Neman River

The Niemen River (Russian: Неман; Belarusian: Нёман; Lithuanian, in Lithuanian: Nemunas; in Polish: Niemen; in German: Niemen; and in Swedish: Njemen) is a prominent river in the northeastern part of Europe that runs through Belarus, Lithuania and in its final stretch, forms the border between Lithuania and Russia (with the Kaliningrad exclave).

It has a length of 937 km, of which 109 km are the Russian-Lithuanian border and 17 km are the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. It drains a basin of 98,200 km², of which 34,610 km² are in Belarus, 46,695 km² in Lithuania and 16,895 km² in Russia.

Geography

It is the fourteenth longest river in Europe at 937 km, the longest in Lithuania and the third in Belarus. Its waters are calm, with an average speed of one to two meters per second, and a maximum depth of five meters. Its largest tributaries are the rivers Neris, with a length of 510 kilometers, Ščiara, with a length of 325 kilometers, and Šešupė, with a length of 298 kilometers. It provides great communications resources to the countries it passes through, with navigation being very active in summer.

The Neman River rises in the Uzda raion, in the province of Minsk, and there some tributaries are added, becoming navigable; It then passes through Alytus and then through Kaunas. It passes through Smalininkai, follows its course from east to west, receiving two tributaries, which are the Šešupė and the Jūra. It bathes the city of Tilsit (now Sovietsk in Russian). It empties into the Baltic Sea near Klaipėda, in the Curonian Lagoon. It forms a delta at the mouth, when it divides into a labyrinth of branches and channels mixing with polders and wetlands that make the Nemunas Delta an attractive destination for ecotourism. The four main branches are Atmata, Pakalnė, Skirvytė and Gilija. The river plays a crucial role in the Curonian Lagoon ecosystem. It provides the main source of water in the lagoon and keeps the water almost fresh. This allows freshwater and mixed water animals to live there. As the Neman delta expands, the lagoon sinks. Since the delta is located in Lithuania, it is often called the Nemunas Delta. A regional park was created there in 1992.

History

This river owes a certain historical celebrity to an interview that the two emperors Napoleon and Alexander I had on a raft in the middle of the river on June 25, 1807, who were later joined by the King of Prussia Frederick William III; This interview served as a preliminary to the Peace of Tilsit.