The Oder (or Odra) River (German: Oder, Polish/Czech: Odra) is a river in Central Europe (mostly in Poland). It begins in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming the northern 187 km 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 with three branches (Dziwna, Swina and Peene) that empty into the Baltic Sea.
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2 History 3 Cities 4 Right tributaries 5 Left tributaries 6 See also |
The Oder River is 854 km long: 112 in the Czech Republic, 742 in Poland (including 187 on the border between Germany and Poland) and second longest river in Poland (after the Vistula). It drains 118,861 square kilometers of watershed, 106,056 of which are in Poland (89%), about 5,587 in Germany (5%), and 7,217 in Czech Republic (6%). Channels connect it to Havel, Spree, Vistula system and Kłodnica.
It flows through Silesian, Opole,
Lubusz and West Pomeranian voivodships of Poland and Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania provinces of Germany.
The main branch empties into the Szczecin Lagoon. The Szczecin Lagoon is bordered on the north by islands of Usedom (west) and Wolin (east). Between these two islands, there is only a narrow channel (Swina) going to the Bay of Pomerania, which forms a part of the Baltic Sea.
Most of the larger human settlements along the river are mentioned in the documents as old as the 9th or 10th century. In the 13th century, the first dams were built to protect agricultural lands.
After World War II, the Oder and the Neisse formed the Oder-Neisse line, which was designated as the new border between Germany and Poland.
Main section:
Geography
History
Cities
Dziwna branch (between Wolin island and Polish mainland):
Swina branch (between Wolin and Usedom islands):
Szczecin Lagoon:
Peene branch (between usedom island and the German mainland):
Right tributaries
Left tributaries
See also