The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

.''Neisse River''
at www.britannica.com. Retrieved 4 Feb 2011.''Transnational Pilot River Basin''
at http://eagri.cz/public. Retrieved 4 Feb 2011. It rises in the Jizera Mountains, near Nová Ves nad Nisou, at the Czech border becoming the Polish–

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 ...

border for its remaining , to flow into the similarly northward-flowing

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows ...

. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

covers , of which in Poland, the rest is mainly in Germany.Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland 2017
Statistics Poland, p. 85-86 The river reaches the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

of the three nations by

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic "'' rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto'')) is the southeasternmost city in the Ge ...

, a German town/city, after , leaving the Czech Republic. It is a left-bank tributary of the Oder, into which it flows between

Neißemünde Neißemünde (''Neissemuende'', literally ''Mouth of the Neisse river'') is a municipality in the Oder-Spree district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It belongs to the '' Amt'' ("collective municipality") Neuzelle, which has its administrative seat in ...

-Ratzdorf and Kosarzyn – north of the towns of Guben and Gubin. Since the 1945

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...

in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the river has partially demarcated the German-Polish border (along the Oder-Neisse line). While the German population outside was expelled. It is the longest and most watered of the three rivers of its non-adjectival name in both the main languages (the two other rivers being the Eastern Neisse ( pl, Nysa Kłodzka; german: Glatzer Neisse) and Raging Neisse (Polish: ''Nysa Szalona''; German: ''Wütende Neiße'' or ''Jauersche Neiße'')). It is usually simply referred to as the Neisse.

Name

Since the river runs through the historic region of

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

, the adjective "Lusatian" or "Western" before the name of the river Neisse is used whenever differentiating this border river from the Eastern Neisse (Polish: ''Nysa Kłodzka'', German: ''Glatzer Neisse'') and the smaller Raging Neisse (Polish: ''Nysa Szalona''; German: ''Wütende Neisse'' or ''Jauersche Neisse''), both in Poland.

Towns and villages

Bad Muskau Bad Muskau (; formerly ''Muskau'', hsb, Mužakow, pl, Mużaków, cs, Mužakov) is a spa town in the historic Upper Lusatia region in Germany, at the border with Poland. It is part of the Görlitz district in the State of Saxony. It is locate ...

the Neisse flows through

Muskau Park Muskau Park (german: Muskauer Park, officially: ''Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau''; pl, Park Mużakowski) is a landscape park in the Upper Lusatia region of Germany and Poland. It is the largest and one of the most famous English gardens in ...

, a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Cities and towns on the river from source to mouth include: *

Jablonec nad Nisou Jablonec nad Nisou (; german: Gablonz an der Neiße) is a city in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 45,000 inhabitants. It is the second-largest city in the region. It is a local centre for education, and is known for its glass ...

, Czech Republic *

Vratislavice Vratislavice nad Nisou (german: Maffersdorf) is a district of the city of Liberec, in the north of the Czech Republic. As of 2021, it has about 8,800 inhabitants. and straddles the Nisa river between Liberec and Jablonec, around 3.5 km south ...

, Czech Republic *

Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well prese ...

, Czech Republic *

Chrastava Chrastava (; german: Kratzau) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,300 inhabitants. Administrative parts Chrastava is made up of town parts of Chrastava, Dolní Chrastava and Horní Chrastava, ...

, Czech Republic *

Hrádek nad Nisou Hrádek nad Nisou (; german: Grottau, pl, Gródek nad Nysą) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,700 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monumen ...

, Czech Republic *

, Germany * Bogatynia, Poland *

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and is the largest town in Upper Lus ...

, Germany; Zgorzelec, Poland *

Pieńsk Pieńsk (german: Penzig) is a town in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina Pieńsk, and stands on the east bank of the Lusatian Neisse river, ...

, Poland *

, Germany; Łęknica, Poland *

Forst (Lausitz) Forst (Lausitz) ( dsb, Baršć) is a town in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It lies east of Cottbus, on the river Lausitzer Neiße which is also the German- Polish border, the Oder-Neisse line. It is the capital of the Spree-Neiße distri ...

, Germany * Guben, Germany; Gubin, Poland

Tributaries

Right bank: * Lubsza Left bank: * Mandau

References

External links

Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law
Peace Palace Library * Closed Germany-Poland bridges {{Authority control International rivers of Europe Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lower Silesian Voivodeship Rivers of Lubusz Voivodeship Rivers of the Liberec Region Rivers of Brandenburg Rivers of Saxony Jablonec nad Nisou District Liberec District Geography of Lusatia Germany–Poland border Federal waterways in Germany Border rivers Rivers of Germany

Name

Towns and villages

Tributaries

See also

References

External links