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The San ( pl, San; uk, Сян ''Sian''; german: Saan) 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 ...
in southeastern
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 populou ...
and western
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
, a tributary of the river
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 ...
, with a length of (it is the 6th-longest Polish river) and a basin area of 16,877 km2 (14,426 km2 of it in Poland).


Etymology

in proto-
Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, D ...
means 'speed' or 'rapid stream'. In
Celtic languages The Celtic languages (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
, means '
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 ...
'.


Course

The San arises in the
Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...
near the village of Sianky, at an elevation of , exactly on the Polish-Ukrainian border () and on the continental
watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
, and forms the border between Poland and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
for approximately its first . Poland's largest
artificial lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...
, Lake Solina, was created by a dam on the San River near
Lesko Lesko (or ''Lisko'' until 1926; ua, Лісько - Lisko; la, Lescow, alias ''Olesco Lescovium''; yi, לינסק-Linsk) is a town in south-eastern Poland with a population of 5,755 (02.06.2009). situated in the Bieszczady mountains. It is ...
.


Tributaries


History of the region

Historical records first mention the river in 1097 as ''Sanъ'', ''reku Sanъ'', ''k Sanovi''; then as ''nad Sanomъ'' (1152) and ''Sanu'' (1287). On the old maps of the
Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (Latin: ''Palatinatus russiae'', Polish: ''Województwo ruskie'', Ukrainian: ''Руське воєводство'', romanized: ''Ruske voievodstvo''), also called Rus’ voivodeship, was a voivodeship of the Crown o ...
, Poland 1339–1772 it was referred to as "San" (1339), San (1372), "Szan" (1406), "Sanok" (1438), "Saan" (1439), "Sayn" (1445), "San" (1467), "Szan" (1517), and "Schan" (1526). Humans had first settled the southeastern region of present-day Poland (the
Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it i ...
or ''Podkarpacie'') in prehistoric times. In the pre-Roman era various tribes, including the
Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
,
Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...
and
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...
(
Przeworsk culture The Przeworsk culture () was an Iron Age material culture in the region of what is now Poland, that dates from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. It takes its name from the town Przeworsk, near the village where the first artifacts w ...
and Puchov culture) "It is possible to separate the group of La Tène culture (Celtic settlement) in the Upper Tisza Basin. For the time being there are about 160 sites noted. They can be divided into several distinct categories which include the following: settlements, production areas, sepulchral sites, i.e., burial grounds and single graves as well as various hoards (deposits of coins and tools). Moreover, there are three oppida: Zemplin, Bükkszentlászló and Galish-Lovačka. The chronology of the whole group lies between LT B1-LT D1/D2. Especially interesting is the problem of correspondence between this group and the group of sites in southeast Poland. Material connections are also documented in ancient sources. They allow to identify the group from Upper
Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...
as the
Anarti The Anartes (or Anarti, Anartii or Anartoi)Jan Czarnecki (1975) 120 were Celtic tribes, or, in the case of those sub-groups of Anartes which penetrated the ancient region of Dacia (roughly modern Romania), Celts culturally assimilated by the Dacia ...
tribe and the group from southeast Poland as the Anartophracti, which is a part of the former." n: Marek Olędzki.
La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defi ...
in the Upper Tisza Basin =La Culture de la Tene dans le Bassin de la Haute Tisza. Ethnographisch-archaeologische Zeitschrift. ISSN 0012-7477
overran the area. After the fall of the Roman Empire,
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...
and Slavs invaded the area. The San
valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
must have become an important trade-route and axis of human settlement as early as the 9th or 10th century. The region subsequently became part of the
Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...
n state. Upon the invasion of the
Hungarian tribes The Magyar tribes ( , hu, magyar törzsek) or Hungarian clans were the fundamental political units within whose framework the Hungarians (Magyars) lived, before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin and the subsequent established the Pr ...
into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the
Lendians The Lendians ( pl, Lędzianie) were a Lechitic tribe who lived in the area of East Lesser Poland and Cherven Cities between the 7th and 11th centuries. Since they were documented primarily by foreign authors whose knowledge of Central and East Eu ...
of the area declared their allegiance to the Hungarian Empire. The region then became a site of contention between
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 populou ...
, Kievan Rus and
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
starting in around the 9th century. This area was mentioned for the first time in 981 (by Nestor), when
Volodymyr the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...
of
Kievan Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern Europe, Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Hist ...
took the area over on his way into
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 populou ...
. In 1018 it returned to Poland, in 1031 reverted to Rus, and in 1340 was recovered by
Casimir III of Poland Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...
. During the years 966–1018, 1340–1772 (the
Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (Latin: ''Palatinatus russiae'', Polish: ''Województwo ruskie'', Ukrainian: ''Руське воєводство'', romanized: ''Ruske voievodstvo''), also called Rus’ voivodeship, was a voivodeship of the Crown o ...
) and 1918–1939, the region was part of Poland. Between 1772 and 1918 it belonged to the Austrian empire, which became the Austro-Hungarian empire when the double monarchy was introduced. This region, including the area west and east of the
Subcarpathian Voivodship Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it ...
, was controlled by
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
for almost 120 years. During that time it was known as
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
. The San River, which has seen many battles in its history, was a battle site at the beginning of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in 1939. At the outset of the German
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...
, Polish forces attempted to defend a line along the San from September 6, until German forces broke out of their
bridgehead In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...
s on September 12.


