The Łeba (), a river in

Middle Pomerania The term Middle or Central Pomerania can refer to two distinct areas, depending on whether it is used as a translation of the corresponding German or Polish terms Mittelpommern (also Mittelpommerscher Keil) or Pomorze Środkowe, respectively. Mi ...

(

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

), originates near the village of Borzestowo west of

Kartuzy Kartuzy (; , or ; former ) is a town in northern Poland, located in the historic Eastern Pomerania ( Pomerelia) region. It is the capital of Kartuzy County in Pomeranian Voivodeship. Geographical location Kartuzy is located about west of Gdań ...

, passes through

Łebsko Lake Łebsko Lake (; ) is a brackish coastal lake in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland. It is connected to the Baltic Sea by the Łeba River, which causes saltwater intrusion. It is located within Słowiński National Park. The lake formed when s ...

and empties into the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. It is 117 km long with a basin area of 1,801 km². The town of

Lębork Lębork (; ; ) is a town on the Łeba River, Łeba and Okalica rivers in the Gdańsk Pomerania region in northern Poland. It is the capital of Lębork County in Pomeranian Voivodeship. Its population is 37,000. History Middle Ages The region fo ...

lies on the river Łeba, while the town of

Łeba Łeba (, ; ) is a seaside town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. It is located in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania ( Pomerelia), near Łebsko Lake and the mouth of the river Łeba on the Slovincian Coast of the Baltic Sea. History ...

on the Baltic coast was originally located west of the present-day mouth of the river. In the 12th century the lower Łeba marked the eastern border of the Land of Słupsk-Sławno, ruled by the Pomeranian (Griffin) duke Ratibor I and his descendants, while the territory around the castellany of Białogarda was a possession of the

Pomerelia Pomerelia, also known as Eastern Pomerania, Vistula Pomerania, and also before World War II as Polish Pomerania, is a historical sub-region of Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland. Gdańsk Pomerania is largely c ...

n duke Sobieslaw I of the

Samborides The Samborides () or House of Sobiesław () were a ruling dynasty in the historic region of Pomerelia. They were first documented about 1155 as governors (''princeps'') in the Eastern Pomeranian lands serving the royal Piast dynasty of Kingdom o ...

dynasty. After

regained Pomerelia in 1294, the Łeba formed the boundary between the Polish part of Pomerania and the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (; ; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country existed in the Middle Ages between years 1121–11 ...

. From 1308, after the Teutonic takeover of Danzig (Gdańsk) and the Treaty of Soldin (Myślibórz), the river formed the western border of the Order's Pomerelian lands with the

until 1466, when Poland regained Pomerelia. From that time the mouth of the Łeba on the Baltic coast marked the north-easternmost point of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

till its dissolution in 1806. The adjacent Pomerelian lands of Lauenburg and Bütow (

Bytów Bytów (; ; ) is a town in the Gdańsk Pomerania region of northern Poland with 16,730 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bytów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. In the early Middle Ages a fortified stronghold stood nea ...

) became a fief of the Polish Crown with the Second Peace of Thorn (1466).

Sights

There is an abundance of architectural and natural attractions near Łeba, above all the Słowiński National Park with its moving sand dunes, about 8 km west of the city. Further objects of interest include: * ruins of the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas church) west of the city on the way to the beach * fishermen's church of 1683 with a painting by Max Pechstein * fishermen's dwellings from the 19th century in Kosciuszki street * the 19th century casino on Nadmorska street, today the Hotel Neptun * former rocket test site near Pletka * the dinosaur park south of the city

References

External links

Leba river basin - Poland

Institute for Environment and Sustainability The Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) used to be a specialised institute of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) directorate of the European Commission, based in Ispra, Italy. Its mission was to provide scientific and technical support ...

, European Commission - Joint Research Centre {{DEFAULTSORT:Leba River Rivers of Poland Rivers of Pomeranian Voivodeship 1Łeba