The Bystřice is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, a left

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Cidlina The Cidlina () is a river in the Czech Republic, a right tributary of the Elbe River. It originates in the Liberec Region, but flows mainly through the Hradec Králové and Central Bohemian regions. It is long. Etymology According to one theory ...

River. It flows through the

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

and Central Bohemian regions. It is long.

Etymology

The name of the river is derived from the Czech word ''bystrá'', which used to mean 'fast-flowing', 'rapid'.

Characteristic

The Bystřice originates in the territory of Horní Brusnice in the

Giant Mountains Foothills In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from ...

at an elevation of and flows to Chlumec nad Cidlinou, where it enters the Cidlina River at an elevation of . The river is long. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which 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, ...

has an area of . The longest tributaries of the Bystřice are:

Flow

The largest town around which the river flows is Hořice. The river flows through the municipal territories of Horní Brusnice, Pecka, Borek, Tetín, Miletín, Rohoznice, Červená Třemešná, Hořice, Jeřice, Cerekvice nad Bystřicí, Hněvčeves, Benátky, Sovětice, Sadová, Dohalice, Mžany, Mokrovousy, Třesovice,

Nechanice Nechanice (; ) is a town in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,500 inhabitants. Administrative division Nechanice consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to th ...

, Kunčice, Boharyně, Puchlovice, Roudnice, Kratonohy, Kosičky, Kosice,

Písek Písek (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 31,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the oldest bridge in the country. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument z ...

, Nové Město and Chlumec nad Cidlinou.

Bodies of water

There are 377 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the Třesický pond with an area of . There are no fishponds or reservoirs built directly on the Bystřice.

Protection of nature

A survey conducted in 2010 showed that the Bystřice River was inhabited by a total of 21 species of aquatic

molluscs Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

, out of which 11 were

gastropods Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and from the land. Ther ...

and the remaining 10 were

bivalves Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consis ...

. Most of the recorded species were common ones. Although previous researches had shown the river to have an even higher number of species, the most notable find of the research in 2010 was the increase in the alien New Zealand mud snail and European physa species. On the other hand, there was also the discovery of the presence of the endangered thick shelled river mussel, with an increased population density of the species as compared to a few years ago. Due to the presence of the thick shelled river mussel, the river bed between Hořice and Boharyně is protected as a nature monument. It has an area of . The river in the valley to the west of Hořice, along with its immediate surroundings, is protected as the ''Údolí Bystřice'' nature monument. It has an area of . The reason for the protection is the natural flow of the river, riparian vegetation and hygrophilous meadows with the occurrence of protected species of plants and animals. The river valley on its upper course is protected as the ''Kalské údolí'' nature monument. It has an area of and the reasons for protection are the same as in the case of Údolí Bystřice.

References

External links

River flow at Roudnice station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Bystrice Rivers of the Hradec Králové Region Rivers of the Czech Republic