћ; ) is a village located in the municipality of Ćićevac, Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 1,521 inhabitants. Features Stalać lies at the banks of South Morava, near its confluen ...
, making it 100% navigable. None of this was accomplished. From time to time, the idea of digging Danube-Morava- Vardar-
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
See Thessaloniki#Economy a navigable canal pops up in the media. Technical problems of making this waterway would be enormous (neither the Morava nor the Vardar are navigable), the usefulness of its creation is debatable (whether the route would be used much), and the estimated costs are deemed prohibitive.


Settlements

Although Morava valley has always been the most populous part of Serbia, disastrous floodings prevented people from settling on the river banks itself. The only urban settlement on the river banks is Ćuprija, but it often suffers from floods (including several times in the 1990s). Other urban settlements, built a little further away from the river itself, include:
Paraćin Paraćin ( sr-Cyrl, Параћин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. It is located in the valley of the Velika Morava river, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac. In 2011 the town had a ...
,
Jagodina ) , image_shield = Jagodina-grb.png , image_flag = FLAG Jagodina.png , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = File:Municipalities of Serbia Jagodina.png , map_caption = Location of Jagodina w ...
,
Batočina Batočina ( sr, Баточина, ) is a town and municipality located in the Šumadija District The Šumadija District ( sr, / , ) is one of eight administrative districts of Šumadija and Western Serbia. It is located in the central parts ...
, Lapovo,
Svilajnac Svilajnac ( sr-cyr, Свилајнац, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 9,131 inhabitants, while the municipality has 23,391 inhabitants. It is located south-east o ...
, Velika Plana, Požarevac and
Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. According t ...
. Smaller places and villages include:
Varvarin Varvarin ( sr-cyr, Варварин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Rasina District of central Serbia. Population of the town is 2,133, and population of the municipality is 17,772. History The town is notable as the site of an 1810 b ...
, Glogovac, Markovac, Veliko Orašje, Miloševac and
Lozovik Lozovik is a small town in the municipality of Velika Plana Velika Plana ( sr-Cyrl, Велика Плана, pronounced ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District of Serbia. As of 2011, the town has 16,088 inhabitants, whi ...
.


Tradition

The Romans called it ''Margus'' (in addition to that, the Zapadna Morava was named ''Brongus'', and Južna Morava was ''Angrus''). The modern-day city of Ćuprija existed in Roman times as ''Horreum Margi'' (meaning "The Granary of Margus"). In Serbian history, its valley became the cradle of the modern Serbian state in the beginning of the 19th century (so called "Moravian Serbia"; Moravska Srbija). Many songs were written in celebration of Morava and its fertility, but most of them also talked about casualties and damages done by the river during floods. Songs are even made today about it; the most famous are: ''Oj Moravo'' ("Oh, Morava"), ''Moravo, tija reko'' ("Morava, you quiet river"), ''Uz Moravu vetar duva'' ("Wind blows up the Morava"), ''Na Moravi vodenica stara'' ("Old mill on Morava"), ''Moravac kolo'' ("Morava
kolo Kolo may refer to: Places Poland *Koło * Koło, Łódź Voivodeship * Koło, Lublin Voivodeship * Koło, Lubusz Voivodeship Other places * Kolo, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Kolo, Central African Republic * Kolo (Tanzanian ward), Kondoa district, Do ...
"), etc. ''Oj Moravo'' may be the most characteristic: :'Oj Moravo, moje selo ravno, :Kad si ravno što si vodoplavno :Kiša pade, te Morava dođe, :Te poplavi moje selo ravno :A u selu Jovanove dvore, :I u dvoru Jovanovu ljubu' :''Oh, Morava, my plain village,'' :''If it's so plain, why do you flood it'' :''Rains came, so Morava rose,'' :''And flooded my plain village'' :''And in the village it flooded Jovan's home,'' :''And in it, his loving wife


Works cited


References

* * ''Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija'', Third edition (1985); Prosveta; * Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo;
PIM "Ivan Milutinović", Belgrade, Serbia

Morava - Vardar (Axios) Navigation Route
(About 1,200 km shorter route (three days shorter time of navigation) from
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 m ...
to
Port of Thessaloniki The Customs House, now passenger terminal, in the early 1900s. The Port of Thessaloniki ( el, Λιμάνι της Θεσσαλονίκης) is one of the largest seaports in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is considered the gateway Port to the Bal ...
than across Danube, Black Sea and
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
. Electric power production, improvement of water quality and regulation of flooding wave.)
Morava - Vardar (Axios) Navigation Route map

Hydropower and navigation system "Morava"
(Concepts of regulation of rivers Great Morava and South Morava for navigation and hydropower production.)


See also

*
List of rivers of Serbia This is a list of the rivers of Serbia, either those flowing entirely or partially within Serbia proper, or just being a border rivers. Drainage basins All rivers in Serbia belong to the drainage basins of three seas: Black Sea, Adriatic Se ...
*
West Morava West Morava ( sr, Западна Морава, Zapadna Morava, ) is a river in Central Serbia, a 184 km-long headstream of the Great Morava, which it forms with the South Morava. It was known as Brongus in antiquity. Origin The West Mora ...
* South Morava {{Authority control Rivers of Serbia Šumadija