| Struma (Струма), Strymónas (Στρυμόνας) | |
|---|---|
 The course of the Struma in Bulgaria and Greece (marked in red) | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Countries | Bulgaria andGreece |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | The south slopes ofVitosha, Bulgaria |
| • elevation | 2,180 m (7,150 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | NorthAegean Sea,Greece |
• coordinates | 40°47′9″N23°50′56″E / 40.78583°N 23.84889°E /40.78583; 23.84889 |
| Length | 415 km (258 mi) |
| Basin size | 17,330 km2 (6,690 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 2.1 m3/s (74 cu ft/s) atPernik; 76.2 m3/s (2,690 cu ft/s) at Marino pole |
TheStruma orStrymonas (Bulgarian:Струма,romanized: Struma,pronounced[ˈstrumɐ];Greek:Στρυμόνας,romanized: Strymónas,pronounced[striˈmonas]) is a river inBulgaria andGreece. Itsancient name wasStrymon (Greek:Στρυμών,romanized: Strymṓn,pronounced[stryˈmɔːn]). Its drainage area is 17,330 km2 (6,690 sq mi), of which 8,670 km2 (3,350 sq mi) inBulgaria, 6,295 km2 (2,431 sq mi) inGreece and the remaining 2,365 km2 (913 sq mi) inNorth Macedonia[1] andSerbia.[2] It takes its source from theVitosha Mountain inBulgaria, runs first westward, then southward, forming a number of gorges, entersGreece near the village ofPromachonas in easternMacedonia. In Greece it is the main waterway feeding and exiting fromLake Kerkini, a significant centre for migratory wildfowl. Also in Greece, the river entirely flows in theSerres regional unit into theStrymonian Gulf inAegean Sea, nearAmphipolis. The river's length is 415 kilometres (258 miles) (of which 290 kilometres (180 mi) in Bulgaria, making it the country's fifth-longest and one of thelongest rivers that run solely in the interior of theBalkans.
Parts of the river valley belong to a Bulgariancoal-producing area, more significant in the past than nowadays; the southern part of the Bulgarian section is an importantwine region. The Greek portion is a valley which is dominant in agriculture, being Greece's fourth-biggest valley. The tributaries include theKonska River, theDragovishtitsa, theRilska River, theBlagoevgradska Bistritsa, theSandanska Bistritsa, theStrumitsa, thePirinska Bistritsa and theAngitis.
The river's name comes from ThracianStrymón, derived fromProto-Indo-European*srew- 'stream',[3] akin to Englishstream, Old Irishsruaimm 'river', Polishstrumień 'stream', Lithuanianstraumuo 'fast stream', Bulgarianструя (struia) 'water flow', Greekῥεῦμα (rheũma) 'stream', Albanianrrymë 'water flow',shi 'rain'.
The nameStrymón was ahydronym in ancientGreek mythology, referring to a mythical Thracian king that was drowned in the river.[4] Strymón was also used as a personal name in various regions ofAncient Greece during the 3rd century BC.[5]
InMacedonian it is called Струма[ˈstrumɐ]; while inTurkish:Karasu[kaɾaˈsu], 'black water').
In 437 BC, theancient Greek city ofAmphipolis was founded near the river's entrance to the Aegean, at the site previously known asEnnea Hodoi ('Nine roads'). WhenXerxes I ofPersia crossed the river during his invasion in 480 BC he buried alive nine young boys and nine maidens as a sacrifice to the river god.[6] The forces ofAlexander I of Macedon defeated the remnants of Xerxes' army near Ennea Hodoi in 479 BC. In 424 BC the Spartan generalBrasidas after crossing the entire Greek peninsula sieged and conquered Amphipolis. According to the ancient sources, the river was navigable from its mouth up to the ancient (and today dried)Cercinitis lake, which also favored the navigation; and thus was formed in antiquity an important waterway that served the communication between the coasts ofStrymonian Gulf and the Thracian hinterland and almost to the city ofSerres.[7]
The decisiveBattle of Kleidion was fought close the river in 1014 between theBulgarians under EmperorSamuel and theByzantines under EmperorBasil II and determined the fall of theFirst Bulgarian Empire four years later. In 1913, theGreek Army was nearly surrounded in theKresna Gorge of the Struma by theBulgarian Army during theSecond Balkan War, and the Greeks were forced to ask for armistice.
The river valley was part of theMacedonian front inWorld War I. The shipStruma, which took Jewish refugees out ofRomania inWorld War II and wastorpedoed and sunk in theBlack Sea, causing nearly 800 deaths, was named after the river.
The river's mouth andLake Kerkini, a lake that the river is feeding and exiting, are bothnational parks and part of theNatura 2000 network.[8] More than 300 bird species have been observed at these locations and some of them are consideredendangered orvulnerable, like thesaker falcon, theeastern imperial eagle and thegreater spotted eagle.[9] TheGreek lamprey, which is listed as acritically endangered species on theIUCN Red List and is considered the rarest species oflamprey in the world, is only found at the Strumabasin and the basin of the much smallerLouros river.[10]
.jpg)
The share of Serbia and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the total [Struma] basin area is very small.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
