Oder

The Oder ( ; Polish/Czech: Odra) is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line. The river ultimately flows into the Szczecin Lagoon north of Szczecin and then into three branches (the Dziwna, Świna and Peene) that empty into the Baltic Sea via the Gulf of Pomerania.

Names

The Oder is known by several names in different languages: (English and ; Czech, Polish, and , ; ( ); Classical Latin: Viadrus, Viadua; Medieval Latin: Od(d)era).

Geography

The Oder is 854 km long: 112 in the Czech Republic, 742 in Poland (including 187 on the border between Germany and Poland) and is the second longest river in Poland (after the Vistula). It drains 118,861 km² of watershed, 106,056 of which are in Poland (89%), 7,217 in the Czech Republic (6%), and 5,587 in Germany (5%). 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.

, Germany to Słubice, Poland.]] into the Oder.]] , Wały Chrobrego.]] of Oder in winter, The Old Town of Police, Poland.]]

The main branch empties into the Szczecin Lagoon near Police. The Szczecin Lagoon is bordered on the north by the islands of Usedom (west) and Wolin (east). Between these two islands, there is only a narrow channel (Świna) going to the Bay of Pomerania, which forms a part of the Baltic Sea.

The largest city on the Oder River is Wrocław, in Lower Silesia.

Navigation

The Oder is navigable over a large part of its total length, as far upstream as to the town of Koźle, where the river connects to the Gliwicki Canal. The upstream part of the river is canalized and permits larger barges (up to CEMT Class IV) to navigate between the industrial sites around the Wrocław area.

Further downstream the river is free flowing, passing the towns of Eisenhüttenstadt (where the Oder–Spree Canal connects the river to the Spree in Berlin) and Frankfurt upon Oder. Downstream of Frankfurt the Warta River forms a navigable connection with Poznań and Bydgoszcz for smaller vessels. At Hohensaaten the Havel-Oder-Wasserstrasse 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. (Source: NoorderSoft Waterways Database)

History

The river in Germania Magna 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 (see via). In German it was and is called the Oder, written in older records as Odera or Oddera in Medieval Latin documents and was mentioned in the Dagome iudex, which described territory of Duke Mieszko I ca. 990 and Oda von Haldensleben.

The Oder was an important trade route and towns in Germania were documented along with many tribes living between the rivers Albis, Viadrus and Vistula. Centuries later the Bavarian Geographer (ca. 845) specifies the following Westslavic peoples: Sleenzane, Dadosesani, Opoloni, Lupiglaa, and Gоlеnsizi in Silesia and Wolinians and Pyrzycans in Western Pomerania. A document of the Bishopric of Prague (1086) mentions Zlasane, Trebovyane, Poborane, and Dedositze in Silesia. In the 13th century, the first dams were built to protect agricultural lands.

The Finow Canal, built for the first time in 1605, connects Oder and Havel. After completion of the more straight Oder Havel Canal in 1914, its economic relevance decreased.

The earliest important undertaking with a view of improving the waterway was due to the initiative of Frederick the Great, who recommended the diversion of the river into a new and straight channel in the swampy tract of land known as Oderbruch near Küstrin. The work was carried out in the years 1746-1753, a large tract of marshland being brought under cultivation, a considerable detour cut off and the main stream successfully confined to a canal.

In the late 1800s three additional alterations were made to the waterway.

The canalization of the main stream 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.

During 1887-1891 the Oder–Spree Canal was made to connect the two rivers named.

The deepening and regulation of the mouth and lower course of the stream.

By the Treaty of Versailles the navigation on the Oder became subject to International Commission of the Oder. Following the articles 363 and 364 of the Treaty Czechoslovakia was entitled to lease in Stettin (now Szczecin) its own section in the harbour, then called Tschechoslowakische Zone im Hafen Stettin. The contract of lease between Czechoslovakia and Germany, and supervised by the United Kingdom, was signed on February 16, 1929 and would end in 2028, however, after 1945 Czechoslovakia did not regain this legal position, de facto abolished in 1938/1939.

After World War II, the Oder and the Lusatian Neisse formed the Oder-Neisse line, which was designated as the new border between Germany and Poland. The German populations east of these two rivers were expelled westwards.

Cities

]]

Main section: : Ostrava - Bohumín - Racibórz - Kędzierzyn-Koźle - Krapkowice - Opole - Brzeg - Oława - Jelcz-Laskowice - Wrocław - Brzeg Dolny - Ścinawa - Szlichtyngowa - Głogów - Bytom Odrzański - Nowa Sól - Krosno Odrzańskie - Eisenhüttenstadt - Frankfurt (Oder) - Słubice - Kostrzyn - Cedynia - Schwedt - Vierraden - Gartz - Gryfino - Szczecin - Police

Dziwna branch (between Wolin Island and mainland Poland): : Wolin - Kamień Pomorski - Dziwnów

Świna branch (between Wolin and the Usedom islands): : Świnoujście

Szczecin Lagoon: : Nowe Warpno - Ueckermünde

Peene branch (between Usedom Island and the German mainland): : Usedom - Lassan - Wolgast

Eastern tributaries

: Ostravice - Olza - Ruda - Bierawka - Kłodnica - Czarnka - Mała Panew - Stobrawa - Widawa - Jezierzyca - Barycz - Krzycki Rów - Obrzyca - Jabłonna - Pliszka - Ołobok - Gryzynka - Warta with the Noteć - Myśla - Kurzyca - Stubia - Rurzyca - Tywa - Płonia - Ina - Gowienica

Western tributaries

: Opava - Psina (Cyna) - Cisek - Olszówka - Stradunia - Osobłoga - Prószkowski Potok - Nysa Kłodzka - Oława - Ślęza - Bystrzyca - Średzka Woda - Cicha Woda - Kaczawa - Ślepca - Zimnica - Dębniak - Biała Woda - Czarna Struga - Śląska Ochla - Zimny Potok - Bóbr - Olcha - Racza - Lusatian Neisse - Finow - Gunica

Notes

See also

* List of rivers of Germany

List of rivers of Poland

Lower Odra Valley National Park

Oder-Neisse line

External links

multi-lingual information site on the Oder river

Odra River electronic shipping guide

Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library

Category:Rivers of the Olomouc Region Category:Rivers of the Moravian-Silesian Region Category:Rivers of Poland Category:Rivers of Brandenburg Category:Rivers of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Category:International rivers of Europe Category:Germany–Poland border