Mur source (Murursprung) in theAnkogel Group of theHigh TauernThe Mur passing throughFrohnleiten, from left to right in the middle the expressway S35Brucker Schnellstraße [de] (regarding southwest and downwards from the Gschwendtberg mountain)The Mur inGraz, view fromSchlossberg (Southwest direction)The Mur in SloveniaThe confluence of the Drava (foreground) and Mura nearLegrad, Croatia
The Mur's total length is around 464 kilometres (288 mi).[1] About 326 km are within the interior ofAustria; 95 km flow in and aroundSlovenia (67 km along the borders with Austria and Croatia, 28 km inside Slovenia),[3] and the rest forms the border betweenCroatia andHungary. The largest city on the river isGraz, Austria. Itsdrainage basin covers an area of 14,109 km2 (5,448 sq mi).[4]
The river was attested asMaura in AD 799,Muora in 890,Mura in 1259,Mvr andMver in 1310, andMuer in 1354. The name is probably of Slavic origin, nominalized from the adjective *murъ 'dark', meaning 'dark water'.[5]
Between Tamsweg andUnzmarkt-Frauenburg the river flows through a rural mountain valley and is closely paralleled by the 65 km (40 mi) long narrow gaugeMurtalbahn railway. From Unzmarkt the river continues in an easterly direction through the industrial towns ofLeoben andBruck an der Mur. At Bruck an der Mur theMürz joins the Mur, which turns sharply south to flow through the city ofGraz.
The river flows through the centre of Graz, passing underneath theSchloßberg and by the historicInner City. As a result of being theEuropean Capital of Culture for 2003, an artificial island known as theMurinsel was constructed in the middle of the river. Once heavily polluted by severalpaper mills on the shore and by theironworks around Leoben, thewater quality has improved since the 1980s and the river is now seen as an asset to the city.
From Graz the river continues to flow south, past the town ofLeibnitz to its nearby confluence with theSulm, where it adopts a more easterly course. NearSpielfeld, the river forms the border between Austria andSlovenia, a role it retains until just after the twin towns ofBad Radkersburg andGornja Radgona, where it passes fully into Slovenia.
In Slovenia it passes the towns ofRadenci, andVeržej. The river gives its name to the Slovenian region ofPrekmurje (literally 'across the Mur') and the Croatian region ofMeđimurje (literally 'between the Mur').Cable ferries andship mills are still found in this area.
In the upper Međimurje area, in the western part of the region, the Mur floods and changes its course rather often, moving slowly toward the north on its left. Here, the biggest forest along the river, theMurščak, is located betweenDomašinec andDonji Hrašćan (derived fromCroatianhrast 'oak'). After receiving its last significant tributaryTrnava, the river ends nearLegrad inKoprivnica-Križevci county,Croatia, andMurakeresztúr,Zala county,Hungary, on border where it flows into the riverDrava.
Since the 4th century BC, there have been reports offloating mills powered by the streams of the river. Theancient technology was adopted later by arrivingSlavs and then byMagyars. Several decades ago, in the 1920s and 1930s, many of these mills were still operating along the river. At least one of the old mills, the Babič Mill (Slovene:Babičev mlin) nearVeržej, Slovenia, continues to operate to this day.[6]
The Mur is known to carry small quantities ofgold, not enough to be suitable for exploitation today, but this was a focus of activity for many people since ancient times. Organizedresearch and exploitation of gold and other local resources was encouraged for the first time in 1772.
In 2017, a hydroelectric dam was under construction in Puntigam, a few km south of the Graz city centre. The plan includes a massive sewage pipe between the city centre and the new dam, necessitating the felling of thousands of trees. The project is controversial and environmental groups are resisting it. Both environmental impact and economic studies have found the project to be neither ecologically nor economically viable.[7] Additional hydroelectric plants are planned for Slovenia.[8]
Condition of Mur atGornja Radgona andPetanjci - graphs, in the following order, of water level, flow and temperature data for the past 30 days (taken byARSO)
