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"Nieman" and "Niemen" redirects here. For other uses, see Neman and Nieman (disambiguation).
Neman
Map highlighting Neman
Map highlighting Neman
Origin Belarus, 45 km south of Minsk
Mouth Curonian Lagoon (Baltic Sea)
Basin countries Lithuania, Belarus, Russia
Length 937 km (582 mi)
Source elevation 176 m (577 ft)
Avg. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Minsk (Мінск mʲinsk Минск mʲinsk is the Capital and largest city in Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Niamiha rivers The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; Kuršių MariosKuršu Joma Zalew Kuroński Kurisches Haff Kуршский залив is separated from the Baltic The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending discharge 616 m³/s (21,757 ft³/s)
Basin area 98,000 km² (37,838 mi²)
Neman River near Alytus
Neman River near Alytus

Neman or Nemunas (Belarusian: Нёман, Nioman, IPA: ['nʲoman]; German: Memel; Lithuanian: Nemunas (help·info); Estonian: Neemen; Polish: Niemen; Russian: Неман; Ukrainian: Німан; Greek: Χρόνος) is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. In Hydrology, the discharge or outflow of a River is the volume of Water transported by it in a certain amount of time Alytus ( Latvian: Alīte, Olita Yiddish: Olita or Alite, Алитус is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania The Belarusian language, or Belorussian,(беларуская мова BGN/PCGN: byelaruskaya mova, Scientific: belaruskaja mova The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; Kuršių MariosKuršu Joma Zalew Kuroński Kurisches Haff Kуршский залив is separated from the Baltic The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. Klaipėda ( ˈklaɪpɛdə Memel is a City in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea It is the border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Kaliningrad Oblast (Калинингра́дская о́бласть Kaliningradskaya oblast; informally called Yantarny kray (ru Янта́рный край meaning The 14th largest river in Europe, the largest in Lithuania and the 3rd largest in Belarus, it is navigable for most of its 900-kilometer length. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand

The Neman River basin was formed during the Quaternary period, and is located roughly along the edge of the last glacial sheet, dating from about 25,000-22,000 BP (Before Present). Overview The term Quaternary ("fourth" was proposed by Giovanni Arduino in 1759 for alluvial deposits in the Po river valley in northern "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. Before Present (BP years are a time scale used in Archaeology, Geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred Its depth varies from 1 meter in its upper courses to 5 meters in the lower basin.

Contents

Neman by the numbers

Importance of the river in culture

In German, the river has been called die Memel at least since about 1250, when Teutonic Knights erected Memelburg castle and the town of Memel at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon, baptizing it after the indigenous name of the river, Memel. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order. Memel is a name mainly used by Germans and both for towns and rivers The city of Memel, now in Lithuania, is known today as Klaipėda. Klaipėda ( ˈklaɪpɛdə Memel is a City in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea On German road maps and in German lexika, only the 112 km section within Prussia (starting at Schmalleningken [1]) was named Memel [2]; the part outside Germany was labelled Niemen [3]. Pagėgiai ( Pogegen is a city in the south western Lithuania.

The border between the Teutonic Order state and Lithuania was fixed in 1422 by the Treaty of Lake Melno and remained stable for centuries. The monastic state of the Teutonic Knights (Deutschordensland sometimes known in English by the German term Ordensstaat (ˈɔːdn̩ˌʃtɑːt or "Order-State" The Treaty of Melno (Melno taika Pokój melneński or Treaty of Lake Melno (Friede von Melnosee was a Peace treaty ending the Gollub War. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles made the river the border separating the Memel Territory from German East Prussia as of 1920. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. The Klaipėda Region (Klaipėdos kraštas or Memel Territory (Memelland or Memelgebiet Territoire de Memel was defined by the Treaty of Versailles East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part At that time, Germany's Weimar Republic adopted the Deutschlandlied as its official national anthem. The term Weimar Republic ( ˈvaɪmarɐ repuˈbliːk is used by historians to signify the democratic and Republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933 Das Deutschlandlied ("The Song of Germany" also known as Das Lied der Deutschen, "The Song of the Germans" has been used wholly or partially as the A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's 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 Treaty of Tilsit between Napoleon and Czar Alexander I was signed on a raft in the river in 1807. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland in the town of Tilsit Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. Alexander I of Russia ( Russian: Александр I Павлович / Aleksandr I Pavlovich (23 December 1777 – November 19 1825 served as Emperor of Year 1807 ( MDCCCVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

The Neman in Druskininkai
The Neman in Druskininkai
German lyrics Approximate English translation
Von der Maas bis an die Memel,
Von der Etsch bis an den Belt		 From the Meuse to the Memel,
From the Adige to the Belt

