Oder
The Oder River (German: Oder; Czech/Polish: Odra) is a river in Central Europe. It starts in the Czech Republic and flows through Poland and Germany. It forms 187 kilometers of the border between Poland and Germany. The river is 854 kilometres long and ends in the Szczecin Lagoon in the Baltic Sea.
| Oder | |
|---|---|
| Mouth | Szczecin Lagoon |
| Length | 840 km (520 mi) |
Some bigger towns the Oder passes are Wrocław, Eisenhüttenstadt, Frankfurt on the Oder, Szczecin and Police. The biggest city on the Oder River is Wrocław, in Lower Silesia, Poland.
Names
The Oder River has different names in different languages. Most of these names are very similar, or almost the same:
- English and German: Oder
- Czech, Polish, and Lower Sorbian: Odra
- Upper Sorbian: Wódra
- Kashubian: Òdra
These names come from the Latin language names. In Medieval Latin the river was called Od(d)era. In Renaissance Latin, which was invented in 1534, the river was called Viadrus.
In the Old Church Slavonic language, the name of the river was Vjodr.[1]
Geography
The Oder is 854 km long. 112 km pass through the Czech Republic. 742 km pass through Poland. 187 km make up part of the border between Germany and Poland.
The Oder is the second-longest river in Poland. (The Vistula is the longest river.)
It begins in a watershed in the Oder Mountains that is 118,861 km².[2] This basin is mostly in Poland, but a little bit is in the Czech Republic and Germany. The river runs through five voivodeships in Poland, and two states in Germany.
The river ends in the Szczecin Lagoon near Police, Poland. Here the Oder splits into three other rivers: the Dziwna River, the Świna River, and the Peene River. These three rivers start in Szczecin Lagoon and end Bay of Pomerania in the Baltic Sea.
The biggest city on the Oder River is Wrocław in Lower Silesia, Poland.
Cities
The Oder passes through 28 major cities and towns. These are:
- 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
After the river splits, the Dziwna River branch passes through 3 towns:
The Świna River branch passes through:
The Peene River branch passes through:
These towns sit on the Szczecin Lagoon:
Oder Media
The Oder dividing Poland and Germany seen from the Polish side near Kostrzyn nad Odrą
Estuary of the Lusatian Neisse into the Oder
The Oder in Szczecin, Poland, flows along the banks of the Old Town and the Ducal Castle
Łarpia, a left distributary of the Oder in Police, Poland
Related pages
References
- ↑ "Encyclopædia Britannica's 9th edition 1870–1890: Oder". Archived from the original on 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ↑ "Oder River." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 15 May. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/425072/Oder-River>.