View source for Timiș

{{Short description|River in Romania and Serbia}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Timiș
| native_name        = {{native name list|tag1=ro|name1=Timiș|tag2=sr|name2={{lang-sr-Cyrl-Latn|Тамиш|Tamiš|separator=" / "|label=none}}}}
| native_name_lang   =
| name_other         = Tamiš
| name_etymology     =
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Pancevo Tamis.JPG
| image_size         =
| image_caption      = The Timiș (Tamiš) in [[Pančevo]], Serbia
| map                = Raul Timis.png
| map_size           =
| map_caption        =
| mapframe           = yes
| mapframe-zoom      = 7
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Countries
| subdivision_name1  = {{hlist|[[Romania]]|[[Serbia]]}}
| subdivision_type2  = Counties/Province
| subdivision_name2  = {{hlist|[[Caraș-Severin County|Caraș-Severin]]|[[Timiș County|Timiș]]|[[Vojvodina]]}}
| subdivision_type3  = Towns
| subdivision_name3  ={{hlist|[[Caransebeș]]|[[Lugoj]]|[[Pančevo]]}}
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|359|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| width_min          =
| width_avg          =
| width_max          =
| depth_min          =
| depth_avg          =
| depth_max          =
| discharge1_location=
| discharge1_min     =
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|47|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max     =
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = [[Banat Mountains|Semenic Mountains]], Romania
| source1_location   =
| source1_coordinates=
| source1_elevation  =
| mouth              = [[Danube]]
| mouth_location     = near [[Pančevo]], Serbia
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|44|50|53|N|20|38|08|E|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    =
| progression        = {{RDanube}}
| basin_size         = {{convert|10280|km2|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left   = {{hlist|[[Pogăniș]]|[[Bârzava (Timiș)|Bârzava/Brzava]]}}
| tributaries_right  = [[Bistra (Timiș)|Bistra]]
| custom_label       =
| custom_data        =
| extra              =
}}

The '''Timiș''' or '''Tamiš''' ({{langx|ro|Timiș}}, {{lang-sr-Cyrl-Latn|Тамиш|Tamiš|separator=" / "}}, {{langx|hu|Temes}}, {{langx|de|Temesch}}) is a {{convert|359|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}}{{GeoSource|Danube||12}} river that flows through the [[Banat]] region of Romania and Serbia and joins the [[Danube]] near [[Pančevo]], in northern [[Serbia]]. Due to its position in the region, it has been labeled as the "spine of the Banat".<ref name=tamis>{{cite news | author = Olga Janković | title = Tamiš na talasu turizma | trans-title = Tamiš on the wave of tourism | newspaper = Politika | page = 14 | language = Serbian | date = 15 April 2019 | url = http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/427490/Srbija/Tamis-na-talasu-turizma}}</ref>

[[File:Ptolemy Geographia - Dacia - Central Section.jpg|thumb|right|text-top|250px|upright=1.5|Tibiscus on [[Dacia]]'s map from a medieval book made after [[Ptolemy]]'s [[Geographia]] (ca. 140 AD).]]

==Name==
In [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]], the river was known as ''Tibiscus'' (in [[Latin]]) and ''Tibisis'' (Θίβισις in [[ancient Greek]]), and as ''Timisis'' in [[De Administrando Imperio]];<ref>{{Cite book |last=Porphyrogenitus |first=Constantine VII |title=De Administrando Imperio |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies Trustees for Harvard University |year=1967 |location=Washington, District of Columbia |pages=40-41 |language=English, Greek |translator-last=Moravcsik |translator-first=Gyula |trans-title=De Administrando Imperio |translator-last2=R. J. H. Jenkins}}</ref> in addition, Edward Gibbon referred to it as the ''Teyss''.

