The Meža ( Slovene) or Mieß (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

; ) is a river in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...

n state of

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...

and in

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 ...

, a right tributary of the

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

. It is long, of which are in Slovenia. Its catchment area is , of which in Slovenia.

Name

The Meža River was attested as ''Mis'' in 1361, ''Mys'' in 1424, and ''Miß'' in 1476. The name is etymologically related to Czech ''

Mže The Mže (; ) is a long river, mostly in the Czech Republic. Its source is situated in the Griesbach Forest ( above sea level), Germany, near the village of Asch, in the municipality of Mähring, Tirschenreuth district. It forms the state b ...

'' and the Russian river names '' Mzha'' and '' Mozha'', derived from Slavic ''*mьz′a'' 'dripping, drizzling'.

Course

It has its source on the Austrian side of the border north of Mount Olševa in the Karawanks range, becomes subterranean a kilometre from its source, and reappears on the surface in Koprivna west of Črna na Koroškem in Slovenia. From Črna the river turns northwards and flows between the slopes of the Peca massif and the St. Ursula Mountain to

Mežica Mežica (; German: ''Mießdorf'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Mežica. It lies on the Meža River in the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia) near the Austrian border. The town developed close ...

and Poljana. From here the river again flows eastwards to

Prevalje Prevalje (; German: ''Prävali'') is a settlement in northern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Prevalje. It lies in the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia. Prevalje lies in a valley where the Meža River emerges from a n ...

, and Ravne na Koroškem, and into the Drava at

Dravograd Dravograd (; german: Unterdrauburg) is a small town in northern Slovenia, close to the border with Austria. It is the seat of the Municipality of Dravograd. It lies on the Drava River at the confluence with the Meža and the Mislinja. It i ...

. In its first part the Meža falls rapidly and is a typical

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

river with its tributaries from the

Kamnik Alps Kamnik (; german: Stein''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 26–27. or ''Stein in Oberkrain'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is t ...

and the Karawanks mountain range. After Črna it becomes a slow meandering lowland river. Its main tributary is the Mislinja River, which joins the Meža River northwest of the village of Otiški Vrh near Dravograd, only a couple hundred meters before the Meža joins the Drava River. Meza otiskivrh hidrogram

The Meža Valley ( or ) within the southern Karawanks range was part of the Austrian

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State ...

up to 1919, before it was ceded to the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

according to the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Together with the adjacent Mislinja Valley and Upper Drava Valley, it has formed the traditional

() region of independent Slovenia since 1991. The Meža has been the most polluted river in Slovenia. In 1982 the singer-songwriter wrote a song about it titled "" (The Dead River). This song has even been published in primary school textbooks. The main polluter has been the Mežica lead mine and the Ravne Steelworks () conglomerate.

References

External links

Confluence of the Meža, Mislinja and Drava rivers
interactive map at Geopedia.si. {{DEFAULTSORT:Meza Rivers of Carinthia (Slovenia) Rivers of Carinthia (state) International rivers of Europe Rivers of Austria