Cities

*
Dubiecko Dubiecko (; yi, דיבעצק, Dubetzk; uk, Дубецько, Dubetsʹko) is a town in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. It is the seat of the ''gmina'' (administrative district) called Gmina Dubiecko. It lies ...
,
Dynów Dynów () ( uk, Динів, lat, Dinoum, yi, דינאוו) is a small town in Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,058 (02.06.2009). History Dynów was first mentioned in written sources in 1423. At that ...
, Jarosław,
Lesko Lesko (or ''Lisko'' until 1926; ua, Лісько - Lisko; la, Lescow, alias ''Olesco Lescovium''; yi, לינסק-Linsk) is a town in south-eastern Poland with a population of 5,755 (02.06.2009). situated in the Bieszczady mountains. It is ...
, Leżajsk,
Nisko Nisko is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland on the San River, with a population of 15,534 inhabitants as of 2 June 2009. Together with neighbouring city of Stalowa Wola, Nisko creates a small agglomeration. Nisko has be ...
,
Przemyśl Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was p ...
,
Radymno Radymno ( uk, Ради́мно ''Radymno'', yi, רעדעם ''Redem'') is a town in south-eastern Poland with 5,543 inhabitants (02.06.2009). It has been part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship since its creation in 1999. Radymno was previously in t ...
,
Rudnik nad Sanem Rudnik nad Sanem (until 1997 ''Rudnik'', yi, רודניק ''Ridnik'') is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,765 (02.06.2009). The town is located next to the river San, hence the "nad Sanem" (on ...
,
Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...
,
Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...
, Sieniawa, Stalowa Wola,
Ulanów Ulanów is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,491 inhabitants (02.06.2009). It has grammar schools and high schools along with 2 churches. One of the churches was set on fire in 2004, and was closed for repairs. ...
, Zagórz


See also

* Łęg Rokietnicki *
Rivers of Poland Following is a list of rivers, which are at least partially, if not predominantly located within Poland.KSNG (2002–2014)List of Names of Flowing Waters (Wykaz nazw wód płynacych)(PDF file, direct download 1.47 MB), Komisja Standaryzacji Nazw Ge ...
*
Walddeutsche Walddeutsche (lit. "Forest Germans" or ''Taubdeutsche'' – "Deaf Germans"; pl, Głuchoniemcy – "deaf Germans") was the name for a group of German-speaking people, originally used in the 16th century for two language islands around Łańcut an ...


References


Literature


Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Lands
Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich. tom. X, pages 260 - 263. Warszawa. 1876. (''digital edition'') {{DEFAULTSORT:San (River) International rivers of Europe Poland–Ukraine border Rivers of Lviv Oblast Rivers of Podkarpackie Voivodeship Rivers of Poland