The Kupa () or Kolpa ( or ; from la, Colapis in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times; hu, Kulpa) river, a right tributary of the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally ...

, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It is long, with its border part having a length of and the rest located in Croatia.

Name

The name ''Colapis'', recorded in antiquity, is presumed to come from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

roots ''*quel-'' 'turn, meander' and ''*ap-'' 'water', meaning 'meandering water'. An alternative interpretation is ''*(s)kel-''/''*skul-'' 'shiny, bright', meaning 'clear river'. Kupa River from Šišinec

Course

The Kupa originates in Croatia in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, northeast of

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, in the area of

Risnjak National Park Risnjak National Park ( hr, Nacionalni park Risnjak) is a national park in Croatia. It is located in Gorski Kotar, the most mountainous and heavily forested region of the country, about 15 km inland from the Adriatic Sea. The park covers an ...

. It flows a few kilometers eastwards, receives the small

Čabranka The Čabranka is a small river on the border between Slovenia and Croatia. It is long and is a left tributary of the Kupa River ( hr, Kupa, sl, Kolpa). Its source is just west of the settlement of Podplanina in the Municipality of Loški Potok ...

River from the left, before reaching the Slovenian border. It then continues eastwards between the

White Carniola White Carniola ( sl, Bela krajina; german: Weißkrain or ''Weiße Mark'') is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Due to its smallness, it is often considered a subunit of the broader Lower Carniola region, alt ...

region in the north and Central Croatia in the south. The Kupa receives influx from the river

Lahinja The Lahinja is a river in White Carniola, the extreme southeastern part of Slovenia. It is long and originates from several karst springs at the end of a steephead valley between the villages of Knežina, Belčji Vrh, and Mali Nerajec. In i ...

from the left in

Primostek Primostek () is a village in the Municipality of Metlika in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia. It lies on the right bank of the Lahinja River, close to its confluence with the Kolpa River, next to the border with Croatia. The ent ...

, passes

Vrbovsko Vrbovsko ( sr-cyr, Врбовско) is a town in western Croatia, situated at the far east of the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County; on its 280 square kilometers area, Vrbovsko features 60 settlements and a t ...

, and eventually detaches from the Slovenian border having passed

Metlika Metlika (; german: Möttling''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 10.) is a town in southeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Munici ...

. It then reaches the city of

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb-Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

, where it receives influx from two other rivers from the right, Dobra and

Korana The Korana is a river in central Croatia and west Bosnia and Herzegovina. The river has a total length of and watershed area of . The river's name is derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*karr-'' 'rock'. It was recorded in the 13th century as ' ...

(which in turn is joined by

Mrežnica The Mrežnica () is a river in Karlovac County, Croatia. It is long and its basin covers an area of . Mrežnica is considered special due to its large number of waterfalls, totalling 93. It rises in Kordun, west of Slunj, and flows northwards, ...

). The Kupa continues flowing to the east, where it merges with

Glina Glina is a word of Slavic origin, meaning "clay". It may refer to: *Glina (river) in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina *Glina, Croatia, a town in Croatia ** Glina massacres, 1941 * Glina, Piotrków County in Łódź Voivodeship (central Poland) * ...

from the right, it then passes through two small towns called Šišinec and Brkiševina, and then proceeds to the town of

Sisak Sisak (; hu, Sziszek ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posav ...

where it merges with

Odra Odra may refer to: Rivers * Odra (Poland), also known as Oder, a river in Czech Republic, Poland and Germany * Odra (Kupa) Odra () is a river in central Croatia. It is long and its basin covers an area of . Its source is in the Žumberak mount ...

from the left and, after passing through Sisak town centre, flows into the Sava River.

Pollution

Fairly unpolluted downstream to Karlovac, the upper Kupa is a popular place for bathing in summer. The section from Stari Trg down to

Fučkovci Fučkovci () is a settlement on the terrace above the left bank of the Kolpa River in the Municipality of Črnomelj in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia, next to the border with Croatia. The area is part of the traditional regio ...

since 2006 is part of the Slovenian Krajinski park Kolpa nature reserve. The hydrological parameters of the Kupa are regularly monitored at

Radenci Radenci (; german: Bad Radein) is a town on the right bank of the Mura River in the Mura Statistical Region of northeastern Slovenia. It is a well-known spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spr ...

, Kamanje,

, Jamnička Kiselica and Farkašić.

References

Sources

External links

source of Kupa picturesAwarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupa (River) Rivers of Croatia Rivers of White Carniola International rivers of Europe Croatia–Slovenia border Border rivers Natura 2000 in Slovenia Landforms of Karlovac County