The Nida 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 central

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 ...

, a left

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 drai ...

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 ...

river, into which it flows near

Nowy Korczyn Nowy Korczyn is a small town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Nowy Korczyn. It lies in Lesser Poland, approximately south of Busko-Zdró ...

). The Nida has a length of 154 kilometres and a basin area of 3,844 km².Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland 2017
Statistics Poland, p. 85-86 This includes the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

called

Nida Landscape Park Nida Landscape Park (''Nadnidziański Park Krajobrazowy'') is a Landscape Park (Poland), Polish Landscape Park designated protected area, located in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship of south-central Poland. Within the Solec Basin, gypsum outcrops are ...

. The Nida itself is made of two smaller rivers, the White Nida and the Black Nida, which merge in the village of Brzegi (near Checiny). It is a typical lowland river, with little difference in the water level. The valley of the Nida is wide, and covered with meadows. In its narrowest spot, the river is only 6 m wide, while in its widest spot, it is 79 m wide. The depth ranges from 0,4 to 2,6 m. The Nida is one of the warmest rivers of Poland; in the summer, its temperature reaches up to 27 degrees C.

Nida River Valley

The Nida Valley is a geographic region in southern Poland, along the lower and middle Nida. It is 65 kilometres long and 2 - 6 kilometres wide. The bottom of the valley is flat and wet, with

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...

appearing in several locations in the former

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...

s. The valley is marked by numerous meadows and pastures, and its main urban centers are ancient

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

towns of Pinczow, Wislica and Nowy Korczyn.

Ponidzie

The name Ponidzie refers to a region of

, which lies along the Nida, and which is much larger than the valley. It stretches from Checiny to Nowy Korczyn, with three landscape parks: Nida Landscape Park, Szaniec Landscape Park and Kozubow Landscape Park. Furthermore, there are several nature reserves, such as Przeslin, Skorocice, Krzyzanowice, Skotniki Gorne, Winiary Zagojskie, Gory Wschodnie, Grabowiec and Skowronno. In the north, the region is marked by

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywa ...

rocks, while in the south the landscape is flat. The region has two symbols, the

Adonis vernalis ''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppes in Eurasia. Mor ...

, and the Gothic collegiate church in

Wiślica Wiślica is a town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Wiślica. It lies on the Nida River, approximately south of Busko-Zdrój and so ...

. Ponidzie, which lies halfway between the historic centers of Lesser Poland,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

and

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 ...

, was, in the late

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 ...

, one of the most important regions of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

. Divided between Kraków Voivodeship and

Sandomierz Voivodeship Sandomierz Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo Sandomierskie, la, Palatinatus Sandomirensis) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Polan ...

, it had several castles, and many significant events took place here, in the once-important local towns of

Chęciny Chęciny (Yiddish: חענטשין – Khantchin or Chentshin) is a town in Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, southern Poland, with 104,361 inhabitants as of December 2021. It was first mentioned in historical documents from 1275, and ...

, Pińczów,

, Jędrzejów, Pacanów,

Szydłów Szydłów is a fortified town in Staszów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Szydłów. It lies approximately west of Staszów and south-east of the ...

, Opatowiec, Chmielnik, and Stopnica. Destroyed and ransacked during the

Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge ( pl, potop szwedzki, lt, švedų tvanas) was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce ...

, the region has never regained its greatness. In the 16th century, Ponidzie was one of Lesser Poland’s centres of

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

, here

Polish Brethren The Polish Brethren (Polish: ''Bracia Polscy'') were members of the Minor Reformed Church of Poland, a Nontrinitarian Protestant church that existed in Poland from 1565 to 1658. By those on the outside, they were called " Arians" or " Socinians" ( ...

prayer houses and schools operated, with the most famous, the Racovian Academy. Among Protestant activists who worked here are such names, as Jan Łaski,

Samuel Przypkowski Samuel Przypkowski (Przipcovius, Pripcovius) (1592–19 April 1670, Königsberg) was a Polish Socinian theologian, a leading figure in the Polish Brethren and an advocate of religious toleration. In ''Dissertatio de pace et concordia ecclesiae'', ...

, and

Marcin Ruar Marcin (Polish pronunciation: ) is a male given name or surname. Notable people with the name Marcin include: Given name * Marcin Dorociński (born 1973), Polish actor * Marcin Gortat (born 1984), Polish basketball player * Marcin Held (born 1992 ...

. Furthermore, Jan Chryzostom Pasek lived here for many years. Wojciech Belon dedicated one of his songs to Ponidzie, and one of the most popular tourist attractions of the region is a narrow gauge railway “Ciuchcia Express Ponidzie”.

Towns and townships along the Nida

Radków Radków (german: Wünschelburg) is a town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Radków, close to the Czech border. As at 2019, the town has a ...

* Oksa * Sobków * Pińczów *

References

Nida Valley online

The region of Ponidzie

External links

Ciuchcia Express Ponidzie narrow gauge railway

Nida River Valley

Ponidzie

Towns and townships along the Nida

References

External links

See also