Neretva

Map of the river

Neretva in Mostar

Neretva Delta in Croatia

The Neretva reservoir of Jablanica

Cominform in the delta of the Neretva

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Neretva (Cyrillic Неретва, italy Narenta; . In ancient Greek Νάρων, latin Naro ) is the most important river of Herzegovina. It is 225 km long, of which 203 km are in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 22 kilometers in Croatia.

Course

Source and upper reaches

The Neretva rises in about 1100 m at Držirep (municipality Gacko ) south of the mountain Zelengora, near the Sutjeska National Park and the Montenegrin border. The source is located some 60 kilometers south of Sarajevo, 20 kilometers southwest of Foca. The young mountain river first flows in a northwesterly direction through a sparsely populated valley between the mountains Lelija, Visočica and Bjelašnica the northeast and Crvanj and Prenj in the southwest. The surrounding peaks rise to heights of over 2100 m. Recently, plans have been published which provide for the construction of dams on the hitherto almost untouched headwaters. The other hand, environmentalists call for the establishment of a national park in the region.

From the valley of the Neretva Konjic serves as the main transport corridor between Sarajevo and Mostar. The river is dammed here to Jablaničko Lake. After about 80 kilometers, he bends at the junction of Rama north of Jablanica to the south and crosses henceforth the Neretva Gorge ( Neretva klisura ), which extends up to Mostar. This area was the site of the Battle of the Neretva between the Axis and the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army under Josip Broz Tito in the spring of 1943. A few kilometers before the Mostar Neretva is dammed again.

Middle reaches

On the middle course of the Neretva Mostar lies with the largest and most important city in the Herzegovina, which is divided by the river into two halves. While traditionally occupied by Catholics live on the right (west ) bank, the eastern part of the city is mainly populated Muslim. In the Bosnian War, the river marked here for some time, the front between Croats and Bosniaks. The famous Old Bridge ( Stari most ) from the Ottoman period linked the two banks until its destruction in 1993 and combines them again since the reconstruction in 2004.

Behind Mostar, the narrow canyon opens to a broader level, which closes again at the confluence of the Buna. The Neretva flows through here for another 20 km there is a narrow valley. In Počitelj whose fortress earlier controlled the river, the canyon opens up gradually before at Čapljina at the mouth of Trebižat ( from the west ) and Bregava ( from east ) of the underflow begins. Other smaller tributaries in this area are Repesnica, Rakitnica, Lyuta, Ladanica, Župski Krupac, Bukovica, Bijela, Krupac, Narin and Rama.

Lower reaches and delta

At about 40 km long lower course of the Neretva their level is used for intensive agriculture. On the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina that affects only the area between the river and the wetland Hutovo Blato, while the actual river delta of the Neretva begins only after Metković and thus belongs to Croatia.

Near the town are the ruins of the ancient city Narona whose former meaning was dependent on the location on the river and near the sea. In the last 25 miles from Metković the river is since the regulation in 1895, navigable for small vessels. The delta of the Neretva plays an important role for agriculture in the southern part of the country, as it is one of the few irrigated and very fertile plains of the region. Since 1881 and to a greater extent after 1945, large parts of the marsh were drained and thus made ​​usable for agriculture. During the work remained of the former river arms 12 only three left.

In Ploce in Croatia the river empties into the Adriatic Sea.

Hydrology

The Neretva drained most of the Herzegovina; their catchment area has an area of ​​5581 km ². At its mouth, the average discharge is 378 m³ / s Thus, it is according to the Save the largest river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also the only Herzegovinian river that runs entirely above ground.

Traffic

The Neretva is the only major river that breaks through the Dinaric Alps in the north-south direction. My Valley as part of geologic Neretva Bosna - furrow was therefore always been an important transport corridor, which now belongs to the Pan-European Corridor Vc. Between 1872 and 1882 the first railway line was built through the valley, which later merged into today's railway Sarajevo- Ploce of Railways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. South of Konjic the main road M- 17 extends substantially along the Neretva.

Navigation is only possible on the lowest kilometers of river between the mouth and Metković.

Policy

The course of the Neretva, which specializes in Bosnia - Herzegovina, initially for a few kilometers to the Association of Municipalities of Republika Srpska Gacko and Kalinovik. However, the largest part of the river runs in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina through the municipalities of Konjic, Jablanica, Mostar, Čitluk and Čapljina. The last 22 km belong to the Croatian Dubrovnik-Neretva county.

Swell

• FAO - Inland fisheries of Europe ( English)