Váh

The Waag in Piešťany

The Waag (Slovak Vah, Hungarian Vág, Polish Wag ) is the longest river in Slovakia as well as the Danube and the Tisza, the longest river in the Carpathian Basin with 403 km ( 378 km other counting ) in length. It rises near the Slovak national center in the Low and High Tatras, alternates between broad plains and narrow rift valleys, high mountain ranges in Slovakia surrounded in a large semi-circle and ends (east of Bratislava) in Komárno in the Danube River ( river km 1766 ).

Name

The name of the Waag is to be derived from the Latin word vagus ( wandering around, wanderlustig ), as the river often changed its river.

History and catchment area

The Waag is formed in the community Kráľova Lehota ( in Liptovsky Hradok ) by the confluence of the coming of the High Tatras White Waag ( Biely Vah ) ( headwaters 49 ° 8 ' 58 "N, 20 ° 0' 21" O49.14955749416720.0059505383332026 ) and the flowing from the Low Tatras Black Waag ( Čierny Vah ) ( headwaters of 48 ° 53 ' 23 " N, 20 ° 8' 10 " O48.88981527166720.13614834751948 ). Then it flows westwards over by the sub- Tatra boiler at the town Liptovsky Mikulas and by the large Liptauer reservoir before it reaches the old Ružomberok ( UNESCO World Heritage Vlkolínec ).

In the transverse valley in the Great Fatra the Waag in Kraľovany takes her first big inflow, the right bank Arwa on. In the following landscape of Turz she takes on the left inflow Turcianska in the industrial cities and Martin Vrútky. After another breakthrough by the Small Fatra at Strečno it reaches the regional capital Žilina; Here, the current increases to the rivers and Kysuca Rajčianka.

From here the river turns towards the southwest and parallel to the border with Moravia. In the city Považska Bystrica Waag enters a more industrial region, with its castle, the cities Púchov, Dubnica comprises up to regional capital Trenčín nad Váhom and Nová Dubnica. In Nemšová right side opens the Vlára. Further downstream the river Vah occurs in Nové Mesto nad Váhom into the mighty Danube lowlands and flows southward from this point. The Waag goes through the spa town of Piestany, the prison city Leopoldov and Hlohovec and runs about 15 km east of the old university city of Trnava over. From about Sered it flows in the majority of Hungarian-speaking Danube plane through the cities Šaľa and Kolárovo ( mouth of the Little Danube and Vah - Danube and the Nitra ) before it opens at Komárno into the main stream.

The 19,696 km ² large catchment area of ​​Waag includes seven Kraje and forty Okresy Slovakia, where about two-fifths of the population of Slovakia lives. The Waag and their tributaries drained completely the Žilinský, almost the entire Trenčín Region (excluding the areas around Myjava in the west and the village of Nová Lehota in the southeast ), about two-thirds of the Trnavský kraj (between the Little Carpathians and half of the Great Rye Island ) as well as the western half of the Nitriansky kraj (except for an area in the southwest ). The catchment area also covers about 40 % of Bratislavský kraj, small areas in the west of the Prešov Region ( Poprad Okres ) and very small parts of Banskobystrický kraj (north of Kremnica and around the town Donovaly ). In addition, also includes smaller areas in Poland (west of Nowy Targ ) and Czech Republic ( in Mosty u Jablunkova, the river Vlára and the municipalities strání and Březova ) to the catchment area.

Regulation

Regulation plans existed for centuries, but were not realized until 1890. The weirs and reservoirs in Považie consider flood protection, agriculture, marine and energy. Today, about 60 to 80 percent of the river length of the Vah and Nitra are regulated. This today as Waag cascade ( Vážska Kaskáda ) designated system encompasses 22 hydropower plants and reservoirs following:

• Čierny Vah ( Waag at the Black )
• Liptauer reservoir ( Liptovská Mara )
• Bešeňová
• Krpeľany
• Žilina
• Hričov
• Mikšová
• Považska Bystrica
• Nosice (also Priehrada mládeže - Dam of youth )
• Sĺňava
• Drahovce - Madunice
• Kráľová
• Selice

Total generated nearly half of Slovak water flow in hydroelectric plants on the Waag and its tributaries (especially Orava ). In addition, the Bohunice nuclear power plant uses the water from the river to cool off.

Tourism

Today you can experience the historical rafting as a tourist attraction at the headwaters of the Waag. Between the large Liptauer reservoir and Žilina there are many private deals on rafting on the Waag.

Traffic

Since the Waag half flows through Slovakia, she was early an important waterway. In the lower reaches the 74 km long stick from the mouth is navigable as far as Sered, but also the rapid headwaters was used for wood rafts. There are plans to make the Waag up to Zilina as part of the European road E81 navigable water in order to connect the river with the Oder, together with the Kysuca and different channels.

In the east-west traffic within Slovakia the other Považie plays a major role. In rail transport, running parts of the electrified and double main tracks Bratislava - Žilina Žilina and Košice - that connects the two Slovak cities Bratislava and Košice, by the Považie. The old state roads are replaced by the main highway D1; currently (2013 ) still lacks the stretch of Žilina up behind Ružomberok.