The Motława (; ) is a river in Eastern Pomerania in

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 ...

. Its source is in Szpęgawskie Lake, northeast from the town of

Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; formerly ) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. Founded in the Middle Ages, Starogard is a city with ...

. The Motlawa goes through Rokickie Lake to Martwa Wisła, a branch of the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

. The total length of the river is estimated at 68 km, and its drainage basin is 1511.3 km². The city of

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

is situated at its mouth in the Martwa Wisła. In Gdańsk, the Motława ferry crosses the river, a service that has run since the year 1687. History The Polish name ''Motława'' is derived from

Old Prussian language Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...

. In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

the river is known as ''Mottlau''. A common theory for the etymology of the cities

and

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

is that they are named after an older Polish and Kashubian name for the river, ''Gdania''.

Route

The Motława flows through the following municipalities:

Tczew Tczew (, formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). It is the capital of Tczew County and the largest city of the ethnocultural region of Kociewie within th ...

, Suchy Dąb,

Pruszcz Gdański Pruszcz Gdański (; former ; ; ) is a town in Pomerania, northern Poland with 26,834 inhabitants (2010). Pruszcz Gdański is an industrial town neighbouring Gdańsk, part of the Tricity, Poland, Tricity urban agglomeration, agglomeration. The Obwo ...

, and the city of

References

External links

Rivers of Poland Rivers of Pomeranian Voivodeship 1Motława Geography of Gdańsk {{Poland-river-stub