The course of the Sava River runs through several diverse geological regions within several countries in Southeast Europe from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and along the Bosnia-Herzegovina border.The uppermost course of the river and its headwaters is situated in the Southern Alps. It is interesting to note that the name “Sava” is Celtic and Roman in origin, and not Slavic as one would expect which speaks about the ancient settlements in the region.
Image: Large vessels at Belgrade, Serbia. The Sava is navigable with larger vessels for almost 370 miles.
Strolling along the River banks one can encounter many riverboats some of which are old steamboats amazingly still functioning.
Image: Old steamboat along the banks of the River Sava.
The Sava River basin is very significant because of its biological diversity although urban settlements along its course through several countries significantly threaten its eco system. It runs through three capital cities ( Ljubljana - Slovenia, Zagreb-Croatia and Belgrade-Serbia ). The River discharges into the mighty Danube at Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, after running for about 615 miles.
Image: The Sava discharges into the Danube.
Like most larger Rivers, the Sava river can be unpredictable, recently, the River Basin was hit by the worst floods ever recorded, in which several people were killed and many were missing. The town of Obrenovac was hit hardest by the floods, with an estimated 90% of the town flooded.
Image: Flooding along the River banks.
Image: Flooding along the River banks.
Image: Flooding at Belgrade.
As soon as the floods subsided, life got back to normal with people fishing along its banks and once again the River Sava gave an appearance of a calm, lazy giant.