''The Romans, who traversed the plains of Hungary, suppose that they passed '''several''' navigable rivers, either in canoes or portable boats; but there is reason to suspect that the winding stream of the Teyss, or Tibiscus, might present itself in different places under different names.'' <ref>Gibbon, Edward, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter 34, pg. 313, Penguin Classics, New York, 2005.</ref>

==Geography==
The [[Drainage basin|drainage area]] covers {{convert|10280|km2|abbr=on}},{{GeoSource|Danube||12}} of which {{convert|7310|km2|abbr=on}} in Romania.{{GeoSource|RO|Atlas|195,205-216|V.2}} With the Danube, the Timis belongs to the [[Black Sea]] drainage basin. The river flows through Romania for {{convert|241|km|abbr=on}}, and {{convert|118|km|abbr=on}} through Serbia. Its average [[discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] at the [[River mouth|mouth]] is {{cvt|47|m3/s}}.{{GeoSource|Danube||12}}

The source of the river is near the mountain resort Semenic, in the [[Banat Mountains|Semenic Mountains]], [[Caraș-Severin County]], Romania. It flows towards the southeast, through the [[Trei Ape Reservoir]], until it turns north near [[Teregova]]. Downstream from [[Caransebeș]] it turns northwest. It leaves the mountains and enters the [[Banat]] plain near [[Lugoj]]. After entering Banat, the river becomes slow and meandering. The most important port is the heavily industrialized [[Pančevo]].

At the river's mouth, on the right bank, there is a forested area, the Pančevo Forest. It covers {{convert|300|ha|abbr=on}} of marshland, with several dozen of [[deciduous]] species and 176 species of birds and mammals.<ref name=promenada>{{cite news | author = Olga Janković | script-title=sr: "Променада" за силазак Панчева на реку | trans-title = "Promenade" for Pančevo's coming down to the river | newspaper = Politika | page = 20 | language = Serbian | date = 23 June 2020}}</ref> The colonies of [[Pectinatella magnifica|magnificent bryozoan]]s were found in the river.<ref>{{cite news | author = Đorđe Đukić | title = Otkriveni organizmi stari 500 miliona godina | trans-title = Organisms originating from 500 million years ago discovered  | newspaper = Politika | page = 12 | language = Serbian | date = 8 September 2020 | url = http://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/462091/Otkriveni-organizmi-stari-500-miliona-godina}}</ref>

In June 2023, Serbian government began process of declaring a [[List of protected natural resources in Serbia|landscape of outstanding features]] Potamišje ("Tamiš valley"). It will protect the river's flood valley on the territory of [[Zrenjanin]], [[Kovačica]], and [[Opovo]] municipalities. A spatial plan for wider valley area (including [[Sečanj]] and [[Plandište]]) has been concurrently made.<ref>{{cite news | author = Olga Janković | title = Zaštita plavne doline Tamiša | trans-title = Protection of Timiș' flood valley | newspaper = Politika | page = 20 | language = sr | date = 12 July 2023 | url = https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/561612/Zastita-plavne-doline-Tamisa}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
Within the scopes of the [[Cross-border cooperation#Interreg IPA CBC|Interreg IPA]] program, conducted jointly by Romania and Serbia, the area around the river has been arranged in the 2017-2019 period. Starting from Timiș' origin in Romania, up to its mouth in Serbia, the bird watch towers, benches, gazebos, small bridges, billboards, signposts and waste containers have been placed. The bicycle paths along the river have been built and locations for recreational fishing have been set. At Pančevo, near the confluence, there are catamarans, canoes and bicycles for renting.<ref name=tamis/>

The right bank, on river's course through Pančevo close to its mouth, was arranged as a promenade in the 1980s. A plan of massive reconstruction of the quay and urbanization of the area was announced for years and confirmed in June 2020. Section between the bridge and old shipyard facilities will be completely reconstructed with addition of renovation of "city pontoon" (floating platform for various public activities), sports and recreation fields, skate park, ski slopes, bicycle paths, etc. The project is called "Pančevo Promenade". It also includes the footbridge across the Timiș which will connect the city with the City Forest which stretches along the opposite, un-urbanized bank. The forest degraded in time and will be rejuvenated as part of the same project. The anti-flood embankments will be re-fortified, too. The deadline is 2023.<ref name=promenada/>

Arranged beach on the Timiș, with paid tickets and some 200 visitors daily, was recorded in Pančevo in 1891. Later, two beaches developed in Donji Grad neighborhood, left of the bridge across the river: Waltman's and municipal (also called students or military beach). The former was paid and had pontoons, while the latter, with two marked basins, was open for everyone. Sports club "Banat" held revues and competitions on the municipal beach in the 1920s, which survived until the 1970s. Upstream, there was another beach in Gornji Grad neighborhood called "At three carrots", while the wild beach "Bećar Lido" developed on the very mouth into the Danube.<ref>{{cite news | author = Olga Janković | script-title=sr: Беху некад Бећар и Чанго лидо | trans-title = There were once beaches of Bećar and Čando Lido | newspaper = Politika-Magazin, No. 1299 | pages = 28–29 | language = sr | date = 21 August 2022}}</ref>