Lithuanians refer to the Neman as "the father of rivers" (Nemunas is a masculine noun in Lithuania). Druskininkai ( Друскенікі Druskieniki; Druskieniki is a Spa town on the Neman River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders The Meuse (in Dutch and in German: "Maas" in Latin: "Mosa" in Celtic:"Mus" (the rootword presumingly The Adige (Adige Venetian: Àdexe; Trentin Ades; Friulian: Adis; Etsch Ladin: Adesc, or Adiç The Little Belt (Lillebælt is a Strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula. Countless companies and organizations in Lithuania have "Nemunas" in their name, including a folklore ensemble, a weekly magazine about art and culture, a sanatorium, and numerous guest houses and hotels. History The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of Romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological A sanatorium (also sanitorium, sanitarium) is a medical facility for long-term illness typically Tuberculosis. Lithuanian and Polish literature often mention the Nemunas. One of the most famous poems by Maironis starts:

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

Almost every Lithuanian can recite these words from heart. Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis November 2, 1862 &ndash June 28, 1932) is one of the most famous Lithuanian romantic The Šešupė ( Szeszupa Шешупе Scheschup(pe is a River which flows through Poland (27 km Lithuania (158 km and Russia (62 It is so well known that it is sometimes thought to be an unofficial national anthem. The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music (in Music theory and religious contexts or more generally a song (or composition of

There are many other smaller rivers and rivulets in Lithuania with names that may have been derived from "Nemunas" - Nemunykštis, Nemuniukas, Nemunynas, Nemunėlis, Nemunaitis. The etymology of the name is disputed: some say that "Nemunas" is an old word meaning "a damp place," while other say that "Nemunas" was a god in Baltic mythology. Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time

The Neman Loops

Neman bend in Liškiava
Neman bend in Liškiava
500 litas banknote featuring Nemunas loops
500 litas banknote featuring Nemunas loops

Since the loops are located in Lithuania, they are often referred to as "The Nemunas loops". Liškiava is a historic village in the Varėna district municipality, Lithuania. The litas ( ISO currency code LTL symbolized as Lt plural litai or litų) is the currency of Lithuania.

In 1992 Nemunas Loops Regional Park was founded. Its goal is to preserve the spectacular loops (Lithuanian: vingis) that the Neman makes in the Punia forest. Near Prienai, the Neman makes a 17-km long loop (like a teardrop) coming within 1. Prienai ( is a city in Lithuania situated on the Neman River. 2 km of completing the loop. The Neman flows along the double bend between Balbieriškis and Birštonas for 48 kilometers and then moves in a northerly direction for only 4. Birštonas ( is a Spa town in Lithuania situated on Nemunas River. 5 kilometers. It is a significant historical site with castles that served as the first line of defense against forays by the Teutonic knights. The Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order.

The Neman Delta

Main article: Nemunas Delta

At its delta the Neman splits into a maze of river branches and canals mixing with polders and wetlands and is a very attractive destination for eco-tourism. Nemunas Delta is the Lithuanian name for the Neman River Delta in Lithuania. A delta is a Landform where the mouth of a River flows into an Ocean, Sea, Estuary, Lake or another river A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity meaning it has no connection with A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of Tourism that appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals The four main distributaries are Atmata, Pakalnė, Skirvytė and Gilija. A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a Stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel The river plays a crucial part in the ecosystem of the Curonian Lagoon. The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; Kuršių MariosKuršu Joma Zalew Kuroński Kurisches Haff Kуршский залив is separated from the Baltic It provides the main water inflow to the lagoon and keeps the water almost fresh. This allows both fresh water and mixed water animals to survive there. As the Neman's delta expands, the lagoon shrinks. Since the delta is located in Lithuania, it is often referred to as Nemunas Delta. Nemunas Delta Regional Park was created in the delta in 1992.

Economic significance

Schematic map of Kaunas Reservoir area
Schematic map of Kaunas Reservoir area

The Neman River is used for a variety of purposes such as fishing, hydropower generation, water supply, industry, and agriculture, as well as recreation, tourism, and water transport. There have been proposals to deepen its watercourse below Kaunas to make it more consistently usable. [2]

The largest cities on the Neman are Hrodna in Belarus, Alytus and Kaunas in Lithuania, and Sovetsk in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. Alytus ( Latvian: Alīte, Olita Yiddish: Olita or Alite, Алитус is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania Kaunas ( ˈkoʊnəs is the second largest City in Lithuania and a former temporary capital. Sovetsk (Сове́тск prior to 1945 known by its German name Tilsit (Tilžė Tylża is a town now in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia The river basin has a population of 5. 4 million inhabitants. Industrial activities in the Belarusian section include metal processing, chemical industries, pulp and paper production, and manufacturing of building materials, as well as food-processing plants. Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east 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 processing and paper production, furniture production, textile and food-processing. In Kaliningrad, industrial centres near the river include Sovetsk and Neman, which have large pulp and paper production facilities.

