The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, )
( ,
) is a
transboundary river in
Eastern Europe. It runs first through
Ukraine and then through
Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of
Transnistria), finally discharging into the
Black Sea on Ukrainian territory again.
Names
The name ''Dniester'' derives from
Sarmatian ''dānu nazdya'' "the close river." (The
Dnieper, also of Sarmatian origin, derives from the opposite meaning, "the river on the far side".) Alternatively, according to
Vasily Abaev ''Dniester'' would be a blend of
Scythian ''dānu'' "river" and
Thracian ''Ister'', the previous name of the river, literally Dān-Ister (River Ister). The
Ancient Greek name of Dniester, ''Tyras'' (Τύρας), is from
Scythian ''tūra'', meaning "rapid."
The names of the
Don and
Danube are also from the same
Indo-Iranian word ''*dānu'' "river". Classical authors have also referred to it as ''Danaster.'' These early forms, without -''i''- but with -''a''-, contradict Abaev's hypothesis.
Edward Gibbon refers to the river both as the Niester and Dniester in his ''
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to the ...
''.
In
Ukrainian, it is known as (
translit.
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...
''Dnister''), and in Romanian as . In
Russian, it is known as (
translit.
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...
''Dnestr''), in
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
: ''Nester'' נעסטער; in
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
, ''Turla''; and in
Lithuanian
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Lithuanians
* Lithuanian language
* The country of Lithuania
* Grand Duchy of Lithuania
* Culture of Lithuania
* Lithuanian cuisine
* Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
as ''Dniestras''.
Geography
The Dniester rises in
Ukraine, near the city of
Drohobych, close to the border with Poland, and flows toward the
Black Sea. Its course marks part of the border of Ukraine and
Moldova, after which it flows through Moldova for , separating the main territory of Moldova from its breakaway region
Transnistria. It later forms an additional part of the Moldova-Ukraine border, then flows through Ukraine to the Black Sea, where its
estuary forms the
Dniester Liman.
Along the lower half of the Dniester, the western bank is high and hilly while the eastern one is low and flat. The river represents the ''de facto'' end of the
Eurasian Steppe
The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Transnistri ...
. Its most important tributaries are
Răut and
Bîc
Bîc (also spelled Bâc, ) is a river in Moldova, a right tributary of the Dniester.
Geography
The Bâc originates in a spring in the village of Temeleuți in west central Moldova. As it flows west and south, the upper Bâc cuts a deep canyo ...
.
History
During the
Neolithic, the Dniester River was the centre of one of the most advanced civilizations on earth at the time. The
Cucuteni–Trypillian culture flourished in this area from roughly 5300 to 2600 BC, leaving behind thousands of archeological sites. Their settlements had up to 15,000 inhabitants, making them among the first large farming communities in the world.
In antiquity, the river was considered one of the principal rivers of European
Sarmatia, and it was mentioned by many Classical geographers and historians. According to
Herodotus (iv.51) it rose in a large lake, whilst
Ptolemy (iii.5.17, 8.1 &c.) places its sources in Mount Carpates (the modern
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
), and
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
(ii) says that they are unknown. It ran in an easterly direction parallel with the Ister (lower
Danube), and formed part of the boundary between
Dacia and Sarmatia. It fell into the
Pontus Euxinus to the northeast of the mouth of the Ister, the distance between them being 900 stadia – approximately – according to Strabo (vii.), while (from the ''
Pseudostoma'') according to
Pliny (iv. 12. s. 26).
Scymnus (Fr. 51) describes it as of easy navigation, and abounding in fish.
Ovid (''ex Pont.'' iv.10.50) speaks of its rapid course.
Greek authors referred to the river as ''Tyras'' (). At a later period it obtained the name of ''Danastris'' or ''Danastus'', whence its modern name of Dniester (Niester), though the Turks still called it ''Turla'' during the 19th century. The form is sometimes found.
According to
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...
, the
Varangians used boats on their
trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, along Dniester and Dnieper and along the Black Sea shore. The navigation near the western shore of Black Sea contained stops at Aspron (at the mouth of Dniester), then Conopa, Constantia (localities today in
Romania) and Messembria (today in Bulgaria).
From the 14th century to 1812, part of the Dniester formed the eastern boundary of the
Principality of Moldavia.
Between the World Wars, the Dniester formed part of the boundary between Romania and the
Soviet Union. In 1919, on
Easter Sunday, the bridge was blown up by the
French Army to protect
Bender from the
Bolsheviks.
During World War II, German and Romanian forces battled Soviet troops on the western bank of the river.
After the
Republic of Moldova declared its independence in 1991, the small area to the east of the Dniester that had been part of the
Moldavian SSR refused to participate and declared itself the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, or
Transnistria, with its capital at
Tiraspol on the river.
Tributaries
From source to mouth, right
tributaries, i.e. on the southwest side, are the
Stryi
Stryi ( uk, Стрий, ; pl, Stryj) is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi in Lviv Oblast (region) of western Ukraine 65 km to the south of Lviv (in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains). It serves as the administrative cen ...
(), (), (),
Bystrytsia (101 km),
Răut (), (),
Bîc
Bîc (also spelled Bâc, ) is a river in Moldova, a right tributary of the Dniester.
Geography
The Bâc originates in a spring in the village of Temeleuți in west central Moldova. As it flows west and south, the upper Bâc cuts a deep canyo ...
(), and
Botna ().
Left tributaries, on the northeast side, are the
Strwiąż
Strwiąż ( uk, Стривігор or Стрв'яж translit. ''Stryvihor'' or ''Strv'yazh''), is a river of Poland and Ukraine, a tributary of the Dniester. Its source is near the town of Ustrzyki Dolne, southeastern Poland. It crosses the Ukrain ...
(),
Zubra,
Hnyla Lypa (),
Zolota Lypa (), (),
Strypa (),
Seret (),
Zbruch (),
Smotrych (), (), (), (),
Murafa (), (), (), and
Kuchurhan ().
Dnister River
Encyclopedia of Ukraine, accessed 15 December 2022
See also
* Dniester Canyon
* Dniester Pumped Storage Power Station
The Dniester Pumped Storage Power Station is a pumped storage hydroelectric scheme that uses the Dniester River northeast of Sokyriany in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine. Currently, four of seven generators are operational and when complete in 20 ...
* Euroregion Dniester
Euroregion Dniester ( ro, Euroregiunea Nistru; russian: Еврорегион «Днестр»; uk, Єврорегіон «Дністер») is a euroregion located in the Moldova and Ukraine. It was established in February 2012.
Establishme ...
Notes
References
General
*
External links
*
* Volodymyr Kubijovyč
Volodymyr Kubijovyč, also spelled Kubiiovych or Kubiyovych ( uk, Володи́мир Миха́йлович Кубійо́вич, translit=Volodymyr Mykhailovych Kubiiovych; 23 September 1900, Nowy Sącz, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria – 2 ...
, Ivan Teslia
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
Dnister River in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).
Dniester.org: a trans-boundary Dniester river project
eco-tiras.org
{{Authority control
Moldova–Ukraine border
Ottoman Empire–Russian Empire border
Ramsar sites in Moldova
Ramsar sites in Ukraine
Rivers of Transnistria
Rivers of Lviv Oblast
Rivers of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Rivers of Ternopil Oblast
Rivers of Chernivtsi Oblast
Rivers of Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Rivers of Vinnytsia Oblast
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Romania–Soviet Union border