By the 2020s, several beaches developed along the river's banks, outside if Pančevo. At Idvor, 250 [[Populus|poplars]] were planted, to restore the natural vegetation balance along the river. A small bridge was placed, and the crushed stone was poured before the beach, to purify and clear the water. In Glogonj, there is Skela beach. In Jabuka, there are two beaches. One, also called Skela, was arranged as part of the joint Serbian-Romanian project "Eco-Timiș - new touristic product". The other one is Pesak. All got new access roads, some of them have barges-restaurants, some sports fields, etc.<ref>{{cite news | author = Olga Janković | title = Seoske plaže na Panonskom moru - spas od vrelog leta | trans-title = Village beaches of Pannonian Sea - salvation from hot summer | newspaper = Politika | page = 15 | language = sr | date = 17 July 2022 | url = https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/512225/Seoske-plaze-na-Panonskom-moru}}</ref>

==Navigation==
In its lower course, the river is regulated, and for the last {{convert|53|km|abbr=on}} it is navigable.

Pančevo had a busy port already in the 17th century, when it was occupied by the [[Ottoman Turks]]. Later, in Habsburg period, it became a hub of the river routes in the Banat region. The grain was transported to the capital [[Vienna]], while later, with the industrialization of Pančevo, shipping of the beer, silk, salt, bricks and timber developed. In time, a row of halls, warehouses and storage object along the river bank were built. With the appearance of the steam power, the passenger transport developed too, connecting Pančevo and Serbian capital [[Belgrade]]. As Pančevo grew into the developed industrial center, by the early 20th century the traffic on Timiș became so intensive that the river had to be rerouted and straighten, with numerous canals being cut through around it.<ref name=magazin>{{cite news | author = Olga Janković | script-title=sr: Мало поѕнате грађевине: Светионици на ушћу Тамиша | trans-title = Little known architecture: Lighthouses at the Timiș' mouth | newspaper = Politika-Magazin, No. 1141 | pages = 22–23 | language = Serbian | date = 11 August 2019}}</ref>

===Lighthouses===
[[Image:Svetionici na Tamišu.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Old photo of the Timiș' lighthouses]]
At the mouth of the Timiș into the Danube, there are two lighthouses, one on the each bank of the Timiș. They are one of the rare inland lighthouses in Europe, as the banks of the rivers are usually visible so there is no need for them. They are also among only few inland lighthouses in the world, and the only one in Europe, that were built in pair. Measured by the Danube, they are located at Danube'e {{convert|1,154|km|abbr=on}}, on its left bank, and {{convert|3|km|abbr=on}} from downtown Pančevo.<ref name=magazin/>

The lighthouses were built during the "golden age" of the steam-powered river traffic. They are designed in the military style. The cone-shaped bases have {{convert|15,3|m|abbr=on}} in diameter, and are plated with stone. The towers are sturdy and massive, built of yellow bricks. Doors and [[Paned window (architecture)|paned window]]s are framed with decorative garlands made of bricks. The top platform has an open terrace with the powerful lighthouse reflector. The terrace is covered with cone-shaped roof, resting on the metal rods.<ref name=magazin/>

After the works to improve the navigation were conducted in the early twentieth century, river's mouth area was left without any landmarks. The trees and overgrowth were cut during the digging of the canals so the area and the course of the river was new and unfamiliar to the ship crews. Situation became dangerous, especially at night, as there were no natural orienteering marks, so the wreckages became frequent. To prevent this, the lighthouses were built in 1909. The one on the right bank of the Timiș is built in the Ferland locality, while the left one is in the Pančevo's section of Mali Rit. They became very popular. The honking of the ships passing next to them was considered "obligatory", while the young boatmen and town youth used to visit and climb onto them, as a sort of the adolescent [[game of dare|dare games]]. They were also writing and carving their names and short notes on the bricks, so by the time of the 2000s reconstruction, almost none of the bricks were carve-free.<ref name=magazin/>

