The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) rises in northern
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
. It flows westward, passing through
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
(
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman), at
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
, as its main tributary. Its length is .
For After Belarus the river runs through Lithuania.
The Neris connects successive Lithuanian capitals –
Kernavė
Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site (population 272, 2011). It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania. A Lithuanian ...
and
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
. Along its banks are burial places of the pagan Lithuanians. At from Vilnius are the old burial mounds of
Karmazinai
Karmazinai is a village in Vilnius district municipality, Lithuania. It is situated on the right bank of Neris River, by forest, part of the Neris Regional Park. There is an ancient burial mound and hill fort (Karmazinai mound
The Karmazinai mou ...
, with many mythological stones and a sacred oak.
Dual naming
The reasons for the dual naming of the river as Neris by the Lithuanians and Viliya (formerly ''Velja'', meaning "big, great" in Slavic) by the Slavs are complex. Even in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, there are
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
s including both names, e. g. ''Neris'' remains in the riverside names of '' Paneriai'' and ''Paneriškės'' while ''Velja'' is a part of the name ''Valakampiai'', which means "an angle of Velja" in Lithuanian.Vykintas Vaitkevičiusbr>Mysterious Neris ''Šiaurės Atėnai''. 2005-07-23 nr. 758 In Kaunas, a part of the city by the Neris river, that was formerly a separate town, is also named Vilijampolė (Vilija + polis, that means "
polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
by Vilija").
Although it has been suggested that ''Neris'' is the primeval name of the river, while the name ''Viliya'' is of secondary extraction, the dual naming most probably emerged from the confluence of the rivers Neris (now known as
Narach River
The Narach ( be, Нарач, ''Narač'' ; russian: Нарочь, ; lt, Narutis) is a river in north-western Belarus ( Miadzieł raion, Minsk Province). It flows into the Neris
The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) ...
, leaving
Lake Narach
Lake Narach ( be, На́рач, ''Narač'' ; russian: На́рочь, ''Naročj''; lt, Narutis, pl, Narocz) is a lake in north-western Belarus ( Myadzyel District, Minsk Region), located in the basin of the Viliya river. It is the largest lake ...
) and Velja, in the historical Slavic/Baltic borderland, each ethnos choosing their own name for the river starting at the confluence. It is moreover evidenced by the fact that the name ''Neris'' was never used to name the river Velja up to this confluence. Therefore, it has been proposed that the
Narach River
The Narach ( be, Нарач, ''Narač'' ; russian: Нарочь, ; lt, Narutis) is a river in north-western Belarus ( Miadzieł raion, Minsk Province). It flows into the Neris
The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) ...
had in fact been considered the upper reaches of Neris by the Balts in ancient times.
Etymology of "Neris"
The name ''Neris'' is of
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
origin, a
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
of the Lithuanian ''nerti'' generally meaning "to dive, swim downstream" as well as "to net,
crochet
Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread (yarn), thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term ''crochet'', meaning 'hook'. Hooks can be made from ...
". It is likely that the name had a more general meaning of "flow" or particularly "swift and swirling flow"V. Mažiulis, Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas, L-P, V., 1996, t. 3, p. 178-179 in early times.
Etymologically, the name is one of a class of hydronyms, widespread in the modern and prehistoric Baltic ranges; e.g., Lithuanian Narotis, Narasa (rivers), Narutis (lake), Old Prussian Narus,
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
near
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. These are related to Lithuanian ''narus'', "deep", and ''nerti'', "to dive".
More remote connections are obscure, although the root is believed to be
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
. There are a number of possibilities:
* Pokorny's 2nd ''*ner-'', "under" (''
Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch
The ''Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch'' (''IEW''; "Indo-European Etymological Dictionary") was published in 1959 by the Austrian-German comparative linguist and Celtic languages expert Julius Pokorny. It is an updated and slimmed-down ...
'', pp765–766);
*Derksen's *, o-grade * (''Slavic Inherited Lexicon'');
*A relation to the Greek godNereus, which may be from *''snau-'', "to give milk to", in the sense of "flow" (Partridge, ''Origins'' (1983)).
* Another relationship of "Neris" with the Sanskrit word "Neer"/"Naar" which means water.
Basin
Total watershed is , of which with are in
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
.
Basin within Belarus
The river is called Viliya in Belarus. There is the Belarus largest Vileyka Reservoir by Viliya, up off the Vileyka city.
Verkė
Verkė is a small (around 2 km. long) rivulet in Vilnius, Lithuania, which gave the name to the Verkiai neighborhood. According to legends, it was the birthplace of the semi-legendary pagan priest Lizdeika, a forefather of the Radziwiłł f ...
*
Vilnia
The Vilnia (also ''Vilnelė''; , ''Vilnia'' ; ) is a river in Lithuania. Its source is near the village of Vindžiūnai, 5 km south of Šumskas, at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. The Vilnia is 79.6 km long and its basin covers 624&n ...
*
Vokė
The Vokė is a river in south-east Lithuania. It is a left tributary of Neris. Vokė flows from Papis Lake, near Merkys
The Merkys ( be, Мяркіс ''Miarkis'') is a river in southern Lithuania and northern Belarus. It flows for through Belar ...