Metuje


The Metuje is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through the Hradec Králové Region. It is long.

Etymology

The river was originally named Medhuje. It was derived from the Illyrian word medh or met, meaning 'middle'. It meant the middle river, i.e. the river lying between the rivers Úpa and Orlice.

Characteristic

The Metuje originates in the territory of Jívka in the Broumov Highlands at an elevation of and flows to Jaroměř, where it enters the Elbe River at an elevation of. It is long. Its drainage basin has an area of, of which in the Czech Republic and rest in Poland.
In Nahořany-Dolsko the flow of the river divides. The secondary flow is called Stará řeka and was once the main bed of the Metuje. They join again in Šestajovice, but after a few hundred metres it splits again into a secondary stream, which is called Stará Metuje. The streams then join a few hundred metres before the confluence of the Metuje with the Elbe.
The longest tributaries of the Metuje are:
TributaryLength River kmSide
Dřevíč21.846.4right
Olešenka20.427.4left
Klikawa / Střela15.138.2left

Course

The most notable settlement on the river is the town of Náchod. The river flows through the municipal territories of Jívka, Adršpach, Teplice nad Metují, Česká Metuje, Velké Petrovice, Bezděkov nad Metují, Hronov, Velké Poříčí, Náchod, Přibyslav, Jestřebí, Nové Město nad Metují, Nahořany, Šestajovice, Rychnovek and Jaroměř.

Bodies of water

There are 404 bodies of water in the basin area. The largest of them is the Rozkoš Reservoir with an area of, built on the Rozkoš Stream. There are no reservoirs or fishponds built directly on the Metuje.

Protection of nature

In the area between the Metuje and Stará Metuje is the privately owned Josefov Meadows Bird Reserve. In the reserve, 30 species of fish have been documented in the river. In addition, the area is home to many species of protected birds, amphibians and insects, such as green snaketail, which is critically endangered in the Czech Republic. For its protection, the Stará Metuje Nature Monument with an area of was also declared along the entire course of the Stará Metuje.