{{Short description|River in Lithuania and Belarus}} {{For other uses|Neris (disambiguation)}}{{Redirect|Vilija|the given name|Vilija (given name)|the company|Vilija (company)}} {{Infobox river | name = Neris | image = Neris_Vilnius_20201031.jpg | image_caption = The Neris in Vilnius, Lithuania from Žvėrynas Bridge | map = Néris (rivière).png | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 5 | source1_location = Belarus | mouth = Neman | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|54|54|01|N|23|52|27|E|display=it|region:LT_type:waterbody}} | progression = {{RNeman}} | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Belarus, Lithuania | subdivision_type2 = Cities | subdivision_name2 = Vilnius, Kaunas | length = {{convert|510|km|mi|abbr=on}} | source1_elevation = | discharge1_avg = {{convert|182|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} | basin_size = {{convert|24942.3|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} | tributaries_left = Oksna | extra = }}
[[File:Belarus-Junction of Viliya and Narach Rivers-3.jpg|thumb|Confluence of the Viliya and Narach: a conjectured reason for the dual naming of Neris]] [[File:Gediminas Tower and ship in Neris River in Vilnius, Lithuania.jpg|thumb|Neris near Gediminas Tower in Vilnius, Lithuania]] thumb|Confluence of Neman and Neris in Kaunas The river '''Neris''' ({{pronunciation|Lt-Neris.oga}}) or '''Vilija''' ({{langx|be|Ві́лія|translit=Vilija}}, {{langx|pl|Wilia}}) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman) from the right bank, at Kaunas, as its main tributary. Its length is {{convert|510|km|mi|abbr=on}}.
After passing through Belarus for {{convert|276|km|mi|abbr=on}},<ref name="statistics">{{cite web |url = http://landofancestors.com/travel/statistics/geography/237-main-characteristics-of-the-largest-rivers.html |title = Main Geographic Characteristics of the Republic of Belarus. Main characteristics of the largest rivers of Belarus |publisher = Data of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus. |year = 2011 |website = Land of Ancestors |access-date = 27 September 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140115190617/http://landofancestors.com/travel/statistics/geography/237-main-characteristics-of-the-largest-rivers.html |archive-date = 15 January 2014 |url-status = dead }}</ref> the Neris flows through Lithuania for a further {{convert|235|km|mi|abbr=on}}.
The Neris connects successive Lithuanian capitals – Kernavė and Vilnius. Along its banks are the burial places of the pagan Lithuanians. At {{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Vilnius there is are old Karmazinai Hillfort and {{ill|Karmazinai burial mound|lt|Karmazinų pilkapynas}}.
==Dual naming==
The reasons for the dual naming of the river as Neris by the Lithuanians and Viliya (formerly ''Velja'', meaning "big, great" in Slavic) by the Slavs are complex. Even in Vilnius, there are toponyms including both names, e. g. ''Neris'' remains in the riverside names of ''Paneriai'' and ''Paneriškės'' while ''Velja'' is a part of the name ''Valakampiai'', which means "an angle of Velja" in Lithuanian.<ref name="Mysterious Neris">Vykintas Vaitkevičius [http://www.neriesparkas.lt/byla.php?id=17 Mysterious Neris], ''Šiaurės Atėnai''. 2005-07-23 nr. 758 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722151803/http://www.neriesparkas.lt/byla.php?id=17 |date=July 22, 2011 }}</ref> In Kaunas, a part of the city by the Neris river, that was formerly a separate town, is also named Vilijampolė (Vilija + polis, that means "polis by Vilija").
Although it has been suggested that ''Neris'' is the primeval name of the river, while the name ''Viliya'' is of secondary extraction,<ref name=ZZ/> the dual naming most probably emerged from the confluence of the rivers Neris (now known as Narač River, leaving Lake Narač) and Velja, in the historical Slavic/Baltic borderland, each ethnos choosing their own name for the river starting at the confluence.<ref name="Mysterious Neris"/> It is moreover evidenced by the fact that the name ''Neris'' was never used to name the river Velja up to this confluence. Therefore, it has been proposed that the Narač River had in fact been considered the upper reaches of Neris by the Balts in ancient times.<ref>S. Kolupaila, ''Narutis ir Neris'', ''Kosmos'', 1940, Nr. 1/3, p. 52</ref>
Some linguists, however, point to the fact, that Viliya in it upper part is not "big" or "great" at all and the name cognates with Lithuanian words velnias and vėlė. What is more, all the territory of upper Neris before the 12th c. was inhabited by the Balts, the archaeological {{ill|East Lithuanian Barrow Culture|lt|Rytų Lietuvos pilkapių kultūra}}.
===Etymology of "Neris"=== The name ''Neris'' is of Baltic origin, a cognate of the Lithuanian ''nerti'' generally meaning "to dive, swim downstream" as well as "to net, crochet". It is likely that the name had a more general meaning of "flow"<ref name=ZZ>{{cite book | last = Zinkevičius | first = Zigmas | author-link = Zigmas Zinkevičius | title = Senosios Lietuvos valstybės vardynas | publisher = Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas | year = 2007 | location = Vilnius | pages = 45 | isbn = 978-5-420-01606-0 }}</ref> or particularly "swift and swirling flow"<ref>V. Mažiulis, Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas, L-P, V., 1996, t. 3, p. 178-179</ref> in early times.
Etymologically, the name is one of a class of hydronyms, widespread in the modern and prehistoric Baltic ranges; e.g., Lithuanian Narotis, Narasa (rivers), Narutis (lake), Old Prussian Narus, Nara near Moscow. These are related to Lithuanian ''narus'', "deep", and ''nerti'', "to dive".
More remote connections are obscure, although the root is believed to be Indo-European. There are a number of possibilities:
*Pokorny's 2nd ''*ner-'', "under" (''Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch'', pp765–766); *Derksen's *{{lang|mis|nerH-}}, o-grade *{{lang|mis|norH-}} (''Slavic Inherited Lexicon''); *A relation to the Greek god Nereus, which may be from *''snau-'', "to give milk to", in the sense of "flow" (Partridge, ''Origins'' (1983)). * Another relationship of "Neris" with the Sanskrit word "Neer"/"Naar" which means water.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}
==Basin== [[File:Neris Baseino plotas.png|thumb|The Neris drainage basin. Standing out are the river and its main tributary. The latter rises near to Latvia, the Šventoji]] The total watershed area is {{convert|25100|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}, {{convert|10920|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} of which are in Belarus.<ref name="statistics" />
===Basin within Belarus=== The river is called Vilija in Belarus. Belarus's largest reservoir, Vileyka Reservoir, is located by Vilija, near the Vileyka city.
====Right tributaries==== *Narač *Servač *Strača
====Left tributaries==== *Ilija *Uša *Ašmianka
===Basin within Lithuania=== The watershed within Lithuania is {{convert|13849|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}<ref name=vanduo>[http://vanduo.gamta.lt/cms/index?rubricId=d55a80cd-f222-4c28-90d9-656080f83834 Neries mažųjų intakų (su Nerimi) pabaseinis] (Basin small tributaries of Neris (including Neris))</ref>
====Tributaries==== *Verkė *Vilnia *Vokė *Bražuolė *Dūkšta *Musė *Laukysta *Lomena *Šventoji *Lokys *Šešuva *Saidė
==Notes and references== {{Notelist}} {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Neris}}
{{Tributaries of the Neman}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Neris basin Category:Rivers of Grodno region Category:Rivers of Minsk region Category:Rivers of Lithuania Category:International rivers of Europe Category:Belarus–Lithuania border Category:Paneriai Category:Rivers of Belarus