Above Kaunas a dam for Kaunas hydroelectric plant was built in 1959. Kaunas ( ˈkoʊnəs is the second largest City in Lithuania and a former temporary capital. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by Hydropower, ie the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling water The resulting artificial lake is the biggest such lake in Lithuania named the Kaunas Reservoir (Lithuanian: Kauno marios). Kaunas Reservoir (Kauno marios is the largest Lithuanian artificial lake, created in 1959 by damming the Neman River near Kaunas and Rumšiškės Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. It occupies 63. 5 km² (24. 5 square miles); its length is 93 km (58 miles); its greatest depth is 22 m (72 feet). The Kaunas Reservoir is a popular destination for Lithuanian yachting. A yacht is a recreational boat It designates two rather different classes of Watercraft, sailing and power yachts

Biological communities

The following fish have been found in the Neman: perch, pike, roach, tench, bream, rudd, ruffe, and bleak. The European perch ( Perca fluviatilis) is a highly predatory species of Perch found in Europe and Asia. The northern pike (known as the pike in Britain Esox lucius, is a Species of carnivorous Fish of the genus Esox (the pikes For the submarine class see Tench class submarine. The tench or doctor fish ( Tinca tinca) is a Freshwater Bream is a general term for a number of species of Freshwater and marine Fish, mainly but not exhaustively drawn from the genera The Eurasian Ruffe ( Gymnocephalus cernuus) is a freshwater Fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. Its tribitaries also contain stone loach, the three-spined stickleback, minnows, trout, sculpins, gudgeon, dace and chub. The Gasterosteidae are a family of Fish including the sticklebacks. The family Cyprinidae, from the Ancient Greek κυπρῖνος ( kuprīnos "carp" consists of the Carps The brown trout ( Salmo trutta morpha fario and S trutta morpha lacustris) and the sea trout ( S ( For the American submarines named "Sculpin" go to USS Sculpin) A Sculpin is a Fish that belongs to the Order Scorpaeniformes Gudgeon is a common name for a number of small Freshwater fishes of the families Cyprinidae, Eleotridae or Ptereleotridae. The Common Dace ( Leuciscus leuciscus) also known as the Dare or the Dart, is a freshwater or Brackish Fish belonging For European Chubs other than this particular species see Squalius.

Atlantic salmon formerly migrated upstream to spawn; the dam constructions on the river, most of which took place during the 20th century, reduced their numbers considerably. Atlantic salmon, known scientifically as Salmo salar, is a species of Fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern The dam at Kaunas does not provide fish ladders. Fishways, most commonly called fish ladders but also known as fish passes and in Australia also referred to as fish steps, are structures on or around artificial The spawning season took place in the fall; ethnographic studies of the time report that night fishing, using torches and harpoons, was a common technique. A harpoon is a long Spear -like instrument used in Fishing to catch fish or other large aquatic animals such as Whales It accomplishes this task by impaling

Environmental issues

A report by the Swedish EPA (Environmental Protection Administration) rates the quality of the Neman in Lithuania as moderately polluted or polluted. High concentrations of organic pollutants, nitrates and phosphates occur in different parts of the river. In Inorganic chemistry, a nitrate is a salt of Nitric acid with an Ion composed of one Nitrogen and three Oxygen atoms A phosphate, an Inorganic chemical, is a salt of Phosphoric acid. Environmental issues include water quality (eutrophication and pollutants), changes in the hydrological regime, and flooding control. Eutrophication is an increase in chemical Nutrients -- typically compounds containing Nitrogen or Phosphorus -- in an Ecosystem, and may occur 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 and BOD (biological oxygen demand). Biochemical Oxygen Demand or Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD is a chemical procedure for determining how fast biological organisms use up oxygen in a body of water The environmental issues in the Kaliningrad section include high concentrations of BOD, lignosulphates, and nitrogen. Nitrogen (ˈnaɪtɹəʤɪn is a Chemical element that has the symbol N and Atomic number 7 and Atomic weight 14 In Lithuania, the operations of the Kaunas hydropower station cause changes of the water level that affect the riparian ecosystem. "Riparian" redirects here For the legal doctrine see " Riparian water rights. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( Old wastewater treatment facilities along the entire river also contribute to pollution. [3]

The co-operation necessary to ensure the health of the river is complicated by the political divisions in the basin - its territory is shared among Russia, Belarus and the European Union country of Lithuania. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Several co-operation initiatives are underway to address the environmental issues of the river.

See also

References

  1. ^ Floods and fires in Lithuania
  2. ^ Transportation initiatives in the Baltic states
  3. ^ Report on the Neman basin issued by the Swedish EPA

External links

These are the main Rivers of Europe (ecologically the extreme west of the Palearctic Ecozone - which includes Russia in the east The Normandie-Niemen squadron (Нормандия-Неман was a fighter squadron of the French Air Force. The Klaipėda Region (Klaipėdos kraštas or Memel Territory (Memelland or Memelgebiet Territoire de Memel was defined by the Treaty of Versailles East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part
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