For many, the Viliya River is known in connection with the pilgrimage hikes along its banks to nearby churches, springs, healing and other holy places. There are numerous legends and interesting stories about these places: about the Tupalsky bridge, about the "talking river", about ancient mounds, about a wooden church in an oak forest, etc.
Viliya is a river stretching across the territories of Belarus and Lithuania, which has the second (Lithuanian) name Neris. It is one of the most attractive and popular places for travelers. In general, Belarus is considered the land of numerous freshwater reservoirs, a paradise for lovers of ecological tourism.
These stunningly beautiful places, the river itself and its tributaries will be discussed a little later in this article. But first, let's make a brief overview of all the rivers of Belarus.
Rivers of Belarus
Not only Viliya is a river flowing through Belarus. There are a surprisingly large number of them. Below is the list.
- Dnipro is one of the mainEuropean rivers (4th in length). It extends from Russia through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea.
- The Western Dvina flows through Russia, Belarus and Latvia (flows into the Gulf of Riga), then flows to the B altic Sea.
- Neman, or Nemunas, is one of the main rivers of Eastern Europe. It originates in Belarus, flows through Lithuania, then flows into the Curonian Lagoon, and then into the B altic Sea.
- Pripyat flows through Ukraine, Belarus and again returns to Ukraine, but already flowing into the Dnieper.
- Sozh (a tributary of the Dnieper) flows through Belarus, Russia and along the very border of Ukraine.
Rivers such as the Berezina, Svisloch, Western Bug also stretch across the country.
Geographic location of the Viliya River
The river flows through the north-eastern territory of the country. It is a right tributary of the river. Neman (Nemunas).
The total length is 510 km, of which 228 km flows through the territories of Lithuania. The total catchment volume is 24,942.3 sq. km. (56% of them in Lithuania). The river has many tributaries: Naroch, Stracha and Servach (right); Elijah, Oshmyanka and Usha (left).
The relief is peculiar. The total fall of the Viliya River within the country is approximately 110 meters. This exceeds the data of most of the water arteries of Belarus. And the average slope of the water surface (0.3 ppm) is correspondingly much greater than that of other large rivers in this country. Therefore, the Viliya is characterized by a rather high flow rate almost throughout its entire length in Belarus.
On the banks of the Viliya are the cities of Smorgon and Vileyka. A little higher than the second is the Vileika reservoir, which supplies water to Minsk and provides pressure to the small Vileika hydroelectric power station. Almost the entire territory of the basin forms an interesting historical area.
Viliya River: Description
The water artery got its name presumably in honor of the pagan god Veles. The banks of the river have been inhabited by people since ancient times. This is evidenced by numerous finds of archaeologists.
Modern shores are dotted with beautifully equipped beaches for vacationers. In addition to the flowing rivers, cascades of lakes are adjacent to Viliya, which are quite popular with fishing enthusiasts. A variety of fish are found here: barbels, chub, syrt. And in some places carp, trout, salmon and crucian carp, uncharacteristic for these places, even took root.
The most important thing for lovers of active recreation is that Viliya is a river where you can raft in boats and kayaks. It is very popular, thanks to the famous All-Union Water Route No. 34 in the last century.
The river sometimes becomes shallow, and you can see that its bottom is strewn with stones, in some places protruding to the surface.
Some sights in conclusion
Viliya is a river, next to which there are many amazing historical places. Here you can see such natural monuments as the ancient boulder stone Asilak. During the First World War, fierce battles took place in these places. This is evidenced by the largea cross and a stone set on the bank of the river.
A little further away (p. Zhodishki) you can see a very old water mill, which is an architectural monument of the 18th century. And she still works. Further downstream there is a climbing wall popular with climbers.
Many surprisingly curious historical and beautiful natural places are kept on their territories by the Viliya River, which stretches across the territories of two states.
