The Poprad ( hu, Poprád, links=no, german: Popper, links=no) is a river in northern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and a tributary of the

Dunajec River The Dunajec (); Goral dialects: ''Dónajec'') is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at t ...

near

Stary Sącz Stary Sącz is a small historic town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Stary Sącz (commune), and one of the oldest towns in the country, having been founded in the 13th century. Geography Stary Są ...

, Poland. It has a length of 170 kilometres (63 km of which are within the Polish borders) and a basin area of 2,077 km², (1,594 km² of which is in

, and 483 km² in Poland). Much of the Polish part of its basin is included in the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

called

Poprad Landscape Park Poprad Landscape Park (''Popradzki Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in southern Poland, named after the Poprad river running through it. The Park, with the total area of , is one of the biggest landscape parks in the co ...

featuring the

Poprad River Gorge The Poprad River Gorge ( pl, Przełom Popradu) runs through the Western Carpathian Mountain Range in the southernmost part of Poland. It is formed by the river Poprad, the only large river flowing north from Slovakia into Poland, the tributary of ...

, a popular tourist destination between the towns of Piwniczna and

Rytro Rytro ( uk, Ритро, ''Rytro'') is a village in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Rytro. It lies approximately south of Nowy Sącz and sout ...

. Poprad is the only large Slovak river flowing north into southern Poland. The river flows through the Slovak towns of

Poprad Poprad (; hu, Poprád; german: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the ten ...

Kežmarok Kežmarok (german: Kesmark or ; hu, Késmárk, yi, קעזמאַרק, Kezmark, pl, Kieżmark) is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia (population 16,000), on the Poprad River. Prior to World War I, it was in Szepes county in the Kin ...

Stará Ľubovňa Stará Ľubovňa (german: Altlublau; hu, Ólubló; la, Lublovia; pl, Lubowla) is a town with approximately 16,000 inhabitants in northeastern Slovakia. The town consists of the districts Podsadek and Stará Ľubovňa. Names The name is of Slo ...

, then forms for 31.1 km the Polish-Slovak border and flows through the Polish towns of

Krynica-Zdrój Krynica-Zdrój (until 31 December 2001 Krynica, rue, Крениця, uk, Криниця) is a town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish betwee ...

Muszyna Muszyna is a town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. Population: 4,989 (2006). It is a railroad junction, located near border with Slovakia, with trains going into three directions - towards Nowy Sącz, Krynica-Zdrój and southwards, ...

Piwniczna-Zdrój Piwniczna-Zdrój (until 1999 Piwniczna, uk, Північна, ''Pivnichna'') is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, near the border with Slovakia. Piwniczna-Zdrój is the name of both the town and its administrative ...

, and

Żegiestów Żegiestów ( rue, Жеґестів, ''Zhegestiv'', uk, Жеґестів, ''Zhegestiv'') is a spa village in the administrative district of Gmina Muszyna, within Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the bo ...

, among others.

Etymology

The name is derived from a Proto-Slavic verb ''pręd-'' (to flow fast, to jump), preserved in the Slovak words ''priasť'', ''pradenie'' (to spin,

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

References

Bibliography

* * Zofia Radwańska-Paryska, Witold Henryk Paryski; ''Wielka encyklopedia tatrzańska.'' Poronin: ''Wydawnictwo Górskie'', 2004. . * ''Beskid Sądecki. Mapa 1:50 000.'' Piwniczna: ''Agencja Wyd. „Wit”.'' . * Jerzy Kondracki, ''Geografia regionalna Polski.'' Warszawa: ''Wyd. Naukowe PWN'', 1998. Spiš Rivers of Slovakia Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lesser Poland Voivodeship International rivers of Europe {{Poland-river-stub

Etymology

See also

References

Bibliography