Vistula

The Vistula () is the longest river in Poland. It is 1,047 kilometers (678 miles) long and drains an area of 194,424 km² (75,067 sq. miles), of which 168,699 km² (65,135 sq. miles) lies within Poland (over half the area of the country) [1].

The Vistula has its source in the south of the country, at Barania Góra (1220 m high) in the Beskidy Mountains where it starts with the White Little Vistula (Biała Wisełka) and the Black Little Vistula (Czarna Wisełka). It then continues to flow over the vast Polish plains, passing several large Polish cities along its way, including Kraków, Sandomierz, Warsaw, Płock, Włocławek, Toruń, Świecie, Tczew and Gdańsk. With a delta and several branches (Leniwka, Przekop, Śmiała Wisła, Martwa Wisła, Nogat and Szkarpawa) it empties into the Vistula Lagoon and Gdańsk Bay of the Baltic Sea.

History

It is not known whether the root of the name Vistula is Indo-European or pre-Indo-European. (-ila, -ula, etc. are ancient Germanic diminutive endings, such as in Atta - father, Att - ila, dear or little father. The name was first recorded by Pliny in AD 77 in his Natural History. He uses Vistula (4.52, 4.89) with an alternative spelling, Vistillus (3.06). The Vistula River ran into the Mare Suebicum, which we know as the Baltic Sea. From all the sources one can deduce that west of the delta lived the tribes of the Suebi and Burgundians, and around the delta itself the Eastern Germanic tribe of Goths (see also Gothiscandza, Wielbark culture) and their predecessors, the Oksywie culture. East of Vistula mouth were the areas inhabited by the Baltic speaking tribes generally identified with the historical Aestians: Galindians, Sudovians and Borusci.

Narew estuary into Vistula at Modlin

However, Tacitus' knowledge of the different peoples was second-hand at best; its accuracy is recently sometimes questioned. He also used the term "Germans" for describing people that probably did not speak Germanic languages. For example when describing Wenets (Veneds, Venets), Peucyns and Fenns he wrote that he was not sure if he should call them Germans, since they have settlements and they fight on foot, or rather Sarmats since they have some similar customs to them.

Ptolemy also records the tribes around the Vistula River, which he regards as the border between Germany and Sarmatia. He uses the Greek spelling, "Ouistoula". Other ancient sources spell it "Istula". Pomponius Mela refers to the "Visula" (Book 3) and Ammianus Marcellinus to the "Bisula" (Book 22), both of which names lack the -t-. The definitive reference is probably Jordanes (Getica 5 & 17), who uses "Viscla". The Anglo-Saxon poem Widsith refers to it as the "Wistla".

The Vistula river used to be connected to the Dnieper River, and thence to the Black Sea. The Baltic Sea-Vistula-Dnieper-Black Sea water route was one of the most ancient trade-routes, the Amber Road, on which amber and other items were traded from Northern Europe to Greece, Asia, Egypt, and elsewhere.

The Vistula, due to the German East Colonisation and its location near or in historical eastern Germany, also was well-known in Germany and surrounding countries by the German name Weichsel, in medieval German documents spelled Wissel, Wixel etc.

Navigation

The Vistula is navigable, but over large parts of its course the standards do not entirely meet the requirements of modern inland navigation. From the Baltic Sea to Bydgoszcz (where the Bydgoszcz or Bromberg canal connects to the river) the Vistula can accommodate modest river vessels of CEMT class II. Further upstream the river does not have enough depth to allow river barges to navigate.

Upstream of Warsaw, a project was undertaken to enlarge the capacity of the river by the building of a number of locks in the Cracow area; this project was never prolongued further downstream, so that the navigability of the Vistula remains problematic. The potential of the river in the decades to come would increase considerably if a restoration of the East-West connection via the Narew - Bug - Mukhovets - Pripyat - Dnjepr waterways would be considered. The shifting economic importance parts of Europe may make this option interesting. (Source: NoorderSoft Waterways Database)

Towns and tributaries

Towns and tributaries

Image:Wodospad Wiselka Biala.jpg|Biała WisełkaImage:Wisla powodz 2004.jpg|Vistula flooding south of Warsaw, 2004Image:Plock bridge.jpg|Bridge across the Vistula in Płock

Vistula
Town	Tributaries! Remarks
Wisła	river source
Ustroń
Skoczów	Brennica
Strumień	Krajka
Goczałkowice-Zdrój
Czechowice-Dziedzice	Biała-Wisełka
Brzeszcze	Vistula, Soła
Oświęcim	Soła
Zator	Skawa
Skawina	Skawinka
Kraków (Cracow)	Sanka, Rudawka, Prądnik, Dłubnia, Wilga	most are canalized streams
Niepołomice
Nowe Brzesko
Nowy Korczyn	Nida
Szczucin
Połaniec	Czarna
Baranów Sandomierski	Babolówka
Tarnobrzeg
Sandomierz	Koprzywianka, Trzesniówka
Zawichost
Annopol	Sanna
Józefów nad Wisłą
Solec nad Wisłą
Kazimierz Dolny	Bystra
Puławy	Kurówka
Dęblin	Wieprz
Magnuszew
Wilga	Wilga
Góra Kalwaria	Czarna
Karczew
Otwock, Józefów	Świder
Konstancin-Jeziorna	Jeziorka
Warsaw	Żerań canal	several other minor streams
Łomianki
Legionowo
Modlin	Narew
Zakroczym
Czerwińsk nad Wisłą
Wyszogród	Bzura
Płock	Słupianka, Brzeźnica
Dobrzyń nad Wisłą
Włocławek	Zgłowiączka
Nieszawa	Mień
Ciechocinek
Toruń	Drwęca, Bacha
Solec Kujawski
Bydgoszcz	Brda	canalized
Chełmno
Świecie	Wda
Grudziądz
Nowe
Gniew	Wierzyca

Near Kwidzyń Vistula is divided onto two separate branches that constitute the river delta
Nogat			Leniwka
Town	Tributaries	Remarks	Town	Tributaries	Remarks
Sztum	Tczew
Malbork	Gdańsk	Motława, Radunia, Potok Oliwski	in the city the river is divided onto several separate branches that reach the Baltic Sea at different points, the main branch reaches the sea at Westerplatte
Elbląg	Elbląg	shortly before reaching the Vistula Bay