The Border River Phenomenon: the Example of the River Mura

Abstract

The Author analyses two long-term aspects of the border river phenomenon with the example of the river Mura: a) the relationship between the river bed, the boundaryline, and the anthropogenic effects on the river; b) discovering the historical structures through the perspective of border disputes. The "common sense" ideas about border rivers imply that the river bed and the boundaryline usually match. However, in the actual landscape and cartographic representations, the differences between these elements can be significant.

Kolpa as a border river in the newspaper Slovenski narod, 1868–1914

“…Due to meandering and erosion, the river does not »stick« to the riverbed that cartographers or land surveyors recorded at a particular time in history. The border line may also change due to political or administrative changes (Zajc 2017).…”

Mikro in makro. Pristopi in prispevki k humanističnim vedam ob dvajsetletnici UP Fakultete za humanistične študije, 1. knjiga

“…Zaradi meandriranja reke in erozije se reka »ne drži« struge, ki so jo kartografi/geodeti »ujeli« v določenem zgodovinskem trenutku. Mejna črta se lahko prav tako spreminja zaradi političnih/administrativnih sprememb (Zajc 2017). Reke so naravni pojavi z lastno dinamiko, ki je ljudje nikoli ne morejo povsem nadzorovati.…”