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The Vltava ( ,
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> "Vltava" (US) and ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is commonly referred to as the "Czech national river". (2025). 9780313363061, ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313363061
The Vltava River drains an area of in size, over half of Bohemia and about a third of the Czech Republic's entire territory. The waters ultimately drain to the North Sea.
As it runs through Prague, the river is crossed by 18 (including the Charles Bridge) and covers within the city. The water from the river was used for drinking until 1912 when the Vinohrady Water Tower ceased pumping operations, and is now a place to view the city. It is, however, the source of drinking water in case of failures of or repairs to the water supply from the Želivka and Kárané sources. The Podolí water processing plant is on standby for such cases with the long section of the river upstream of the Podolí plant under the stricter, second degree of pollution prevention regulations.
Along its course, the river receives many tributaries. The longest tributaries of the Vltava are:
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From a strict hydrological point of view, it is the Elbe upstream of Mělník that is a tributary of the Vltava rather than the other way around, owing to the Vltava's longer distance upstream ( against of the Elbe), greater discharge, and larger drainage basin; however, since at the confluence point the Elbe flows through the main valley in a straight line, relative to which the Vltava flows at a right angle, the combined river downstream is identified as the Elbe.
Upstream of České Budějovice, the river's section around Český Krumlov (specifically from Vyšší Brod to Boršov nad Vltavou) is a very popular destination for water tourism. Along the River Branna Nove Spoli - vltava-river.com American in Prague (2018 webpage)
The river also features numerous weirs that help mitigate its flow from in elevation at its source near the German border to at its mouth in Mělník.
In August of 2002, the basin was heavily affected by the 2002 European floods when the flooded river killed several people and caused massive damage and disruption along its length, including in Prague. It left the oldest bridge in Prague, Charles Bridge, seriously weakened, requiring years of work to repair.
Prague was again flooded in 2013. Many locations within the Vltava and Elbe basins were left under water, including the Prague Zoo, but metal barriers were erected along the banks of the Vltava to help protect the historic city centre.
One of the best-known works of classical music by a Czech composer is Bedřich Smetana's Vltava, sometimes called The Moldau in English. It is from the Romantic music of classical music and is a musical description of the river's course through Bohemia.
Smetana's symphonic poem also inspired a song of the same name by Bertolt Brecht. An English version of it, by John Willett, features the lyrics Deep down in the Moldau the pebbles are shifting / In Prague three dead emperors moulder away.
The Vltava River has been used as the setting for a number of films, including the 1942 Czech drama The Great Dam. More recently, the Vltava has been used as a film location for such films as Amadeus in 1984 and in 1996.
A minor planet, 2123 Vltava, discovered in 1973 by Soviet Union astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, is named after the river.
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