Since then, the steamboats were replaced with modern ships and Pančevo got a new port on the Daunube, so the old one, on the Timiș, was closed. The lighthouses went out of use in the 1960s and were left to the elements. In time, the locals stripped from them all that could be taken and transported by the boat, including metal staircases, oil lamps, etc. The stone slabs were used for paving private backyards and the bases, without this stone cover, were being partially washed off by thy river which compromised the integrity of the objects as they began to tilt and the collapse became a serious threat.<ref name=magazin/>

The reconstruction of the lighthouses began in the twenty-first century, and was finished by 2019. Geodetic surveys were conducted and the old photographs were used in the reconstruction. The carved writings on the bricks were documented by the Pančevo's Cultural Monuments Protection Institute. The lighthouses are protected by the law as the Cultural Heritage of Great Importance.<ref name=magazin/>

==Flooding==
[[Image:Jasatomicflood.jpg|thumb|250px|Flood in [[Jaša Tomić (place)|Jaša Tomić]] in 2005]]

After Banat, floods occur in rainy years. Especially devastating were the floods of 2005, when the villages [[Boka (Sečanj)|Boka]] and [[Jaša Tomić, Sečanj|Jaša Tomić]] were badly damaged. On 20 April 2005, a level of {{convert|844|cm|sp=us}} was recorded, the highest ever since the measurements began.

In the spring of 2007 works on the elevation of the embankments on both banks of the river began, {{convert|11.5|km|sp=us}} on the right bank and {{convert|13.2|km|sp=us}} on the left. The embankments will be {{convert|30|-|70|cm|abbr=on}} higher than they are now and being higher than {{convert|8.5|m|abbr=on}} should prevent any future floodings.<ref>[[Politika]] daily, 5 May 2007, page 08</ref>

In some parts of the low, marshy areas created by the floods, several fish-filled lakes have been created, most notably at [[Banatski Despotovac]], [[Uzdin]], [[Sakule]] and [[Slatina-Timiș|Slatina]].

==Tributaries==
The following rivers are tributaries to the river Timiș:{{GeoSource|RO|Atlas|195,205-216|V.2}}

Left: Brebu, [[Slatina (Timiș)|Slatina]], [[Goleț]], Bucoșnița, Cerneț, Petroșnița, [[Valea Mare (Timiș)|Valea Mare]], Vălișoara, [[Măcicaș]], [[Vâna Secănească]], [[Vâna Mare (Timiș)|Vâna Mare]], [[Spaia]], [[Știuca (Timiș)|Știuca]], [[Cernabora]], [[Timișana]], Timișina, [[Șurgani]], Sariș, [[Pogăniș]], Timișul Mort, [[Lanca Birda]], [[Bârzava (Timiș)|Bârzava/Brzava]]

Right: Semenic, [[Teregova (river)|Teregova]], Criva, [[Pârâul Rece]], [[Feneș (Timiș)|Feneș]], Armeniș, Sadovița, Ilova, Groapa Copaciului, [[Bolvașnița (river)|Bolvașnița]], Zlagna, [[Sebeș (Timiș)|Sebeș]], Potoc, [[Bistra (Timiș)|Bistra]], [[Pleșa (Timiș)|Pleșa]], Calova, Maciovița, Vălișor, Tincova, [[Nădrag (river)|Nădrag]], Slatina, Măguri, Tapia, [[Iarcoș]], [[Timișaț]]

==Settlements==
===Romania===
Major cities in its Romanian course are [[Caransebeș]] and [[Lugoj]], smaller places include (from source to mouth):
*[[Teregova]], [[Armeniș]], [[Slatina-Timiș]], [[Bucoșnița]], [[Buchin]], [[Caransebeș]], [[Constantin Daicoviciu, Caraș-Severin|Constantin Daicoviciu]], [[Sacu]], [[Gavojdia]], [[Lugoj]], [[Coșteiu]], [[Moșnița Nouă]], [[Șag]], [[Parța]], [[Peciu Nou]]
[[Timișoara]] has its name derived from the river Timiș meaning the fortress of Timiș. However the town of Timiș City, even though its name may indicate it, is not a settlement on the river, but on another Romanian-Serbian river, [[Bega (Tisza)|Bega]].

