The Lovat ( be, Ловаць ''Łovać'', ; russian: река́ Ло́вать) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

Vitebsk Oblast Vitebsk Region or Vitebsk Oblast or Viciebsk Voblasts ( be, Ві́цебская во́бласць, ''Viciebskaja voblasć'', ; rus, Ви́тебская о́бласть, Vitebskaya oblast, ˈvʲitʲɪpskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a region (oblast ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, Usvyatsky, Velikoluksky, and

Loknyansky District Loknyansky District (russian: Локнянский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #833-oz and municipalLaw #420-oz district (raion), one of the twenty-four in Pskov Oblast, Russia. It is located in the east of the oblast and borders with K ...

s, as well as of the city of

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-� ...

, of

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast (russian: Пско́вская о́бласть, ') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the city of Pskov. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 673, ...

and Kholmsky, Poddorsky, Starorussky, and Parfinsky Districts of

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast (russian: Новгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Novgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, includin ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. The source of the Lovat is

Lake Lovatets A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

in northeastern Belarus, and the Lovat is a tributary of

Lake Ilmen Lake Ilmen ( rus, И́льмень, p=ˈilʲmʲɪnʲ) is a large lake in the Novgorod Oblast of Russia. A historically important lake, it formed a vital part of the medieval trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Novgorod - ...

. Its main tributaries are the Loknya (left), the Kunya (right), the

Polist The Polist () is a river in Bezhanitsky District of Pskov Oblast and in Poddorsky and Starorussky District, as well as in the town of Staraya Russa of Novgorod Oblast of Russia. It is technically a tributary of the Lovat though it forms a co ...

(left), the

Redya The Redya (russian: Редья) is a river in Kholmsky, Poddorsky, Starorussky, and Parfinsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Lovat. It is long, and the area of its basin . The source of the Redya is in ...

(left), and the Robya (right). The towns of

and Kholm, as well as the urban-type settlement of Parfino, are located on the banks of the Lovat. From the source, the Lovat flows in the southeastern direction along the border between Russia and Belarus, it turns north and enters Pskov Oblast of Russia, crossing the border as Lake Sesito. In this area, the Lowat flows through the lake district, passing, in particular, Lake Vorokhobskoye. Downstrean of Velikiye Luki, in the selo of

Podberezye Podberezye (russian: Подберезье) is the name of several rural localities in Russia. Kaluga Oblast As of 2010, two rural localities in Kaluga Oblast bear this name: * Podberezye, Babyninsky District, Kaluga Oblast, a village in Babyninsk ...

, the Lovat turns northwest and enters Novgorod Oblast. Close to

, the Lovat shares a

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rare ...

with the Pola and the

, though technically Polist is counted as a tributary of the Lovat. The river basin of the Lovat comprises vast areas in the south of Novgorod and Pskov Oblasts, as well as some areas in

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. It was named after Mi ...

and Vitebsk Oblast of Belarus. The Lovat is listed in the State Water Register of Russia as navigable between Parfino and the mouth, however, there is no passenger navigation. Until the 1990s, it was used for timber rafting. The Lovat served as a stretch of the

trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks The trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks was a medieval trade route that connected Scandinavia, Kievan Rus' and the Eastern Roman Empire. The route allowed merchants along its length to establish a direct prosperous trade with the Empir ...

, the most important trading route of medieval Rus. From Lake Ilmen, ships went upstream the Lovat and then the Kunya, before ending up in the

Western Dvina , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

.They then travelled up the Kasplya river to Lake Kasplya from where they crossed the portage to the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...

, from where they could reach

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

via the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean 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 bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

References

External links

* {{cite web, url=http://textual.ru/gvr/index.php?card=152176, script-title=ru:Река Ловать, publisher=State Water Register of Russia, language=Russian, accessdate=23 February 2012 Rivers of Novgorod Oblast Rivers of Pskov Oblast Rivers of Vitebsk Region International rivers of Europe Rivers of Belarus