The Váh (; , ; ; Wag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich (''in Geographical Dictionary of Polish Kingdom and other Slavic countries'').) is the longest

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 ...

within

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. Towns on the river include Liptovský Hrádok,

Liptovský Mikuláš Liptovský Mikuláš (; until 1952 ''Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš'', ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River, about from Bratislava. It lies in the Liptov region, in Podtatranská kotlina, Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tat ...

, Ružomberok, Vrútky,

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...

, Bytča, Považská Bystrica, Púchov,

Ilava Ilava (, ) is a town in the Trenčín Region, northwestern Slovakia. Name The name is of uncertain origin. The historic medieval names were ''Lewe'', ''Lewa'' (the same historic name as Levice), ''Lewa de cidca fluviom Vag'', later ''Ilava''. ...

, Dubnica nad Váhom, Nemšová,

Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a List of towns in Slovakia, city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech Republic, Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a populati ...

, Nové Mesto nad Váhom,

Piešťany Piešťany (; , , , ) is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its Piešťany District, own district. It is the biggest and best known spa town in Slovakia and has around ...

Hlohovec Hlohovec (, Hungarian ''Galgóc''), is a town in southwestern Slovakia, with a population of 21,508. Name The name comes from ''*Glogovec'', the Old Slavic name for a place densely overgrown by hawthorn. The Hungarian form ''Galgóc'' was ado ...

, Sereď, Šaľa, Kolárovo and

Komárno Komárno (, , ), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom'', ''Öregkomárom'', ''Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian, is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Historically it was formed by the "old ...

Etymology

The name is of Germanic or Slavic origin. It could be derived from old Germanic ''wȃg'' (stream) or proto-Slavic ''vagъ'', ''vaga'' (pole, stick, carved branch) referring to reinforced riverbanks. Several Slavic river names with a similar motivation exist, but pre-Slavic origin of larger rivers in Slovakia is assumed in general. The earliest mentions are ''flumen Vvaga'' (1111) and ''aqua Vvac (1113).

Geography

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

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river, the Váh is long, including its Čierny Váh branch. Its two sources, the ''Biely Váh'' (White Váh) and the ''Čierny Váh'' (Black Váh), are located in the Vysoké Tatry (High Tatras) and Nízke Tatry (Low Tatra) mountains, respectively, and it flows over northern and western Slovakia and finally feeds into the Danube near

at the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

. The left tributaries are Demänovka, Revúca, Ľubochnianka, Turiec,

Rajčanka Rajčanka or Rajčianka () is a river in northern Slovakia springing in Strážovské vrchy near Čičmany and pouring into Váh in Žilina. It is long and its basin size is . It forms the border of Lúčanská Malá Fatra Mountains and of Strá� ...

and Nitra rivers, and the right tributaries are Belá, Orava, Varínka, Kysuca, Biela voda, Vlára, Dubová, Dudváh and Malý Dunaj rivers. In late medieval time it was a property of Stibor of Stiboricz and his son Stibor of Beckov of the

Clan of Ostoja The Clan Ostoja (Moscics), Clan of Ostoja (old Polish: ''Ostoya'') was a powerful group of knights and lords in late-medieval Europe. The clan encompassed families in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (including present-day Belarus and Ukraine ...

, later passing to Maurice Benyovszky as a gift of Maria Theresa. It includes canals, artificial dams (

Čierny Váh Čierny (, feminine: Čierna ) is a Slovak-language surname, the counterpart of the Czech surname Černý (surname), Černý. Notable people with the surname include: *Jozef Čierny (born 1974), Slovak professional ice hockey player *Ladislav Čier ...

, Liptovská Mara, Bešeňová, Krpeľany,

, Hričov, Nosice, Sĺňava, Madunice, Kráľová and Selice) and 16 hydropower stations, whose construction started in the 1930s and increased after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The main Slovak limited-access motorway is along the Váh (

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

–

– Považská Bystrica –

and Ružomberok – Poprad), as well as the main railway Bratislava – Žilina –

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

References

Sources

Rural Development Programme of the SR 2007-2013

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vah Rivers of Slovakia Tributaries of the Danube