The Lužnice (; ) 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 ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, a right

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

Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...

River. It flows through

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

and the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

. It is long, of which is in the Czech Republic, making it the 11th longest river in the Czech Republic.

Etymology

The name of the river is derived from the Czech word ''luh'' (i.e. '

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, Sink (geography), sink, or reservoir. Due to the broad nature of the definitio ...

'), meaning "the river that flows through riparian forests". The first written mention of the river is from 1179.

Characteristic

The Lužnice originates in the territory of Bad Großpertholz in the Gratzen Mountains at an elevation of and flows to Hosty, where it enters the Vltava River at an elevation of . It is long, of which is in the Czech Republic. About of the river forms the Austrian-Czech border. 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 , of which is in the Czech Republic. The longest tributaries of the Lužnice are:

Flow

The most notable settlement on the river is the town of

Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

. The river originates in the territory of Bad Großpertholz (Austria), then it crosses the Austrian-Czech border and flows through Pohorská Ves, then it returns to Austria and flows through Sankt Martin, Weitra and Unserfrau-Altweitra before it creates the Austrian-Czech border between the territories of Gmünd and České Velenice. After that, the river definitely turns north into the Czech Republic and flows past the towns of Suchdol nad Lužnicí,

Třeboň Třeboň (; ) is a spa town in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,300 inhabitants. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monum ...

, Veselí nad Lužnicí,

Soběslav Soběslav (; ) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

, Planá nad Lužnicí, Sezimovo Ústí, Tábor (where the river turns back to the southwest),

Bechyně Bechyně (; ) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

and Týn nad Vltavou.

Bodies of water

The Lužnice flows through the Třeboň Basin, which is known for its fishponds. There are 6,408 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the largest fishpond in the world, Rožmberk Pond with an area of , which is located directly on the Lužnice. A small water reservoir, Kořensko, is built in the area of the confluence of the Lužnice and Vltava. In the area of the Třeboň Basin, the river meanders significantly and beside the fishponds, the area around the river in this area is rich in small

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

Nature

A long section of the river forms the axis of the Třeboňsko Protected Landscape Area. Within this area, the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

of Horní Lužnice is delimited in the immediate vicinity of a 16-km long stretch of the river. It has an area of . The subject of protection is the river and its

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

with various types of

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

and meadow species. It is one of the last extensive locations in Central Europe of this type. The territory is important mainly for the integrity of the hydrological regime and for many rare, endangered or otherwise important wetland species. The riverbed in the section between Veselí nad Lužnicí (where Třeboňsko PLA ends) to the mouth of the river is protected as Lužnice Nature Monument with an area of . The reason for protection is the occurrence of rare and endangered species, especially thick shelled river mussel, weatherfish and

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

. The most common fish in the river is common chub. Other numerous fish include common roach, common bleak, gudgeon and in fast-flowing sections common barbel. Rare is the occurrence of

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota''), also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, or eelpout, is a species of coldwater ray-finned fish native to the subarctic regions of ...

Bridges

The Lužnice is spanned by the rare Stádlec Suspension Bridge, which connects Stádlec with the village of Dobřejice (a part of Malšice). The bridge is protected as a national cultural monument. At

, the river is spanned by the Bechyně Bridge, a unique reinforced concrete arch bridge. For its value, it is also protected as a national cultural monument. At the village of Stará Hlína (part of

), the river is spanned by a stone inundation bridge. It is a valuable twelve-arch bridge from 1799, protected as a cultural monument.

Tourism

The Lužnice is among the most popular rivers for river tourism in the country. It it suitable for beginner paddlers. Both the upper course and the lower course are navigable.

References

External links

River flow at Bechyně station
– Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute {{DEFAULTSORT:Luznice Rivers of the South Bohemian Region Rivers of Lower Austria International rivers of Europe Rivers of the Czech Republic Rivers of Austria Austria–Czech Republic border