Morava River (Central Europe)
| Morava | |
| River | |
 The Morava between Austria and Slovakia
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| Countries | Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria |
|---|---|
| Regions | Pardubice, Olomouc, Zlín, South Moravian, Trnava, Bratislava, Lower Austria |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Krupá, Branná, Desná, Oskava, Bečva, Dřevnice, Olšava, Velička, Myjava |
| - right | Mírovka, Moravská Sázava, Haná, Thaya |
| Cities | Olomouc, Kroměříž, Uherské Hradiště, Hodonín, Holíč, Bratislava, Marcheeg |
| Source | |
| - location | Králický Sněžník |
| - elevation | 1,275 m (4,183 ft) |
| - coordinates | 50°12′18″N 16°50′57″E / 50.20500°N 16.84917°E |
| Mouth | Danube |
| - location | Devín |
| - coordinates | 48°10′27″N 16°58′32″E / 48.17417°N 16.97556°ECoordinates: 48°10′27″N 16°58′32″E / 48.17417°N 16.97556°E |
| Length | 354 km (220 mi) |
| Basin | 27,267 km2 (10,528 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 120 m3/s (4,238 cu ft/s) |
| Progression | Danube→ Black Sea |
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The Morava (German: March, Hungarian: Morva, Polish: Morawa) is a river in Central Europe, a left tributary of the Danube. It is the main river of Moravia, which derives its name from it. The river originates on the Králický Sněžník mountain in the north-eastern corner of Pardubice Region, near the border between the Czech Republic and Poland and has a vaguely southward trajectory. The lower part of the river's course forms the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia and then between Austria and Slovakia.
Though the German name March may refer to Mark, "border, frontier" (c.f. English ), the river's name more probably is derived from Proto-Indo-European *mori, "waters" (). It was first documented as Maraha in an 892 deed.
The shores of the Morava have been inhabited for a very long time. The village of Stillfried, in the Austrian part of the river course, has been the place of a human settlement already 30,000 years ago. Agriculture began to be practiced in the Morava valley approximately 7,000 years ago. Fortified settlements began to appear in the river valley during the New Stone Age.
The lower part of the river, downstream of the confluence with the Thaya at Hohenau an der March, which today marks the Austro-Slovakian border, is one of the oldest national boundaries still extant in continental Europe: it was the eastern boundary of the Carolingian Empire with the Avar Khaganate around 800 and from the 10th century onwards marked the border of the Imperial marcha orientalis, later Duchy of Austria with the Kingdom of Hungary (within the Habsburg Monarchy during 1526–1918 due to the imperial expansion of the Austrian lands). At the times of the Cold War, this section of the river was part of the Iron curtain, being the frontier between Austria and Czechoslovakia.
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Wikipedia