{{Infobox river | name = Poltva | image = Mapa_Pełtwi.jpg | image_caption = The course of River Poltva within Lviv | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 9 | source1_location = Lviv, Ukraine | mouth = Bug | mouth_location = Busk | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|49.9603|24.6077|region:UA|display=it}} | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Ukraine | length_km = 60 | source1_elevation = | discharge1_avg = | basin_size_km2 = 1,440 | progression = {{RBug}} | extra = }}

The '''Poltva''' ({{Langx|uk|Полтва}}; {{langx|pl|Pełtew}}) is a river in the western Ukrainian Oblast of Lviv and a tributary of the Bug. The Poltva valley cuts between the Podilian Plateau and Roztichia.<ref name="Kubiĭovych1963">{{cite book|last=Kubiĭovych|first=Volodymyr|title=Ukraine, a Concise Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhdKAQAAMAAJ|year=1963|publisher=Ukrainian National Association|page=85}}</ref> The capital of the Lviv Oblast, Lviv, is located on the river, with the river flowing directly beneath Lviv's central street, {{ill|Liberty Avenue (Lviv)|lt=Liberty Avenue|uk|Проспект Свободи (Львів)}}, and the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet.<ref name="Struk1993">{{cite book|last=Struk|first=Danylo Husar|title=Encyclopedia of Ukraine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4UcOAQAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=University of Toronto Press|page=218|isbn=9780802033628}}</ref>

The river once faced significant problems with pollution.<ref name="Nałęcz2012">{{cite book|last=Nałęcz|first=Tomasz|title=Transboundary Aquifers in the Eastern Borders of The European Union: Regional Cooperation for Effective Management of Water Resources|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dfgKIQKm5_sC&pg=PA67|date=7 April 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-007-3948-2|page=67}}</ref> As a result, the river was covered up and included into the underground sewer system of Lviv, beginning in 1839.<ref name="VoloshchukMinosi︠a︡n1993">{{cite book|last1=Voloshchuk|first1=Mykhaĭlo|last2=Minosi︠a︡n|first2=Maksym|title=Lʹviv: The Undiscovered Jewel : a Comprehensive Guide for the Tourist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LfFoAAAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Kamenyar|isbn=978-5-7745-0578-4|page=27}}</ref> During World War 2, Jews fleeing Nazi violence used the underground river as a hiding place.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-lviv-subterranean-river-nazis-jews/31499264.html | title=The Haunted History of Ukraine's Underground River }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{in lang|pl}} [http://dir.icm.edu.pl/pl/Slownik_geograficzny/Tom_VII/941 Pełtew] in the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (1886)

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{{Rivers of Ukraine}}

{{Lviv-geo-stub}} {{Ukraine-river-stub}}

Category:Rivers of Lviv Oblast Category:Subterranean rivers