Ohře

The Ohře (pronounced [ˈoɦr̝ɛ]; German: Eger, Czech also: Oharka or Ohara, Celtic: Agara, Polish: Ohrza) is a 316 km long river in Germany (65 km) and the Czech Republic (251 km), left tributary of the Elbe. The catchment area of the river is 6,255 km², of which 5,614 km² is in the Czech Republic and 641 km² in Germany. It is the third biggest river in the Czech Republic.

Several districts in Germany and the Czech Republic have formed an Euroregion initiative named Euregio Egrensis to foster cooperation in the region of Eger/Ohře/Cheb.

Etymology

There is a Czech pun that the Ohře got its name from the river Teplá (meaning "warm" in Czech) - "ohřát" means "to warm up". However the real origin, which also shows in the German name, is Celtic, from Agara (the "Salmon River"). The records show the name as Agara, Agira, Agra in the 9th century, Egire, Egra or Ogra in the 11th century and Eger in 1472. Another theory states that since in Macedonia there exists a Lake Ohrid, the Slavic people who settled in the Balkans, particularly Macedonia around Lake Ohrid, originated from the area of the river Ohře and thus named the lake in south Macedonia "Ohrid".

Eger

Eger (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈɛɡɛr]  listen ; see also other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings (including the northernmost Turkish minaret), dishes and red wines. It has an estimated population of 56,530 as of 2011, which makes it 19th largest city in Hungary. The city is located on the Eger Stream, on the hills of the Bükk Mountains.

Etymology

The origin of its name is still unknown. One suggestion is that the place was named after the elder ("égerfa" in Hungarian) which grew so abundantly along the banks of the Eger Stream. This explanation seems to be correct because the name of the town reflects its ancient natural environment, and also one of its most typical plants, the elder, large areas of which could be found everywhere on the marshy banks of the Stream although they have since disappeared. The German name of the town: Erlau=Erlen-au (elder grove) also speaks in favour of this supposition. And there is another theory which says that Eger's name comes from the Latin word: "ager" (earth). This theory comes from more recent researchers who think that during the 11th and 12th centuries settlers with a Walloon origin ("latins" in Hungarian) moved to this territory. The basin of Eger and the hilly region around it have always been very suitable for human settlements, and there are many archaeological findings from the early ages of history, which support this fact.

Eger (disambiguation)

Eger may refer to:

People

Cheb

Cheb (Czech pronunciation: [ˈxɛp]; German: Eger), is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře (also called Eger in German), at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany. Prior to 1945, which saw the expulsion of the German speaking population, the town was the centre of the German-speaking region known as Egerland, and was part of the Northern Austro-Bavarian dialect area.

The name of the city was in 1061 recorded as Egire; in 1179 it was known as Egra; from 1322 as Eger and the surrounding territory as Regio Egere and Provincia Egrensis; after the 14th century also as Cheb or Chba. From 1850 it was given the twin official names of Eger and Cheb. From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland.

The twin towns of Cheb are Hof in Germany, Rheden in the Netherlands, Nizhny Tagil in Russia and Bắc Ninh in Vietnam.

History

The earliest settlement excavated in the area was a Slavic stronghold at what is now called Jánský Vrch, north of the town-centre. In 807 the district of today's Cheb was included in the new margraviate of East Franconia, which belonged at first to the Babenbergs, but from 906 to the margraves (marquis) of Vohburg. Depold II of Vohburg built the castle about which the town then grew. In 1179 town status was achieved. In 1149, by the marriage of Adelheid of Vohburg to the emperor Frederick I, Eger (Cheb) came into the possession of the House of Swabia, and remained in the hands of the emperors until the early 13th century, during which time it became an Imperial Free City.