The Ohře, also known in English and German as Eger , is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through the Bavarian district of Upper Franconia in Germany, and through the Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem regions in the Czech Republic. It is 304.6 km long, of which 256 km is in the Czech Republic, making it the fourth longest river in the country.

Etymology

The name is of Celtic or pre-Celtic origin. In the 9th century, it appeared as Agara. According to one theory, its meaning was 'salmon river' (composed of the words ag, eg – 'salmon', and are, ara – 'flowing water'). Another theory suggests that the name was derived from agriā and meant a fast-moving, fast-flowing river. In the 12th century, Ohře was written as Egre, Oegre and Ogre.

Course

[[File:Egerquelle.jpg|thumb|230px|The inscription on the source of the Ohře reads: Als der Knabe kam zur Eger: "Eger, sprich, wo eilst du hin?" "Zu der Elbe", rauscht es reger, "Zu der Elbe muß ich zieh'n!" Als der Knabe kam zur Elbe, War die Antwort inhaltsschwer; Donnernd braust zurück dieselbe: "Und ich muß ins deutsche Meer!" When the boy came to the Ohře: "Ohře, speak, where are you rushing to?" "To the Elbe", whooshes it astirly, "To the Elbe I must draw!" When the boy came to the Elbe, The answer was profound; Thundering booms back the selfsame: "And I must (go) into the German Sea!"]] The Ohře originates in the territory of Weißenstadt in the Fichtel Mountains at an elevation of 752 m, below the Schneeberg mountain. It flows to Litoměřice, where it enters the Elbe River at an elevation of 143 m. The Ohře flows through the Fichtel Mountains in an eastward direction, through Lake Weissenstadt (Weißenstädter See) and through the towns of Röslau and Marktleuthen, and, after almost 50 km, reaches the Czech-German border near Hohenberg an der Eger. It then flows through the historic region of the Czech Republic which was known until 1945 as Egerland. The river passes the towns of Cheb, (, like the river), Loket, Sokolov, Karlovy Vary, Klášterec nad Ohří, Kadaň, Žatec, Louny, Libochovice, Budyně nad Ohří and Terezín before flowing into the river Elbe at Litoměřice. The river is 304.6 km long, of which 256 km is in the Czech Republic, making it the fourth longest river in the Czech Republic. The German part of the river (including the border section) is 49.8 km long. The highest volume flow rate occurs in spring. The average volume flow rate at the mouth is 37.94 m³/s. The lower part of the river flows through areas with the lowest average precipitation in the Czech Republic (400–500 mm).

Drainage basin

The Ohře's drainage basin has an area of 5606.1 km2. The area of the drainage basin in the Czech Republic is 4601.1 km2, in Bavaria is 920.4 km2. The rest of the drainage basin is in Saxony. The drainage basin is divided to further third-level basin areas:

Tributaries

The longest tributaries of the Ohře are:

Use

The Ohře is primarily used for irrigation and hydroelectric energy. There are two reservoirs: Skalka (built in 1962–1964, area 378 ha ) and Nechranice (built 1961–1968, area 1338 ha ).