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Neman

(Redirected fromNeman (river))
For other uses, seeNeman (disambiguation).
"Nieman" redirects here. For the surname, seeNieman (surname).
"Niemen" redirects here. For other uses, seeNiemen (disambiguation).

TheNeman,NiemenorNemunas[nb 1]is a river inEuropethat rises in centralBelarusand flows throughLithuaniathen formsthe northern borderofKaliningrad Oblast,Russia's westernexclave,which specifically follows its southern channel. It drains into theCuronian Lagoon,narrowly connected to theBaltic Sea.The 937 km (582 mi) long Neman is a majorEastern Europeanriver. It flows generally west toGrodnowithin 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) of the Polish border, north toKaunas,then westward again to the sea.

Neman
Niemen
Nemunas
The Neman nearAlytus
Map highlighting Neman
Etymologypossible Slavic word for monster
Location
CountryBelarus,Lithuania,Russia
CitiesStowbtsy,Grodno,Druskininkai,Alytus,Birštonas,Prienai,Kaunas,Jurbarkas,Sovetsk
Physical characteristics
Source
• locationSouthwest ofMinsk,Belarus
• coordinates53°15′10″N27°18′21″E/ 53.25278°N 27.30583°E/53.25278; 27.30583
• elevation176 m (577 ft)
MouthCuronian Lagoon
• location
West ofŠilutė,Lithuania
• coordinates
55°20′12″N21°14′50″E/ 55.33667°N 21.24722°E/55.33667; 21.24722
• elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length937 km (582 mi)
Basin size98,200 km2(37,900 sq mi)
Discharge
• locationCuronian Lagoon,linked to theBaltic Sea
• average678 m3/s (23,900 cu ft/s)[1]
Map

The largest river in Lithuania, and the third-largest in Belarus, it is navigable for most of its length. It starts from two small headwaters merging about 15 kilometers (9 mi) southwest of the town ofUzda– about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of capital cityMinsk.Only 17 kilometres (11 mi), an eastward meander, contributes to theBelarus–Lithuania border.Thereafter the river includes notable loops along a minor tectonic fault.

Itsdrainage basinsettled in the lateQuaternaryto be roughly along the edge of the lastglacialsheet so dates to about 25,000 to 22,000 years BC. Its depth varies from 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) in its upper courses to 5 meters (16 ft) in the lower basin.

Numbers

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The Neman near Grodno
  • The total length of the Nioman/Nemunas/Neman is 937 km (582 mi).[2]It is the 4th longest river in theBaltic Seabasin. Over its entire length, 436 km (271 mi) flows inBelarus[2]and 359 km (223 mi) in Lithuania. A 116 km (72 mi) stretch is the border betweenLithuaniaandRussia'sKaliningrad oblast.
  • Its greatest depth is 5 m (16 ft), and at its widest it extends about 500 m (1,600 ft).
  • The Nioman/Nemunas/Neman is a slow river; it flows at about 1 to 2 m/s (3.3 to 6.6 ft/s).
  • During floods, water discharge can increase up to 11-fold, to more than 6,800 m3/s (240,000 cu ft/s). Severe floods occur on the lower reaches of the river about every 12 – 15 years, which sometimes wash out bridges.[3]
Neman oppositeKaliningrad Oblast(Russian exclave)
  • The Nioman/Nemunas/Neman is an old river, dating back to thelast glacial period.Its valley is now up to 60 meters (200 ft) deep and 5 km (3 mi) broad.
  • It has about 105 first-classtributaries,the largest being the riversNeris(Viliya) (510 km (320 mi)),Shchara(325 km (202 mi)), andŠešupė(298 km (185 mi)). Fifteen of thetributariesare longer than 100 km (62 mi).
  • In the complete Nioman/Nemunas/Neman basin, there are tributaries extending to the 11th order.
  • The Nemunas basin in Lithuania drains more than 20,000 rivers andrivuletsand covers 72% of Lithuania's territory.
  • The total area of the Nioman/Nemunas/Neman basin is 98,200 km2(37,900 sq mi),[2]34,610 km2(13,360 sq mi) of which are within Belarus,[2]the Lithuanian portion of this basin is 46,695 km2(268 sq mi).
  • Valley of Neman inGrodno Regionis the lowest point above sea level in Belarus at 80 to 90 m (260 to 300 ft).[4]

River course

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Nemunas loops

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Nemunas bend inLiškiava
500litasbanknote featuring Nemunas loops

Due to their location, "The Nemunas loops" are often described using the Lithuanian name for the river. In 1992Nemunas Loops Regional Parkwas founded. Its goal is to preserve the loops (Lithuanian:vingis) that the river makes in thePuniaforest. NearPrienai,the Nemunas makes a 17-kilometer-long (11 mi) loop (like a teardrop) coming within1.2 km (3⁄4mi) of completing the loop. The Nemunas flows along the double bend betweenBalbieriškisandBirštonasfor 48 km (30 mi) and then moves in a northerly direction for only4.5 km (2+3⁄4mi). The loops are not conventional rivermeanders;they follow underlyingtectonicstructures. Thefaultsare the source of local mineral springs.[5]The area is historically and culturally significant. Its castles served as the first line of defense against forays by theTeutonic knights.

Delta

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Main article:Nemunas Delta

At itsdeltathe Nemunas splits into a maze of river branches and canals mixing withpoldersandwetlandsand is a very attractive destination foreco-tourism.The four maindistributariesare Atmata, Pakalnė, Skirvytė (the southern mouth, marking the international border) and Gilija. The river plays a crucial part in the ecosystem of theCuronian Lagoon.It provides the main water inflow to the lagoon and keeps the water almost fresh. This allows fresh water andbrackish wateranimals to survive there. As the delta extends north the lagoon opposite narrows. Since the delta is in Lithuania, it is often referred to asNemunas Delta.Nemunas Delta Regional Parkwas created in the delta in 1992.

Tributaries

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The following rivers are tributaries to the river Neman/Nemunas (from source to mouth):

Largest settlements on the river

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From west to east, the largest settlements areSovetsk/Tilsit,Neman,Kaunas,Alytus,Druskininkai,Grodno,andMasty.

Significance in culture

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Ptolemyreferred to Neman as Chronos (although competing theories suppose Chronos was in factPregolya).

The river has lent its name to theNeman Culture,aNeolithicarchaeological subculture.[6]

Napoleon and his army crossing the Neman in June 1812

InGerman,the part of the river flowing through historicPrussiahas been calleddie Memelat least since about 1250, whenTeutonic KnightsbuiltMemelburgcastle and the town ofMemelat the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon, naming it after the indigenous name of the river, Memel. The city of Memel, now in Lithuania, is known today asKlaipėda(confusingly, another city of Memel was on the Dange River, now called theDanė). In German road maps and lexika, only the 112-kilometer (70 mi) section within Prussia (starting atSchmalleningken) was named Memel; the bulk of the river was the Niemen.

The border between theState of the Teutonic Orderand Lithuania was fixed in 1422 by theTreaty of Lake Melnoand remained stable for centuries. TheTreaty of TilsitbetweenNapoleonandTsarAlexander Iwas signed on a raft in the river in 1807.[7]Napoleon's crossing at the outset of the 1812French invasion of Russiais described inWar and Peace[8]and also mentioned inPan Tadeusz.In 1919, theTreaty of Versaillesmade the river the border separating theMemel Territoryfrom GermanEast Prussiaas of 1920. At that time, Germany'sWeimar Republicadopted theDeutschlandliedas its officialnational anthem.In the first stanza of the song, written in 1841, the river is mentioned as the eastern border of a (then politically yet-to-be united)Germany:

The Nemunas inDruskininkai
German lyrics Approximate English translation
Von der Maas bis an die Memel,
Von der Etsch bis an den Belt 		From theMeuseto the Memel,
From theAdigeto theBelt

Lithuanians refer to the Nemunas as "the father of rivers" (Nemunasis a masculine noun in Lithuania). Countless companies and organizations in Lithuania have "Nemunas" in their name, including afolkloreensemble, a weekly magazine about art and culture, asanatorium,and numerous guest houses and hotels. Lithuanian and Polish literature often mention the Nemunas. One of the most famous poems byMaironisstarts:

Lithuanian lyrics Approximate English translation
Kur bėga Šešupė, kur Nemunas teka Where theŠešupėruns, where the Nemunas flows
Tai mūsų tėvynė, graži Lietuva That's our fatherland, beautiful Lithuania

Almost every Lithuanian can recite these words by heart.

Smaller rivers and rivulets in Lithuania with namesmorphologically derivedorcognateare the Nemunykštis, Nemuniukas, Nemunynas, Nemunėlis and Nemunaitis.

Theetymologyis disputed: some say that "Nemunas" is an old word meaning "a damp place",[9]while others that it is "mute, soundless river" (fromnemti, nėmti"to become silent", alsomemelis, mimelis, mėmė"slow, worthless person" ).[10]The name is possibly derived from the Finnic wordniemi"cape".[11]

Art critics praised its depiction in the paintings byMichał Kulesza.[12][13]

Economic significance

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Schematic map of Kaunas Reservoir area

Much of the river is used for fishing, hydropower generation, water supply, industry, agriculture, recreation, tourism, and water transport.

Lithuania has tabled local plans to dredge it, below Kaunas, to make it more consistently usable.[14]

The largest cities on the river areGrodnoin Belarus,AlytusandKaunasin Lithuania, andSovetskin the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. The river basin has a population of 5.4 million inhabitants. Industrial activities in theBelarusiansection include metal processing, chemical industries, pulp and paper production, and manufacturing of building materials, as well as food-processing plants. In Lithuania, the city of Kaunas, with about 400,000 inhabitants, is the country's principal user of the river; the local industries that impact the river are hydropower generation, machinery, chemical,wood processingand paper production, furniture production, textile and food-processing. In Kaliningrad, industrial centers near the river include Sovetsk and Neman, which have large pulp and paper production facilities.

AboveKaunasadamwas built in 1959 to serve theKaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant.The resultingKaunas Reservoir(Lithuanian:Kauno marios) is the largest such lake in Lithuania. It occupies63.5 km2(24+1⁄2sq mi); its length is 93 km (58 mi); its greatest depth is 22 m (72 ft). The reservoir is a popular destination for Lithuanianyachting.

TheAugustów Canal,built in the 19th century, connects the Neman to theVistula River.

Biological communities

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Fish found include the:perch,pike,zander,roach,tench,bream,rudd,ruffe,andbleak.

Its tributaries have borne stoneloach,three-spinedstickleback,minnows,trout,sculpins,gudgeon,daceandchub.

Atlantic salmonmigrated upstream to spawn; however, dams on the river, most of them built in the 20th century, have depleted them. The dam at Kaunas does not providefish ladders.The spawning season took place in the fall. Ethnographic studies, from before the dams, state night fishing, using torches andharpoons,was a common technique.

Environmental issues

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Neman sunset

A report by theSwedish EPA(Environmental Protection Administration) rates the river's quality in Lithuania as moderately polluted to polluted. High concentrations of organic pollutants,nitratesandphosphatesoccur in parts of the river. Environmental issues include water quality (eutrophicationand pollutants largely due to outdated technology sewage treatment works), changes in the hydrological regime, and flooding control. The environmental problems in each of the countries that make up the basin are slightly different. In Belarus, the main problems are oil products as well as nitrogen andBOD(biological oxygen demand). The environmental issues in the Kaliningrad section include high concentrations of BOD, lignosulphates, andnitrogen.In Lithuania, theKaunas Hydroelectric Power Plantbarrage affects theriparianecosystem.[15]

Co-operation which would be beneficial is complicated by the geographical split between three nations but water quality improvement initiatives are underway.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^

References

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  1. ^"Baltic Sea".4 February 2021.
  2. ^abcd"Main Geographic Characteristics of the Republic of Belarus. Main characteristics of the largest rivers of Belarus".Land of Ancestors.Data of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus. 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 15 January 2014.Retrieved27 September2013.
  3. ^Floods and fires in Lithuania
  4. ^"Main Geographic Characteristics of the Republic of Belarus".Land of Ancestors.The Scientific and Production State Republican Unitary Enterprise "National Cadastre Agency" of the State Property Committee of the Republic of Belarus. 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 21 September 2013.Retrieved20 September2013.
  5. ^"The Great Nemunas Loops".Nemunas Loops Regional Park.Archived fromthe originalon February 26, 2008.Retrieved2009-01-10.
  6. ^Rimantienė, Rimutė (March 1992). "The Neolithic of the eastern Baltic".Journal of World Prehistory.6.Springer Netherlands: 97–143.doi:10.1007/BF00997586.S2CID162896841.
  7. ^McLynn, Frank (1998).Napoleon: A Biography.Pimlico.[page needed]
  8. ^Leo Tolstoy (1915).War and Peace.J.M. Dent. p.200.niemen river war and peace.
  9. ^Aleksandras Vanagas. Lietuvių hidronimų etimologinis žodynas. 227 psl., – Vilnius: Mokslas, 1981.
  10. ^Petronytė, Jurga (2016-08-02)."Mėmelis ar Klaipėda?".Vakarų ekspresas.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-08-04.
  11. ^Tadeusz Lehr-Spławiński. O pochodzeniu i praojczyźnie Słowian. – Poznań, 1946.
  12. ^Kraszewski, Józef Ignacy (1847). "Pejzaż, Michał Kulesza".Tygodnik Petersburski.18.
  13. ^Gr..., M...; [Michał Grabowski, pseud. of Edward Tarsza] (1849). "5".Projekta Artystyczne w Litwie.Warsaw: S. Orgelbrand.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  14. ^"Transportation initiatives in the Baltic states".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-09-25.Retrieved2006-12-02.
  15. ^Report on the Neman basin issued by the Swedish EPAArchivedFebruary 18, 2006, at theWayback Machine
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