river in Niederösterreich Bundesland (“federal state”), Austria, and Jihočeský kraj (region), Czech Republic. The Lužnice rises in the Freiwald forest of Austria as the Lainsitz River. It flows northward, soon crossing into the Czech Republic and passing through the Třeboň lake region to Tábor, at which point it narrows into a gorge and turns 120° to flow southwestward into the Vltava (Moldau). The total length of the river is 129 miles (208 km); the area of its drainage basin is 1,631 square miles (4,224 square km).