The Savinja is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in northeast Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 which flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja valley and through the cities of Celje

Celje

Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna...

 and Laško

Laško

Laško is a spa town and municipality in eastern Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The municipality is now included in the Savinja statistical region. The town is located at the foothills of the Hum hill on the Savinja River. It is first mentioned in written...

. The Savinja is the main river of the Savinja Alps

Kamnik Alps

The Kamnik–Savinja Alps are a mountain range, part of the Southern Limestone Alps in north Slovenia and at the border with Austria. Its western part, the Kamnik Alps, is in the basin of the Kamniška Bistrica and is named after the town Kamnik. Its eastern part is in the basin of Savinja and is...

 (Sln. Savinjske Alpe). It flows into Sava River

Sava River

The Sava is a river in Southeast Europe, a right side tributary of the Danube river at Belgrade. Counting from Zelenci, the source of Sava Dolinka, it is long and drains of surface area. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through Serbia....

 at the town of Zidani Most

Zidani Most

Zidani Most is a settlement in the Municipality of Laško in eastern Slovenia. It lies at the confluence of the Sava and Savinja rivers. The area was traditionally part of the Lower Styria region. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Savinja statistical region. It is an...

. It has often flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

ed, such as in the 1960s, 1990, and 1995. The Savinja has a length of 96 km.

Sources

The stream is created by Rinka

Rinka

Rinka Falls is a waterfall in the Logar Valley, in the Municipality of Solčava in Slovenia. It is the source of the Savinja River.It has been proclaimed a natural heritage feature. Rinka Falls is one of the most beautiful and best-known waterfalls in Slovenia. It is also a popular tourist...

 Falls

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

 which flows along a regulated riverbed to the lower end of the Logar Valley, where it flows into with Jezera Creek, from which point it becomes the Savinja River. This spring has been proclaimed a natural heritage

Natural heritage

Natural heritage is the legacy of natural objects and intangible attributes encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically known as biodiversity, and geology and landforms ....

 object, while 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 time it is popular for the ice-climbers. The best view of the waterfall is from the peak of Kamnik Saddle (Sln. Kamniško sedlo).

Tributaries

The main tributaries

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Savinja are the Lučnica at Luče

Luce

- Places :* Luče, a town in Slovenia* Luce, California, former town in Butte County* Luce Bay, a large Bay in Wigtownshire in southern Scotland* Luce County, Michigan, a county in the U.S...

, the Ljubnica at Ljubno

Ljubno

Ljubno is a town and a municipality on the upper course of the Savinja River in Slovenia. The town is referred to as Ljubno ob Savinji in order to distinguish it from other settlements with the same name. Traditionally it belonged to the region of Styria and is now included in the Savinja...

, the Dreta

Dreta

Dreta is a river in Lower Styria, Slovenia. The river is 29 km in length. Its source is near Črnivec Pass in Kamnik Alps. It flows through the town of Gornji Grad, Bočna, and Šmartno ob Dreti, and merges with the Savinja River in Nazarje.-See also :...

 at Nazarje

Nazarje

Nazarje is a town and a municipality in Slovenia. It lies around the confluence of the Savinja and Dreta rivers. Traditionally it belonged to the region of Styria and is now included in the Savinja statistical region....

, the Paka

Paka

Paka is a coastal town facing the South China Sea in the state of Terengganu in Malaysia. Paka is now a busy town thriving on oil and gas activity near Kerteh. Paka is more popularly known as the home for the largest power station in Malaysia run by the national power company, Tenaga Nasional...

 at Šmartno ob Paki

Šmartno ob Paki

Šmartno ob Paki is a settlement and a small municipality in the lower valley of the river Paka in northern Slovenia. The area was part of the traditional region of Styria...

, and the Ložnica and Voglajna

Voglajna

The Voglajna is a river in Lower Styria, Slovenia. The river is 35 km in length. Its source is Lake Slivnica near Slivnica pri Celju. It passes Šentjur pri Celju, the ruins of Rifnik Castle, and Štore, and then merges with the Savinja River in Celje....

 with the Hudinja at Celje.

Water quality

The quality of water is 1st class to Radmirje

Radmirje

Radmirje is a village to the south of Ljubno ob Savinji in Slovenia. Traditionally the area belonged to the region of Styria and is now included in the Savinjska statistical region....

, then it falls to second class and after to third.

Hydronym and etymology

The name

Hydronym

A hydronym is a proper name of a body of water. Hydronymy is the study of hydronyms and of how bodies of water receive their names and how they are transmitted through history...

 was adopted from the older French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 name Savigny and later the German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 name Sann was also adopted in some English sources. For example in 9th Edition of Encyclopædia Britannica

Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition

The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time...

 from 1911.

Some other names 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)

Life along the river

Raftsmen from Ljubno were rafting along the river until the 1950s. A monument of a raftsman (Splavar) is situated by the river's left bank in Celje.

External links

• The Rinka waterfall: http://www.burger.si/Slapovi/Logarska/Rinka/Rinka.htm
• The Upper Savinja valley: http://www.randburg.com/si/savinja.html
• The Lower Savinja valley: http://www.randburg.com/si/zalec.html
• Savinja at Celje: http://www.randburg.com/si/celje.html