Wda River
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The Wda (german: Schwarzwasser) is a river in
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 ...
; it has a lowland character. The Wda is one of the 15 main canoe trails in Poland. It is 198 km long and the surface of its catchment area amounts to 2325 km2. The Wda's average gradient is 0.7‰ and its flow is 6.52 m3/s. The Wda begins its course at Krążno Lake and ends in the Wisła in Świecie. The Wda is one of the longest rivers in Bory Tucholskie and one of the most important of Pomorze's
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 ...
routes.


Geography

The source of Wda is on Równina Charzykowska in Krężno Lake. The river flows through the area of Bory Tucholskie,
Wdzydzki Landscape Park Wdzydze Landscape Park (''Wdzydzki Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) in northern Poland, established in 1983, covering an area of . The Park lies within Pomeranian Voivodeship, in Kościerzyna County (Gmina Dziemiany, Gm ...
and
Wdecki Landscape Park Wda Landscape Park (''Wdecki Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area (Landscape Park (Poland), Landscape Park) in north-central Poland, established in 1993, covering an area of . It takes its name from the Wda river. The Park lies within Kuyavia ...
. There is one river's canal below Wdzydze Lake. The river reaches
Tleń Tleń (german: Klinger) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Osie, within Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Osie, north-west of Świecie, and north of Bydgo ...
, then flows across Wysoczyzna Świecka and ends in Wisła in Świecie on Dolina Fordońska.


Lakes

* Krężno * Wieckie * Lubiszewskie * Schodno * Radolne * Wdzydze * Żurskie The Wdzydze Lake along with lakes
Gołyń Gołyń is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Biała Rawska, within Rawa County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Biała Rawska, north-east of Rawa Mazowiecka, and east of the regional c ...
, Jeleń and Słupinek are called Morze Kaszubskie. This lakes take a shape of the cross made of postglacial channels. Wdzydze Lake is dangerous for inexperienced canoeists during strong winds.


Towns

*
Lipusz Lipusz (german: Lippusch; csb, Lëpùsz) is a village in Kościerzyna County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Lipusz. It lies approximately west of Kościerzyna an ...
* Borsk *
Wojtal Wojtal (german: Woital) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czersk, within Chojnice County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately north of Czersk, north-east of Chojnice, and south-west of the regio ...
*
Czarna Woda Czarna Woda (; formerly german: Schwarzwasser) is a town in Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,735 inhabitants as of December 2021. The town's name translates to "Black Water". Gallery File:Most kolejowy Chojnice - Tcze ...
*Wda * Błędno *
Tleń Tleń (german: Klinger) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Osie, within Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately west of Osie, north-west of Świecie, and north of Bydgo ...
* Żur * Świecie


Flora and fauna

Wda runs through many multispecies deciduous forests, in which contains diverse lichens. The river meanders also through riparian forests and alder forests. Rare mountain ash brekinii can be found in the Zygmunt Czubiński Reserve “Brzęki” in Szczerkowo. Next rare and protected plants on Wda's route are: lycopodium clavatum, diphasiastrum complanatum,
lycopodium annotinum ''Spinulum annotinum'', synonym ''Lycopodium annotinum'', known as interrupted club-moss, or stiff clubmoss, is a species of clubmoss native to forests of the colder parts of North America (Greenland, St. Pierre & Miquelon, all 10 provinces and ...
, sundew,
western marsh orchid ''Dactylorhiza majalis'', the broad-leaved marsh orchid, is a terrestrial Eurasian orchid. Subspecies include: western marsh orchid (''Dactylorhiza majalis'' subsp. ''occidentalis''), southern marsh orchid (''Dactylorhiza majalis'' subsp. ''pra ...
,
heath spotted orchid ''Dactylorhiza maculata'', known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to ...
,
lesser butterfly-orchid ''Platanthera bifolia'', commonly known as the lesser butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus '' Platanthera'', having certain relations with the genus ''Orchis'', where it was previously included and also with the genus ''Habenar ...
, broad-leaved helleborine, european common twayblade and arctostaphylos uva-ursi, which are found in
Wdecki Landscape Park Wda Landscape Park (''Wdecki Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area (Landscape Park (Poland), Landscape Park) in north-central Poland, established in 1993, covering an area of . It takes its name from the Wda river. The Park lies within Kuyavia ...
. This region of Poland houses species like: cranes, common goldeneyes,
goosander 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. ...
s, western marsh harriers,
ruff Ruff may refer to: Places *Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...
s, kingfishers,
trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
s,
common viper ''Vipera berus'', the common European adderMallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . or common European viper,Stidworthy J. (1974). ...
s, fire salamanders, tree frogs and great crested newts.


History

The name “Wda” has been already used in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, but the river is also known as
Czarna Woda Czarna Woda (; formerly german: Schwarzwasser) is a town in Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,735 inhabitants as of December 2021. The town's name translates to "Black Water". Gallery File:Most kolejowy Chojnice - Tcze ...
. This name comes from dark brown colour of water caused by marshy banks, mineral molecules in water and sludge from tar factories in the 19th century. After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
tourism started developing on Wda and about 40 years later Wda earned its title of The Queen of The Rivers of Kociew and The Beauty of The Land of Kociew.


Hydroelectric power stations

On the Wda's route are three hydroelectric power stations located in Żur, Gródek and Kozłowo. In this area canoeists need to portage their canoes to the further part of the river.


Attractions

Along the route of Wda some attractions can be found. First of them is a 19th-century Neogothic church in
Lipusz Lipusz (german: Lippusch; csb, Lëpùsz) is a village in Kościerzyna County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Lipusz. It lies approximately west of Kościerzyna an ...
. Next Kaszubski Park Etnograficzny, containing wooden dwelling houses, farms and windmills. The oldest once date back to the 17th century. The archeological reserve “ Kamienne Kręgi near the towns of
Odry Odry (; german: Odrau) is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,300 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Admin ...
and Miedzno consists of 12 mysterious stone circles and 20 burial mounds, which are remains from
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 Europe ...
and
Gepids The Gepids, ( la, Gepidae, Gipedae, grc, Γήπαιδες) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion a ...
. Błędno has a memorial for the victory of Polish and Soviet guerrilla fighters over the German army (27 X 1944). Next monument on Wda's route is a castle of the
Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
in Świecie. This is a building surrounded by water. From two sides by Wda and Wisła, and from the third side by the moat. There are also remains of defensive walls in the
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
of Świecie and monumental Gothic
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
.


See also

*
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 ...


References


Sources

* http://visitkujawsko-pomorskie.pl/rzeka-wda,178,2,1109.html * http://www.splywy.pl/wda/wda_dok.htm * Galiński Z., ''Przewodnik dla kajakarzy. Wda'', Pascal, 2003. {{Tributaries of the Vistula Rivers of Poland Rivers of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Rivers of Pomeranian Voivodeship