Ohře

The Ohře (pronounced [ˈoɦr̝ɛ]) or, slightly less commonly in English sources, the Eger (German: Eger, Czech also: Oharka or Ohara, Celtic: Agara, Polish: Ohrza), is a 316 km long river[1] in Germany (50 km) and the Czech Republic (266 km),[2] left tributary of the Elbe. The catchment area of the river is 5,588 km2,[1] of which 4,601 km2 is in the Czech Republic,[2] 920 km2 in Bavaria[3] and 67 km2 in Saxony. It is the fourth longest river in the Czech Republic.

Not to be confused with the Ohre, another tributary of the Elbe in northern Germany..
Ohře
The Ohře near Budyně nad Ohří
Location
Countries
Physical characteristics
Source 
 ⁃ locationFichtel Mountains, Bavaria, Germany
Mouth 
 ⁃ location
Elbe, Czech Republic
 ⁃ coordinates
50°31′44″N 14°8′11″E
Length316 km (196 mi) [1]
Basin size5,588 km2 (2,158 sq mi) [1]
Discharge 
 ⁃ average38 m3/s (1,300 cu ft/s)
Basin features
ProgressionElbe→ North Sea

Several districts in Germany and the Czech Republic have formed a Euroregion initiative named Euregio Egrensis to foster cooperation in the region of Eger/Ohře/Cheb.

Etymology

There is a Czech pun that the Ohře got its name from the river Teplá (meaning "warm" in Czech)—"ohřát" means "to warm up". However, the real origin, which also shows in the German name, is Celtic, from Agara (the "Salmon River"). The records show the name as Agara, Agira, Agra in the 9th century, Egire, Egra or Ogra in the 11th century and Eger in 1472.[4] Another theory states that since in North Macedonia there exists a Lake Ohrid, the Slavic people who settled in the Balkans, particularly the region of Macedonia around Lake Ohrid, originated from the area of the river Ohře and thus named the lake in Macedonia "Ohrid".

Sources
Source of the Eger (Ohře)

The source of the river Eger is situated in Bavaria at the foot of the Schneeberg in the Fichtel Mountains near the town of Weißenstadt.

The river then flows through Lake Weissenstadt and the towns of Roeslau, Marktleuthen and Hohenberg where it leaves Germany. After about 35 km, the Eger (not to be confused with the town in Hungary), as the river is called in German, crosses the border into the Czech Republic to flow through parts of Bohemia which were known until 1945 as Egerland. The river passes the towns of Cheb, (German: Eger, like the river), Karlovy Vary, Klášterec nad Ohří, Kadaň, Žatec, Louny, and Terezín before flowing into the river Elbe at Litoměřice. The river basin of the Ohře is part of formerly German speaking Sudetenland still having many toponyms from German.

Flow

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 (less than 500 mm).

Use

The Ohře is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric energy. There are two dams: Skalka (built in 1962–1964, area 378 ha) and Nechranice (built 1961–1968, area 1338 ha). The river flows through the following important towns: Cheb, Sokolov, Loket, Karlovy Vary, Ostrov nad Ohří, Klášterec nad Ohří, Kadaň, Žatec, Louny, Libochovice, Budyně nad Ohří, Terezín and Litoměřice.

Tributaries

References
  1. Michael Bergemann (2015-07-01). "Gesamtliste der Fließgewässer im Elbeeinzugsgebiet" (PDF; 791 kB) (in German). Arbeitsgemeinschaft für die Reinhaltung der Elbe. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  2. "Charakteristiky toků a povodí ČR - Ohře" (in Czech). VÚV TGM. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  3. Complete table of the Bavarian Waterbody Register by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (xls, 10.3 MB)
  4. Friedrich Umlauft: Geographisches Namenbuch von Österreich-ungarn: Eine Erklärung von Länder-, Völker, Gau-, Fluss und Ortsnamen, A. Hölder, 1886.
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