The Osława (Czech: ''Oslava'', , Ukrainian: ''Ослава'') is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in South-Eastern

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 name comes from the ancient west Slavic

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

word ''osła'', meaning "stone". It begins in the Bieszczady mountains and flows through western

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...

Land. The river ultimately flows into the San near

Bykowce Bykowce is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sanok, within Sanok County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Sanok and south of the regional capital Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the ...

, north of

Zagórz Zagórz (; ) is a town in Sanok County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, on the river Osława in the Bukowsko Upland mountains, located south-east of Sanok on the way to Ustrzyki Dolne, distance. The nearest towns in northeastern Slovakia ...

Main tributaries

The main tributaries of the Osława are, from source to mouth: Osławica,

Płonka Płonka is a river in the centre of Poland, right-bank tributary of Wkra. The total length of the river amounts to 42.6 km. Source of Płonka is located in the vicinity of the village of Staroźreby, mouth near the village of Kołoząb. Tr ...

and Kalniczka.

Villages

The main villages along the Osława are, from source to mouth: Balnica,

Czaszyn Czaszyn is a village in the Sanok County in the East Małopolska in the Lesser Beskid mountains. The Roman Catholic church (parish of p.w. Podwyższenia Krzyża Świętego) for the village of Czaszyn was located in the village, within the dioces ...

, Duszatyn, Jawornik,

Kulaszne Kulaszne Куляшне) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately north-east ...

, Maniów,

Mików Mików is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately south-east of Komańcza, so ...

, Mokre,

Morochów Morochów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zagórz, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Zagórz, south of Sanok, and south of the regi ...

Prełuki Prełuki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately east of Komańcza, south ...

Rzepedź Rzepedź is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Administrative divisions of Poland, province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies appro ...

, Smolnik,

Szczawne Szczawne is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Administrative divisions of Poland, province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies appro ...

Tarnawa Dolna Tarnawa Dolna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zagórz, within Sanok County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south of Zagórz, south of Sanok, and south of the regional capital Rzesz ...

Turzańsk Turzańsk (укр. Туринське) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximate ...

Wola Michowa Wola Michowa () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately south-east of Komań ...

Wysoczany Wysoczany is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Komańcza, within Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (province) of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately north-east of Komańcza, ...

and Zasław. The Osława

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing 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 over ...

must have been an important trade route and human settlement axis as early as 9th or 10th century. The region subsequently became part of the

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

n state. Upon the invasion of the

Hungarian tribes The Magyar or Hungarian tribes ( , ) 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 establishment of the Prin ...

into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the

Lendians The Lendians () 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 Europe geogra ...

of the area declared their allegiance to Hungarian Empire. The region then became a site of contention between

, Kievan Rus and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

starting in at least 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 (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodo ...

Kievan Rus Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...

took the area over on the way into

. In 1018 it returned to Poland, 1031 back to Rus, in 1340

Casimir III of Poland Casimir III the Great (; 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, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

recovered it. In historical records the river was first mentioned in 1400. During 966 - 1018, 1340 - 1772 (

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (; ; ) was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów (lat. Leopolis) (modern day Lviv). Together with a number of ot ...

) and during 1918 - 1939 the region was a part of Poland. While during 1772 - 1918 it belonged to Austrian empire. Before World War II, the Osława line, was designated as the ''wild frontier'' between Poles and

Lemko Lemkos (; ; ; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (; ) of Carpathian Ruthenia, Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and Carpathian Foothills, foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland. Lemkos ...

Literature

* Prof.

Adam Fastnacht Adam Fastnacht (27 July 1913, in Sanok – 16 February 1987, in Wrocław) doctor hab., historian, editor.Anna Fastnacht-Stupnicka. Obecność przeszłości (''O Adamie Fastnachcie''). Rocznik Sanocki, Sanok, 2006 He was a Polish historian, researc ...

. Slownik Historyczno-Geograficzny Ziemi Sanockiej w Średniowieczu (Historic-Geographic Dictionary of the Sanok District in the Middle Ages), Kraków, 2002, . Rivers of Poland Rivers of Subcarpathian Voivodeship {{Poland-river-stub