===Serbia===
From source to mouth: [[Jaša Tomić, Sečanj|Jaša Tomić]], [[Šurjan]], [[Boka (Sečanj)|Boka]], [[Sečanj]], [[Neuzina]], [[Banatski Despotovac]], [[Botoš]], [[Tomaševac]], [[Orlovat]], [[Uzdin]], [[Idvor]], [[Farkaždin]], [[Sakule]], [[Čenta]], [[Baranda]], [[Opovo]], [[Sefkerin]], [[Glogonj]], [[Jabuka, Pančevo|Jabuka]], [[Pančevo]]

After the Austrians officially took over the lands north of the Sava and Danube in the early 18th century, at the Timiș' mouth into the Danube, there was a derelict [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[stockade]], surrounded by the [[palisade]]s. In 1716 the Austrians began construction of the new, larger proper fortress, and finished it in 1720. It was a [[pentagon]] shaped structure built for artillery warfare., with brick-layered [[bastion]]s, triangular [[Rampart (fortification)|rampart]]s, and a [[pontoon bridge]] across the Timiș. It resembled the [[Belgrade Fortress]], and [[Bailey (castle)|bailey]] of the [[Petrovaradin Fortress]].<ref name=tvrdjava>{{cite news | author = Olga Janković | title = Tvrđava koja je oblikovala jezgro Pančeva | trans-title = Fortress which shaped Pančevo's core | newspaper = Politika | page = 25 | language = sr | date = 4 December 2022 | url = https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/527900/Tvrdava-koja-je-oblikovala-jezgro-Panceva}}</ref>

Settlement which developed within the fortress was the core of modern Panćevo. One of the stipulations of the 1739 Austrian-Ottoman [[Treaty of Belgrade]] was that Austria had to demolish all fortifications built in the previous two decades. Pančevo Fortress was razed to the ground, with nothing surviving above the ground level, but the settlement remained as a border town. Old downtown of Pančevo, and its street grid, were shaped by the size, position and orientation of the fortress. During the reconstruction of the City Park in 2013, remains of the foundations and brick walls of the southern rampart were discovered.<ref name=tvrdjava/>

==Pančevački Rit==
{{Main|Pančevački Rit}}
The river's old mouth into the Danube was some {{convert|40|km|abbr=on}} to the north-west, between villages of [[Čenta]]  and [[Surduk]], thus it was shorter. Canal Karaš remained marking old river bed, and the area bounded by the old and new river beds and the Danube, is called Pančevački Rit (Pančevo Marsh). The {{convert|400|km2|abbr=on}} large wetland was constantly flooded, but since [[World War II]] it has been drained part by part and almost half of it is turned into a very fertile patch of land, suitable especially for cultivating grains and vegetables. It is managed by Serbian largest agricultural company, "PKB Beograd", which almost exclusively provides food for 2 million people in wider [[Belgrade]] area, thus Pančevački Rit is commonly nicknamed Granary of Belgrade. Stockbreeding is also very intensive, and so are fishery and hunting.

Many meandering canals and bogs remained in the marsh: slow streams of [[Vizelj]], Dunavac, Sibnica, Butuš, Rogoznica, Buk, Belanoš and [[Sebeš]], and large bogs of [[Reva, Belgrade|Reva]], [[Veliko Blato (Serbia)|Veliko Blato]] ({{convert|2|km2|abbr=on}}), Sebeš and [[Široka Bara]]. In the south, area ends with a river island (''ada'') [[Kožara]] ({{convert|0.44|km2|abbr=on}}).

After being almost uninhabited before 1945, today its population density is above average for Serbia as a whole, since some of the fastest growing suburbs of Belgrade ([[Borča]], [[Padinska Skela]] and [[Krnjača]]) are built there. The whole area of Pančevački Rit belongs administratively to Belgrade's municipality of [[Palilula Belgrade|Palilula]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*''Mala Prosvetina Enciklopedija'', Third edition (1985); Prosveta; {{ISBN|86-07-00001-2}}
*Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): ''Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije''; Svjetlost-Sarajevo; {{ISBN|86-01-02651-6}}

{{Danube}}

{{Portal bar|Romania}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timis (river)}}
[[Category:Rivers of Romania]]
[[Category:Rivers of Serbia]]
[[Category:International rivers of Europe]]
[[Category:Geography of Vojvodina]]
[[Category:Banat]]
[[Category:Rivers of Caraș-Severin County]]
[[Category:Rivers of Timiș County]]
[[Category:Timiș basin| ]]