Obra is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in west

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, a tributary of the

Warta The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...

river (in

Skwierzyna Skwierzyna (german: Schwerin an der Warthe) is a town of 9,671 inhabitants (2019) in Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, the administrative seat of the Gmina Skwierzyna. It is located at the confluence of the Obra and Warta rivers, about nort ...

), with a length of 171 kilometres and a basin area of 2,760 km². The river is popular with

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

and

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

enthusiasts and an established canoe trail exists.

Course

The

river source The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition T ...

is near

Jarocin Jarocin () (german: Jarotschin) is a town in west-central Poland with 25,700 inhabitants (1995), the administrative capital of Jarocin County in Greater Poland Voivodeship. Jarocin is a historical town, having been founded and granted city right ...

, the mouth into the

Warta River The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...

in the town of

. The Obra flows through several other towns like Krzywin,

Kościan Kościan (german: Kosten) is a town on the Obra canal in west-central Poland, with a population of 23 952 inhabitants as of June 2014. Situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Leszno Voivodeship (1975–1998), it i ...

, Zbaszyn,

Trzciel Trzciel (german: Tirschtiegel) is a small town in Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,391 inhabitants (2019). History The name Trzciel comes from the old Slavic word "trzcielina", which meant a cane stalk. Trzciel is a former Slavic stronghold ...

, Miedzyrzecz,

Bledzew Bledzew (german: Blesen) is a village and former town in Międzyrzecz County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Bledzew. Geography The settlement lies on the western rim of ...

and

. The river also flows through several lakes.

Canoeing

The Obra is a popular river for canoeing and kayaking. The canoe trips usually begin from Zbaszyn. From there, the river passes through wilderness areas and well as the countryside. The canoe trip is not particularly difficult, with the exception of a few tricky place where fallen trees might pose a disruption. The Obra is widely regarded as a safe river for beginners.

Flora and fauna

The Obra River is a rich habitat for flora and fauna. Several species of orchids grow here. Sundews, mud sedge, club-mosses, Daphne, and Turk's cap lily, together with more than 200 species of mosses and an equally large number of fungi grow in the area around Obra. Stretches of oak, beech and

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

grow along the river. The Obra is also an important habitat for birds. There are over 150 species inhabiting the area. Some of the important birds found here are the sea eagle, osprey, golden eagle,

common merganser The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (''Mergus merganser'') is a large seaduck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. ...

, eagle owl, black stork,

black woodpecker The black woodpecker (''Dryocopus martius'') is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the ...

, and

corn crake The corn crake, corncrake or landrail (''Crex crex'') is a bird in the rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and migrates to Africa for the Northern Hemisphere's winter. It is a medium-sized crake with buff- ...

. Swamp turtles also live in Obra's waters. Over 40 species of mammals roam the area around the Obra, including beaver, river otter, deer, badgers, hare, and wild boar. Fish species found in Obra include catfish, river trout, grayling, lake trout,

powan The powan (''Coregonus clupeoides'') is a kind of freshwater whitefish endemic to two lochs in Scotland, Loch Lomond and Loch Eck.Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. (2008''Coregonus clupeoides''.In:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. (Ac ...

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...

, and salmon.

The monster

There is a local lore connected with the Obra river. The lore is centered near the northern part of the river, close to Bledzewand. There is a story of the existence of a giant fish in

Lake Czapliniec A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the World Ocean, oce ...

. The fish is widely believed to be an old fish that has grown to a gigantic size. Others refer to it as a monster. Tales of the fish eating ducks, swans and even small dogs abound.

Towns

Krzywiń Krzywiń (german: Kriewen) is a town in west-central Poland in the Kościan County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, located at the Obra canal. History Krzywiń was first referred to in scripts as ''Crivin'' in 1181. But it was not until 1237 that ...

Zbąszyń Zbąszyń (german: Bentschen) is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, in Nowy Tomyśl County. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Zbąszyń. Geography The town is situated on the Obra river in the Greater Poland historic ...

Międzyrzecz Międzyrzecz (; la, Meserici, german: link=no, Meseritz) is a town in western Poland, on the Obra and Paklica river, with 17,667 inhabitants (2020). The capital of Gmina Międzyrzecz and Międzyrzecz County. Since the Local Government Reorganiz ...

References