The Svratka (; ) is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Thaya River. It flows through the Vysočina and South Moravian regions, including the city of Brno. It is long, making it the 9th longest river in the Czech Republic.
Etymology The name probably originates from the Proto-Slavic verb vort ('return'; vrátit in modern Czech) and from the Old Czech verb sworti ('meander'). So it meant "returning (meandering) river". There is also a theory is that the name was derived from the Germanic Swarta, which meant 'black water'. Sometimes the river was colloquially referred to as Švarcava or Švorcava.
Characteristic
The Svratka originates in the territory of Cikháj in the Upper Svratka Highlands at an elevation of and flows to the Nové Mlýny reservoirs, where it enters the Thaya River in Dolní Věstonice at an elevation of . It is long, making it the 9th longest river in the Czech Republic. Its drainage basin has an area of .
The longest tributaries of the Svratka are: Tributary Length (km) River km Side Jihlava 180.8 0.1 right Svitava 98.4 40.7 left Bobrůvka 62.6 78.9 right Litava 58.6 29.0 left Bobrava 37.6 36.8 right Bílý potok 36.0 67.0 right Šatava 32.0 9.9 right Nedvědička 30.2 89.1 right Bystřice 26.2 113.5 right Hodonínka 24.4 103.0 left Lubě 24.1 73.7 left Fryšávka 23.8 125.5 right
Course
The most notable settlement on the Svratka is the city of Brno, where the Svitava flows into the river. The river flows past the following municipalities: Cikháj, Herálec, Svratka, Křižánky, Březiny, Krásné, Spělkov, Telecí, Borovnice, Jimramov, Strachujov, Unčín, Dalečín, Chlum-Korouhvice, Vír, Koroužné, Štěpánov nad Svratkou, Ujčov, Nedvědice, Černvír, Doubravník, Borač, Štěpánovice, Tišnov, Veverská Bítýška, Brno, Modřice, Rajhrad, Židlochovice, Nosislav, Velké Němčice, Vranovice, Pouzdřany, Ivaň and Dolní Věstonice.
In the section from Březiny to Borovnice, the river forms the border between the Vysočina and Pardubice regions. In the section from Herálec to Jimramov, the river also forms the border between the historical lands of Bohemia and Moravia.
Bodies of water The reservoirs Brno (), Vír I () and Vír II () are built on the Svratka. The largest body of water in the basin area is the Dalešice Reservoir with an area of , which is built on the Jihlava River. There are 4,942 bodies of water in the basin area.
Protection of nature
The upper course of the river, including its spring, is located within the protected landscape area of Žďárské vrchy.
A meandering section of the Svratka near the village of Milovy is protected as the Meandry Svratky u Milov Nature Reserve. It has an area of . This area of fens and peat bogs is a habitat of macrophyte vegetation and associated animal species. These include many protected species, e.g. brook lamprey and corn crake, which are critically endangered within the Czech Republic.
A short section of the Svratka in the municipality of Ujčov is protected as the Svratka Nature Monument. It has an area of . It is protected because of the occurrence of the ostrich fern, endangered in the Czech Republic.
Tourism The Svratka is among the popular rivers for river tourism. Two of its sections are navigable for paddlers; however, the upper section is navigable only during the spring thaw and after heavy rains, and the lower section depends on the discharge of the Vír I and Vír II reservoirs. A short slalom channel is built between Vír I and Vír II.
References
External links
River flow at Dalečín station – Flood Warning and Forecasting Service of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute