Savinja

For the district of the City Municipality of Celje, seeSavinja (district).

Savinja
The Savinja in Celje, before it turns south toLaško
Location
Country	Slovenia
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	RinkaFalls
• elevation	1,310 m (4,300 ft)
Mouth
• location	Sava
• coordinates	46.0838°N 15.1720°E/46.0838; 15.1720
Length	101.8 km (63.3 mi)
Basin size	1,848 km2(714 sq mi)
Basin features
Progression	Sava→Danube→Black Sea

Rinka Falls, the source of the Savinja

The confluence of the Sava and the Savinja atZidani Most,where the Savinja is traversed by three bridges. The photo was taken in 1914, before the construction of the new railroad bridge.

TheSavinja(pronounced[saˈʋìːnja]) is ariverin northeastSloveniawhich flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja Valley (Slovene:Zgornja in Spodnja Savinjska dolina) and through the cities ofCeljeandLaško.The Savinja is the main river of theSavinja Alps(Sln.Savinjske Alpe). It flows into theSava Riverat the town ofZidani Most.It has oftenflooded,such as in the 1960s, 1990, and 1995. The Savinja has a length of 101.75 kilometres (63.22 mi) and a catchment area of 1,847.7 km²(713.4 sq mi).

Sources

The stream is created byRinka Falls,which flows along a regulated riverbed to the lower end of theLogar Valley,where it flows into Jezera Creek, from which point it becomes the Savinja River. This spring has been proclaimed anatural heritageobject, and Rinka Falls is one of the most beautiful and best-known waterfalls in Slovenia. It is the highest waterfall of the 20 waterfalls in the Logar Valley and is visited throughout the year. In the winter it is popular for ice-climbers. The best view of the waterfall is from Kamnik Saddle (Slovene:Kamniško sedlo).

Tributaries

The maintributariesof the Savinja are the Jušef and the Klobaša atSolčava,the Lučnica atLuče,the Ljubnica atLjubno,theDretaatNazarje,thePakaatŠmartno ob Paki,and theLožnicaandVoglajnawith theHudinjaat Celje.

Water quality

The quality of water is first-class toRadmirje,then it falls to second class and after to third.

Hydronym and etymology

The nameSavinja(attested in written sources in 980 asSovuina) is derived from*Savьn′a,in turn derived from thehydronymSava,of which it is atributary.The German nameSannwas attested later. In the local dialect, the river is known asSáu̯ńe.The form *Savьn′ashould have yieldedSavnjaas the current Slovene name, but it was reshaped on the model ofHudinja.The name is believed to ultimately not be of Slavic origin, but of older pre-Slavic origin.

TheGermannameSannwas also used in some older English sources; for example, in the ninth edition ofEncyclopædia Britannicafrom 1911.

Some other names for the river include:

• fluvius Sana(9th century)
• Souina(980)
• inter fluenta Souuuę et Sounę(1016)
• Seuna(1016)
• Souna(1025,1028)
• inter fluenta Souuuae et Sounae(1028)
• Sounital(1042)

The Celtic goddessAdsaluta,whose altars were found in the area of the settlement ofSava,was long identified with the Savinja.Modern scholars have rejected the connection.

Life along the river

Raftsmen from Ljubno traveled along the river until the 1950s. In their memory, a bronze sculpture of araftsman(Splavar), created in 1961 byBoris Kalin,stands on the river's left bank in Celje.

External links

• Condition of Savinja at several locations (proceeding from its upper stream to its lower stream):
  • Nazarje- graphs, in the following order, of water level and flow data for the past 30 days (taken inNazarjebyARSO)
  • Letuš- graphs, in the following order, of water level, flow and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken inLetušbyARSO)
  • Medlog- graphs, in the following order, of water level and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken inMedlogbyARSO)
  • Laško- graphs, in the following order, of water level, flow and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken inLaškobyARSO)
  • Veliko Širje- graphs, in the following order, of water level, flow and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken inVeliko ŠirjebyARSO)