The Thaya ( cs, Dyje ) is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in
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 area' ...
, the longest tributary to the river
Morava. 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, t ...
is .
It is ( with its longest source river
German Thaya
The German Thaya or Austrian Thaya (german: Deutsche Thaya, cs, Rakouská Dyje) is a river in Lower Austria. Its drainage basin is .
Despite its name, no part of the river is in Germany. It originates southwest of Schweiggers at an elevation of . ...
) long and meanders from west to east in the border area between
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
(
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
) and
South Moravia
The South Moravian Region ( cs, Jihomoravský kraj; , ; sk, Juhomoravský kraj) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia (an exception is Jobova Lhota which trad ...
(
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 ...
), though the frontier does not exactly follow the river's course in most parts. Its source is in two smaller rivers, namely the
German Thaya
The German Thaya or Austrian Thaya (german: Deutsche Thaya, cs, Rakouská Dyje) is a river in Lower Austria. Its drainage basin is .
Despite its name, no part of the river is in Germany. It originates southwest of Schweiggers at an elevation of . ...
(''Deutsche Thaya'') and the
Moravian Thaya
The Moravian Thaya ( cs, Moravská Dyje, german: Mährische Thaya) is a river in the Czech Republic and in Austria, and a left tributary of the Thaya. Its drainage basin is .
The Moravian Thaya originates about southeast of Třešť near the ...
( cs, Moravská Dyje, german: Mährische Thaya),
flowing together at
Raabs an der Thaya
Raabs an der Thaya is a municipality with 3,114 inhabitants in Waidhofen an der Thaya (district) in the Waldviertel of Lower Austria, near the Austrian border with the Czech Republic. About 27.6 percent of the municipality is forested.
The German ...
.
The confluence of Thaya and Morava is
the southernmost and the lowest point of
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
.
Its name means "the inert". There is also a small village which bears the name
Dyje
The Thaya ( cs, Dyje ) is a river in Central Europe, the longest tributary to the river Morava. Its drainage basin is . It is ( with its longest source river German Thaya) long and meanders from west to east in the border area between Lower Au ...
, located near
Znojmo
Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian R ...
.
Geography
In its upper reaches, the Thaya flows through deep gorges (
Podyjí), along which it passes many
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
s and
chateaus. In Moravia, it has been dammed in several locations.
Thaya gathers waters from the western half of
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
and the adjacent part of
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
. Its biggest tributaries are
Svratka and
Jihlava
Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia.
Historically, Jihlava i ...
, flowing together into the
middle one of the
Nové Mlýny reservoirs
The Nové Mlýny reservoirs ( cs, Vodní dílo Nové Mlýny) are three reservoirs behind the Nové Mlýny Dam on the Thaya River in the Czech Republic. The lower reservoir, 1,668 ha in area, is the Novomlýnská (or Nové Mlýny) Reservoir, the ...
.
Important cities and towns along the Thaya:
*
Raabs an der Thaya
Raabs an der Thaya is a municipality with 3,114 inhabitants in Waidhofen an der Thaya (district) in the Waldviertel of Lower Austria, near the Austrian border with the Czech Republic. About 27.6 percent of the municipality is forested.
The German ...
*
Drosendorf-Zissersdorf
Drosendorf-Zissersdorf is a town in the district of Horn in Lower Austria, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is ...
*
Vranov nad Dyji Vranov may refer to places:
Czech Republic
* Vranov (Benešov District), a municipality and village in the Central Bohemian Region
*Vranov (Brno-Country District), a municipality and village in the South Moravian Region
*Vranov (Tachov District), a ...
*
Hardegg
Hardegg () is a town in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria. It is situated in the Waldviertel region on the river Thaya, directly on the border with the Czech Republic. The Thaya valley is protected as the Thayatal National Par ...
*
Znojmo
Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian R ...
*
Laa an der Thaya
Laa an der Thaya is a town in the Mistelbach District of Lower Austria in Austria, near the Czech border. The population in 2016 was 6224.
Geography
The town is located in the northern Weinviertel region, near the Thaya river, directly at th ...
*
Lednice
Lednice (; german: Eisgrub) is a municipality and village in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. It is known as part of Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritag ...
*
Břeclav
Břeclav (; german: Lundenburg) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Town parts of Charvátská Nová Ves and Poštorná are administrative parts of Břeclav.
Etymol ...
Dams
All the dams are situated in Czech Republic. They are used for
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
,
hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...
and
flood protection
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water levels ...
.
References
Rivers of the South Moravian Region
Břeclav District
Znojmo District
Rivers of Lower Austria
International rivers of Europe
*
Rivers of Austria
{{CzechRepublic-river-stub