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The Ohře () or, slightly less commonly in English sources, the Eger (, Czech also: ''Oharka'' or ''Ohara'', Celtic: ''Agara'', pl, Ohrza), is a 316 km river in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
(50 km) and the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...
(266 km), left tributary of the
Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...
. The river's catchment area is 5,588 km2, of which 4,601 km2 is in the Czech Republic, 920 km2 in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
and 67 km2 in
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
. It is the fourth-longest river in the Czech Republic. Several districts in Germany and the Czech Republic have formed a
Euroregion In European politics, the term Euroregion usually refers to a transnational co-operation structure between two (or more) contiguous territories located in different European countries. Euroregions represent a specific type of cross-border regi ...
initiative, Euregio Egrensis, to foster co-operation in the region.


Etymology

There is a Czech pun that the Ohře got its name from the river Teplá (meaning "warm" in Czech)—"ohřát" means "to warm up". However, the real origin, which also shows in the German name, is Celtic, from ''Agara'' (the "
Salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...
River"). The records show the name as ''Agara'', ''Agira'', ''Agra'' in the 9th century, ''Egire'', ''Egra'' or ''Ogra'' in the 11th century and ''Eger'' in 1472.Friedrich Umlauft: Geographisches Namenbuch von Österreich-ungarn: Eine Erklärung von Länder-, Völker, Gau-, Fluss und Ortsnamen, A. Hölder, 1886.


Sources

The source of the river Eger is situated in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
at the foot of the ''Schneeberg'' in the
Fichtel Mountains The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...
near the town of Weißenstadt. The river then flows through Lake Weissenstadt and the towns of Roeslau, Marktleuthen and Hohenberg where it leaves Germany. After about 35 km, the Eger (not to be confused with the town in Hungary), as the river is called in German, crosses the border into the Czech Republic to flow through parts of Bohemia which were known until 1945 as Egerland. The river passes the towns of Cheb, (german: Eger, like the river),
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. It is ...
, Klášterec nad Ohří,
Kadaň Kadaň (; german: Kaaden) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Kadaň is a tourist centre with highlights being the Francis ...
, Žatec,
Louny Louny (; german: Laun) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrat ...
, and Terezín before flowing into the river
Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...
at
Litoměřice Litoměřice (; german: Leitmeritz) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. The town is the sea ...
. The river basin of the Ohře is part of formerly German speaking
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
still having many toponyms from German.


Flow

The highest
volume flow rate In physics and engineering, in particular fluid dynamics, the volumetric flow rate (also known as volume flow rate, or volume velocity) is the volume of fluid which passes per unit time; usually it is represented by the symbol (sometimes ). I ...
occurs in spring. The average volume flow rate at the mouth is 37.94 m³/s. The lower part of the river flows through areas with the lowest average precipitation in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...
(less than 500 mm).


Use

The Ohře is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric energy. There are two dams: Skalka (built in 1962–1964, area 378 ha) and Nechranice (built 1961–1968, area 1338 ha). The river flows through the following important towns: Cheb, Sokolov, Loket,
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. It is ...
, Ostrov nad Ohří, Klášterec nad Ohří,
Kadaň Kadaň (; german: Kaaden) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Kadaň is a tourist centre with highlights being the Francis ...
, Žatec,
Louny Louny (; german: Laun) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrat ...
,
Libochovice Libochovice (german: Libochowitz) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,400 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Dubany and Poplze are administrative parts of Libochovice ...
,
Budyně nad Ohří Budyně nad Ohří (german: Budin an der Eger) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře river. The town centre is well preserved and is protect ...
, Terezín and
Litoměřice Litoměřice (; german: Leitmeritz) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. The town is the sea ...
.


Tributaries

* Plesná (german: Fleißenbach) (Left) * Odrava (german: Wondreb) (Right) * Libocký potok (L) *
Svatava The Svatava (in German: ''Zwodau'', also ''Zwotau''; further upstream ''Zwotawasser'', then ''Zwota'') is a river of Saxony, Germany and of the Czech Republic. It is a left tributary of the Ohře. Course From its source south of Schöneck (Germ ...
(german: Zwota, Zwodau) (L) * Rolava (german: Rohlau) (L) * Teplá (R) * Bystřice (L) *
Liboc Liboc is a district of the city of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It is part of Prague 6, located near Divoká Šárka. The Prague British International School Vlastina Campus is in Liboc; it formerly belonged to the pre-merger Prague ...
(R) * Blšanka (R) * Chomutovka (L)


References


External links


Euregio Egrensis cooperation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohre Fichtel Mountains Hohenberg an der Eger International rivers of Europe Rivers of Bavaria Rivers of the Karlovy Vary Region Rivers of the Ústí nad Labem Region Rivers of Germany