Tisza
The
Tisza (
IPA pronunciation: [ˈtisa] in
Hungarian;
Romanian and ; or Тиса; or
Tysa; ) is a
river, a
tributary of the
Danube and one of the major rivers of
Central Europe. It originates in
Ukraine and passes through
Hungary,
Romania,
Slovakia and
Serbia.
It forms the boundary between the regions of
Bačka and
Banat and flows into the Danube in central
Vojvodina in
Serbia.
Tisza drains an area of about 157,186 km
2.
The river was known as
Tisia in antiquity, and
Latin names for it included
Tissus,
Tisia,
Pathissus (
Pliny,
Naturalis historia, 4.25).
The length of the Tisza in Hungary used to be 1419 km. It flowed through the
Great Hungarian Plain, which is one of the largest flat areas in central Europe, and since
plains can cause a river to flow very slowly the Tisza used to follow a path with lots of curves and turns. Mainly for this reason, many large
floods occurred in the area.
After several small-scale attempts
István Széchenyi organised the "control of the Tisza" (
"a Tisza szabályozása") which started on
August 27,
1846 and substantially ended in
1880. The result: the new length of the river in Hungary was 966 km, with 589 km of "dead channels" and 136 km of new riverbed.
The resultant length of the flood-protected river comprises 2940 km (out of 4220 km of all Hungarian protected rivers) which forms one of the largest flood protection systems in Europe; larger than the
Netherlands's 1500 km, the
Po river's 1400 km or the
Loire Valley's 480 km.
In the
1980s the building of the
Kisköre Reservoir started with the purpose of helping to control floods as well as storing water for drought seasons. It turned out, however, that the resulting
Tisza-tó (Lake Tisza) became one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hungary, since it had similar features to
Lake Balaton at drastically cheaper prices and it was not crowded. (Naturally, crowding worsens as time goes by.)
Tisza is navigable over much of its course. The river opened up for international navigation only recently; before, Hungary distinguished "national rivers" and "international rivers", indicating whether non-Hungarian vessels were allowed or not. After Hungary joined the European Union, this distinction was lifted and vessels were allowed on the Tisza river.
Conditions of navigation differ with the circumstances: when the river is in flood, it is often unnavigable, just as it is at times of extreme draught. (Source:
NoorderSoft Waterway Database)*
Mureş/Maros (in
Szeged)
**
Târnava/Küküllő; (near
Teiuş)
***
Târnava Mare/Nagy-Küküllő; (in
Blaj)
***
Târnava Mică/Kis-Küküllő; (in
Blaj)
**
Arieş/Aranyos (near
Luduş)
*
Körös/Criş (near
Csongrád)
**
Crişul Repede/Sebes-Körös (near
Gyoma)
***
Barcău/Berettyó (in
Szeghalom)
**
Crişul Alb/Fehér-Körös (near
Gyula)
**
Crişul Negru/Fekete-Körös (near
Gyula)
*
Zagyva (in
Szolnok)
*
Sajó/Slaná (in
Tiszaújváros)
**
Hornád/Hernád (near
Miskolc)
*
Bodrog (in
Tokaj)
**
Ondava (near
Cejkov)
**
Latorica/Liatorytsia (near
Cejkov)
***
Laborec/Laborets (near
Oborin)
****
Uzh/Uh (near
Pavlovce nad Uhom)
****
Cirocha (in
Humenné)
***
Stara***
Vicha***
Kerepets*
Crasna/Kraszna (in
Vásárosnamény)
*
Someş/Szamos (near
Vásárosnamény)
**
Someşul Mic (in
Dej)
**
Someşul Mare (in
Dej)
***
Şieu (in
Beclean)
****
Bistriţa (near
Bistriţa)
*
About Tisza*
The Living Tisza (Hungarian)
