“During the long centuries of its rule, the former Austria saw no sense in fixing the river /.../ because it was busy everywhere else and only did as little as possible in this area.”

The River Drava in the Styrian Provincial Assembly in the Second Half of the 19th and the Beginning of the 20th Century

Abstract

In the past, the river Drava would often cause problems in its immediate (and even wider) surroundings. In line with the national policy, the possibility for larger ships to navigate Drava as far as the city of Maribor was a subject of debates already in the mid-1860s. However, the idea was soon abandoned, as it was more crucial to protect the river banks, property, and, above all, inhabitants along the river. The first river regulation works started in the 1870s in Spodnji Duplek and continued in the direction of Loka and Ptuj. In the case of heavy rainfall, the water flow increased rapidly, causing the river to flood regularly. Systematic regulation downstream of Maribor started before the turn of the century, and the riverbed was straightened (or shortened) in several places. However, comprehensive regulation between Maribor and Ptuj was prevented by World War I.