Ohře


The Ohře or, slightly less commonly in English sources, the Eger, is a 316 km river in Germany and the Czech Republic, left tributary of the Elbe. The river's catchment area is 5,588 km2, of which 4,601 km2 is in the Czech Republic, 920 km2 in Bavaria and 67 km2 in Saxony. It is the fourth-longest river in the Czech Republic.
Several districts in Germany and the Czech Republic have formed a Euroregion initiative, Euregio Egrensis, to foster co-operation in the region.

Etymology

There is a Czech pun that the Ohře got its name from the river Teplá —"ohřát" means "to warm up". However, the real origin, which also shows in the German name, is Celtic, from Agara.
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. 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".

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.

Use

The Ohře is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric energy. There are two dams: Skalka and Nechranice. 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