Ohře

The Ohře (Czech pronunciation: [ˈoɦr̝ɛ]) or, slightly less commonly in English sources, the Eger (German pronunciation: [ˈeːɡɐ]), is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through Bavaria in Germany and through the Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem regions in the Czech Republic. It is 304.7 km (189.3 mi) long, of which 256 km (159 mi) is in the Czech Republic, which makes it the fourth longest river in the country.

Ohře
The Ohře in Louny
Location
Countries
States/
Regions
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationWeißenstadt, Fichtel Mountains, Germany
 • elevation752 m (2,467 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Elbe, Czech Republic
 • coordinates
50°31′44″N 14°8′11″E
 • elevation
143 m (469 ft)
Length304.6 km (189.3 mi)
Basin size5,606.1 km2 (2,164.5 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average38 m3/s (1,300 cu ft/s)
Basin features
ProgressionElbe→ North Sea

Etymology

The name is of Celtic or pre-Celtic origin. In the 9th century, it appeared as Agara. According to one theory, its meaning was 'salmon river' (composed of the words ag, eg – 'salmon', and are, ara – 'flowing water').[1] According to the second theory, the name was derived from agriā and meant a fast-moving, fast-flowing river. In the 12th century, Ohře was written as Egre, Oegre and Ogre.[2][3]

Characteristic
The inscription on the source of the Ohře reads:

Als der Knabe kam zur Eger:
"Eger, sprich, wo eilst du hin?"
"Zu der Elbe", rauscht es reger,
"Zu der Elbe muß ich zieh'n!"
Als der Knabe kam zur Elbe,
War die Antwort inhaltsschwer;
Donnernd braust zurück dieselbe:
"Und ich muß ins deutsche Meer!"

When the boy came to the Ohře:
"Ohře, speak, where are you rushing to?"
"To the Elbe", whooshes it astirly,
"To the Elbe I must draw!"
When the boy came to the Elbe,
The answer was profound;
Thundering booms back the selfsame:
"And I must (go) into the German Sea!"

The Ohře originates in the territory of Weißenstadt in the Fichtel Mountains at the elevation of 752 m (2,467 ft), below the Mt. Schneeberg. It flows to Litoměřice, where it enters the Elbe River at the elevation of 143 m (469 ft).[4] It is 304.6 km (189.3 mi) long,[5] of which 256 km (159 mi) is in the Czech Republic,[1][lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] which makes it the fourth longest river in the Czech Republic. The German part of the river (including the border section) is 49.8 km (30.9 mi) long.[7]

Drainage basin

Its drainage basin has an area of 5,606.1 km2 (2,164.5 sq mi).[4][lower-alpha 4] The area of the drainage basin in the Czech Republic is 4,601.1 km2 (1,776.5 sq mi).[6] The area of the drainage basin in Bavaria is 920.4 km2 (355.4 sq mi).[7] The rest of the drainage basin is in Saxony.

The drainage basin is divided to further third-level basin areas:[4]

Basin codeBasin nameArea (km2)
1-13-01Ohře to the confluence with Teplá2471.0
1-13-02Teplá and Ohře to the confulence with Liboc1147.1
1-13-03Liboc and Ohře to the confulence with Chomutovka1262.7
1-13-04Ohře from Chomutovka to the mouth725.3

Tributaries

The longest tributaries of the Ohře are:

TributaryLength (km)River kmSide
Wondreb / Odrava66.1224.1right
Teplá65.1175.3right
Blšanka50.881.3right
Chomutovka50.465.8left
Röslau / Reslava46.4252.3right
Liboc46.491.1right
Svatava / Zwota41.0203.0left
Rolava / Rohlau36.7177.4left
Libocký potok30.3219.4left
Bystřice29.6153.8left
Plesná / Fleißenbach29.1226.6left

Flow

From the source the river then flows eastwards, through Lake Weissenstadt (Weißenstädter See) and through the towns of Röslau and Marktleuthen, and, after about 60 km, reaches the Czech border near Hohenberg an der Eger. It then flows through parts of Bohemia which were known until 1945 as Egerland. The river passes the towns of Cheb, (German: Eger, like the river), Loket, Sokolov, Karlovy Vary, Klášterec nad Ohří, Kadaň, Žatec, Louny, Libochovice, Budyně nad Ohří and Terezín before flowing into the river Elbe at Litoměřice.

The highest volume flow rate occurs in spring. The average volume flow rate at the mouth is 37.94 m³/s.

The lower part of the river flows through areas with the lowest average precipitation in the Czech Republic (400–500 mm).[4]

Use
Skalka Reservoir

The Ohře is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric energy. There are two reservoirs: Skalka (built in 1962–1964, area 378 ha (930 acres)[8]) and Nechranice (built 1961–1968, area 1,338 ha (3,310 acres)[9]).

Notes
  1. The Ohře touches the territory of the Czech Republic for the first time at the 256th river km, and from this moment on its "Czech" part is counted, although in the next 3.7 km the total volume of the flow briefly returns to the territory of Germany several times. From the 252.3 river km (the confluence with the Röslau), the course of the river leaves the Czech-German border and flows only through the Czech Republic.
  2. Povodí Ohře (state enterprise, whose activity is the care and administration of the river basin) calculated the length of the river to the confluence with the Röslau (i.e. without the section that forms the Czech-German border) at 253.6 km (157.6 mi) and the total length at 302.0 km (187.7 mi).[4]
  3. Due to the construction of two reservoirs on the river and the straightening of meanders, the calculated length on the river in the Czech Republic by the T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute is 246.6 km (153.2 mi),[6] however, this length does not correspond to the numbering of river kilometres.
  4. According to the older measurements, the area was 5,613.7 km2 (2,167.5 sq mi).[5]

References
  1. "Historie ovlivněná řekou" (in Czech). Povodí Ohře. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  2. Loucká, Pavla (1997-09-05). "Řeky si pojmenovali nejdřív" (in Czech). Vesmír. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  3. Blažek, Václav (2010-10-07). "Etymological analysis of toponyms from Ptolemy's Description of Central Europe" (PDF). Ulster University. p. 33. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  4. "Návrh plánu dílčího povodí Ohře, dolního Labe a ostatních přítoků labe: III. plánovací období (2021–2027)" (in Czech). Povodí Ohře. pp. 5–8. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  5. Labe a jeho povodí (PDF) (in Czech). International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe. 2005. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  6. "Základní charakteristiky toku Ohře a jeho povodí" (in Czech). T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  7. Complete table of the Bavarian Waterbody Register by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (xls, 10.3 MB)
  8. "Vodní dílo Skalka" (in Czech). Povodí Ohře. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  9. "Vodní dílo Nechranice" (in Czech). Povodí Ohře. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
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