The Soła () 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 southern

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 right

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

. Soła originates in the Western Beskids mountain range near the border with

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. It is made up of the confluence of several small creeks at the village of

Rajcza Rajcza is a village in Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in the historic province of Lesser Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Rajcza. It lies approximately south o ...

. It runs downhill northeastwards through

Żywiec Basin Żywiec Basin ( pl, Kotlina ŻywieckaProf. Jerzy Kondracki. Geografia fizyczna Polski. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Warszawa. 1988. ) is a lowland, located in southern Poland, between the Little Beskids to the north, Silesian Beskids to the we ...

to the towns of Żywiec and Kęty, forming the border between the Silesian and the

Żywiec Beskids The Żywiec Beskids ( pl, Beskid Żywiecki) is a mountain range in the Outer Western Carpathians in southern Poland. It is the second highest range in Poland, after the Tatra Mountains. The highest peak is Babia Góra (1,725 m) and Pilsko Pi ...

. After , the Soła empties into the Vistula River after having passed the town of

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

.Oficjalny serwis gminy Rajcza – rajcza.com
Zapora Porąbka2

The river flows within metres of the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. The

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum ( pl, Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau) is a museum on the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim (German: ''Auschwitz''), Poland. The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwitz ...

informs that the human ashes and ground bones of those murdered there were often dumped into the river.Dr. Franciszek Piper
"The extermination procedure in the gas chambers"

(Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau w Oświęcimiu), 1999-2010 Soła flows through or near the following settlements:

, Milówka,

Cisiec Cisiec is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Węgierska Górka, within Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Węgierska Górka, south-west of Żywiec Żywiec () (german ...

Węgierska Górka Węgierska Górka (Literally Polish for "Hungarian Hill") is a village in Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in the historic province of Lesser Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Węgierska Górka. It l ...

Cięcina Cięcina is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Węgierska Górka, within Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Żywiec and south of the regional capital Katowice. The villa ...

Radziechowy Radziechowy is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Radziechowy-Wieprz, within Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Żywiec Żywiec () (german: Saybusch) is a town in south ...

Wieprz The Wieprz (, ; ua, Вепр, Vepr) is a river in central-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It is the country's ninth longest river, with a total length of 349 km and a catchment area of 10,497 km2, all within Poland. Its cour ...

, Żywiec, Tresna, Czernichów,

Międzybrodzie Żywieckie Międzybrodzie Żywieckie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czernichów, within Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north of Czernichów, north of Żywiec, and south of the regio ...

Międzybrodzie Bialskie Międzybrodzie Bialskie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czernichów, within Żywiec County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Czernichów, north of Żywiec Żywiec () (germa ...

, Porąbka,

Czaniec Czaniec is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Porąbka, within Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Porąbka, east of Bielsko-Biała, and south of the regional capital Ka ...

Kobiernice Kobiernice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Porąbka, within Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north of Porąbka, east of Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Běl ...

, Kęty, Nowa Wieś, Hecznarowice,

Bielany Bielany () is a district in Warsaw located in the north-western part of the city. Initially a part of Żoliborz, Bielany has been an independent district since 1994. Bielany borders Żoliborz to the south-east, and Bemowo to the south-west. Its ...

, Łęki, and

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sola Rivers of Poland Rivers of Silesian Voivodeship Rivers of Lesser Poland Voivodeship