Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany as part of the Oder–Neisse line. The river ultimately flows into the Szczecin Lagoon north of Szczecin and then into three branches that empty into the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea.
Names
The Oder is known by several names in different languages, but the modern ones are very similar: English and ; Czech, Polish, and, ; ; ; Medieval Latin: Odera; Renaissance Latin: Viadrus.The origin of this name is said by onomastician Jürgen Udolph to come from the Illyrian word *Adra.
Ptolemy knew the modern Oder as the Συήβος, a name apparently derived from the Suebi, a Germanic people. While he also refers to an outlet in the area as the Οὐιαδούα Ouiadoua, this was apparently the modern Wieprza, as it was said to be a third of the distance between the Suebos and Vistula. The name Suebos may be preserved in the modern name of the Świna river, an outlet from the Szczecin Lagoon to the Baltic.
Geography
The Oder is long: in the Czech Republic, in Poland. It is the third longest river located within Poland ; however, it is the second longest river overall taking into account its total length, including parts in neighbouring countries.The Oder drains a basin of, of which are in Poland, in the Czech Republic, and in Germany. Channels connect it to the Havel, Spree, Vistula system and Kłodnica. It flows through Silesian, Opole, Lower Silesian, Lubusz, and West Pomeranian voivodeships of Poland and the states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany.
The main branch empties into the Szczecin Lagoon near Police, Poland. The Szczecin Lagoon is bordered on the north by the islands of Usedom and Wolin. Between these two islands, there is only a narrow channel going to the Bay of Pomerania, which forms a part of the Baltic Sea.
Main tributaries
The longest tributaries of the Oder are:| Tributary | Length | Side |
| Warta | 808.2 | right |
| Bóbr / Bobr | 279 | left |
| Lusatian Neisse | 252 | left |
| Eastern Neisse | 189 | left |
| Barycz | 139 | right |
| Mała Panew | 132 | right |
| Opava | 129.3 | left |
| Ina | 126.0 | right |
| Widawa | 109.0 | right |
| Bystrzyca | 101.5 | left |
| Oława | 99.0 | left |
| Kaczawa | 98.0 | left |
| Myśla | 95.6 | right |
| Olza / Olše | 89.1 | right |
| Stobrawa | 80.3 | right |
| Ślęza | 78.6 | left |
| Kłodnica | 75.0 | right |
| Krzycki Rów | 74.3 | right |
| Płonia | 72.6 | right |
| Osobłoga / Osoblaha | 65.5 | left |
| Ostravice | 64.7 | right |
| Cicha Woda | 57.3 | left |
| Pliszka | 56.0 | right |
| Bierawka | 55.5 | right |
| Ruda | 52.3 | right |
| Gowienica | 51.1 | right |
| Psina | 49.3 | left |
| Obrzyca | 49.1 | right |
| Tywa | 47.9 | right |
| Rurzyca | 44.4 | right |
| Śląska Ochla | 40.8 | left |
| Prószkowski Potok | 40.8 | left |
| Czarna Struga | 40.2 | left |
| Stradunia | 37.8 | left |
| Lubina | 36.8 | right |
| Zimnica | 36.0 | left |
| Jezierzyca | 33.6 | right |
| Średzka Woda | 32.3 | left |
Cities
The largest city on the Oder is Wrocław in Lower Silesia.Main section:
Szczecin Lagoon:
east: Dziwna branch :
middle: Świna branch :
west: Peenestrom branch :
Navigation
The Oder is navigable over a large part of its total length, as far upstream as the town of Koźle, where the Gliwice Canal connects the river to the city of Gliwice. The upstream part of the river is canalized and permits larger barges to navigate between the industrial sites around the Wrocław area.Further downstream the river is free-flowing, passing the towns of Eisenhüttenstadt and Frankfurt upon the Oder. Downstream of Frankfurt the river Warta forms a navigable connection with Poznań and Bydgoszcz for smaller vessels. At Hohensaaten the Oder–Havel Canal connects with the Berlin waterways again.
Near its mouth the Oder reaches the city of Szczecin, a major maritime port. The river finally reaches the Baltic Sea through the Szczecin Lagoon and the river mouth at Świnoujście.
History
Under Germania Magna, the river was known to the Romans as the Viadrus or Viadua in Classical Latin, as it was a branch of the Amber Road from the Baltic Sea to the Roman Empire. In Germanic languages, including English, it was and still is called the Oder, written in medieval Latin documents as Odera or Oddera. Most notably, it was mentioned in the Dagome iudex, which described territory of the Duchy of Poland under Duke Mieszko I in A.D. 990, as a part of Poland's western frontier, however, in most sections the border ran west of the river.Before Slavs settled along its banks, the Oder was an important trade route, and towns in Germania were documented along with many tribes living between the rivers Albis, Oder, and Vistula. Centuries later, after Germanic tribes, the Bavarian Geographer specified the following West Slavic peoples: Sleenzane, Dadosesani, Opolanie, Lupiglaa, and Golensizi in Silesia and Wolinians with Pyrzycans in Western Pomerania. A document of the Bishopric of Prague mentions Zlasane, Trebovyane, Poborane, and Dedositze in Silesia.
In the 10th century, almost the entire course of the Oder River found itself within the borders of the newly formed Polish state, with the exception of the area around the source of the river, which was under Bohemian rule. Several important cities of medieval Poland developed along the Oder, including Opole which became the capital of Upper Silesia, Wrocław which became the capital of Lower Silesia and one of the main cities of the entire Kingdom of Poland, and Lubusz which became the capital of the Lubusz Land, nicknamed "the key to the Kingdom of Poland" in medieval chronicles. Wrocław and Lubusz became seats of some of the oldest Catholic bishoprics of Poland, founded in 1000 and 1125. Located near the mouth of the river, Szczecin became one of the main cities and ports of the Pomerania region and the entire southern coast of the Baltic Sea.
From the 13th century on, the Oder valley was central to German Ostsiedlung, making the towns on its banks German-speaking over the following centuries. Over time, control over parts of the river was taken from Poland by other countries, including the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Kingdom of Bohemia, and later also by Hungary, Sweden, Prussia and Germany.
Canals and waterway modifications
The Finow Canal, first built in 1605, connects the Oder and Havel. After completion of the more straight Oder–Havel Canal in 1914, its economic relevance decreased.The earliest important undertaking to modify the river to improve navigation was initiated by Frederick the Great, who recommended diverting the river into a new and straight channel in the swampy tract known as Oderbruch near Küstrin. The work was carried out in the years 1746–53, a large tract of marshland being brought under cultivation, a considerable detour cut off and the mainstream successfully confined to a canal.
In the late 19th century, three additional alterations were made to the waterway:
- The canalization of the mainstream at Breslau, and from the confluence of the Glatzer Neisse to the mouth of the Klodnitz Canal, a distance of over. These engineering works were completed in 1896.
- In 1887–1891 the Oder–Spree Canal was made to connect the two rivers.
- The deepening and regulation of the mouth and lower course of the stream.