The Svatava (in German: ''Zwodau'', also ''Zwotau''; further upstream ''Zwotawasser'', then ''Zwota'') is a river of

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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and of 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. The ...

. It is a left tributary of the

Ohře 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 (50 km) and the Czech Republic (266 km), left tributary of t ...

Course

From its source south of Schöneck (Germany), in the crest regions of the Saxon

Vogtland Vogtland (; cz, Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former ...

, the river is called Zwotawasser. After its merge with the river Wolfsbach, it is called Zwotau until the Czech border. The Zwota's river valley then runs east between Wolfsberg (771 m) in the north and the Hoher Brand. Along its course range the villages Oberzwota, Zechenbach,

Zwota Zwota is a village and a former municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Klingenthal Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtland region, in Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situ ...

and the border town of

Klingenthal Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtland region, in Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlo ...

, where the Brunndöbra joins it. Downstream the Brunndöbra's embouchure, the south-east-bound river is called Zwodau, or Zwotau, and shapes the national border between

and the

for approximately . After that it continues its flow as Zwodau in a steep valley of the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n Erzgebirge. Along the Zwodau lies the town of

Kraslice Kraslice (; german: Graslitz) is a town in Sokolov District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,500 inhabitants. It was a large and important town until the World War II. It is known for manufacture of musical instrum ...

, after that its course comes through Anenské Údoli, meandering towards Hory, flowing through

Oloví Oloví (german: Bleistadt) is a town in Sokolov District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,600 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Hory, Nové Domy and Studenec are administrative parts of Oloví. History ...

, Hřebeny and Luh into the coal-mining area of the

Sokolovská pánev The Sokolov Basin or Falkenau Basin (german: Falkenauer Becken, formerly also ''Falkenau-Elbogen-Karlsbader Becken''; cz, Sokolovská pánev) is a drainage basin and geomorphological unit in the Czech Republic. It is located in northwestern Bo ...

. Along the underflow of the Zwodau, there are the villages of Davidov and Svatava. After , the Svatava joins the Ohře in Sokolov.

Tributaries

*Glasbach (l),

* Döbra (l),

*Grenzbach (l), *Bublavský potok (German: ''Schwaderbach'') (l),

*Stříbrný potok (German: ''Silberbach'') (l), Kraslice *Rotava (German: ''Rothau'') (l), Anenské Údoli

Special features

The Zwotatal represents an important traffic route through the south-west of the Erzgebirge. Besides more than one

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...

, there is a railway connection from

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

via Zwotental, Klingenthal and Kraslice alongside the river towards Sokolov.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Saxony Rivers of the Karlovy Vary Region Vogtland International rivers of Europe Rivers of Germany Czech Republic–Germany border Border rivers

Course

Tributaries

Special features

See also

References