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The longest river in Poland, the Vistula (Wisla) winds its way from the Beskidy mountains of southern Poland, through Krakow and Warsaw and up the the bay in Gdansk to the Baltic Sea. At 1,047 kilometers (678 miles) long and draining an area of 194,424 km˛ (75,067 sq. miles), no wonder the Vistula has become the stuff of Polish legend.
While the written history of the Vistula is sketchy at best, speculative at worst, we do know that the origin of the river's name is probably Indo-European, though its current moniker is the Polonized version. In past times, the Vistula used to be connected to the Dnieper River, and through it to the Black Sea, where it was part of the Amber Road, an ancient river trade route from the Black Sea to the Baltic.
Today, it's part of the landscape of Poland's most important cities, and while it used to be a point of recreation for Poles young and old, we wouldn't recommend dipping even your toes in it today - the communist era has rendered it as dirty as the Hudson or Thames unfortunately. However, if you really want to explore Poland's mighty river up close, why not take a Vistula cruise, or check out the Vistula River Museum in Gdansk?
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 | | "Many people can't pronounce the Polish letter' Ł' so they use'Vistula' instead of Wisła." | dima
Hong Kong
Jun.28.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "HI i'[m 9 years old and my friend Julia told me this river is great and she's doing it for her river project.I also think its great too" | Xyra
United Kingdom
Jun.08.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "ja mam 10 lat
hi my name is julia and i chosse this river for project to the shool.
ja się urodziłam w polsce i przyjechałam na jersey ja mieszkam na jersey jeden rok" | julia
Poland
Jun.07.2010
rates this page 2/5 |
| | "ja mam 10 lat
hi my name is julia and i chosse this river for project to the shool.
ja się urodziłam w polsce i przyjechałam na jersey ja mieszkam na jersey jeden rok" | julia
Poland
Jun.07.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "ja mam 10 lat
hi my name is julia and i chosse this river for project to the shool.
ja się urodziłam w polsce i przyjechałam na jersey ja mieszkam na jersey jeden rok" | julia
Poland
Jun.07.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "hi my name is julia i come from Poland ive been in england for 3 years .
czesc mam na imie julia , pochodze z Polski i mieszkam w anglii od 3 lat " | julia mazur
Poland
May.10.2010
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "yay!" | random
Zimbabwe
Mar.24.2010
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "i found this page rather not that ineresting.-romig.11years old" | romi
United States
Nov.28.2009
rates this page 2/5 |
| | "Gziendobry, I now am living in poland next to the wisla in Krakow and it great! " | Alex Harris
Poland
Nov.09.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "I have travelled to Wisla during the summer and also during the winter time, i love this place, it's beautifull,clean air, nice food and drinks lovely peole." | Amin Hanifi
United Kingdom
Oct.04.2009
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "Brill!!! Awesome!!! Great!!! 100% perfect!!!" | Alex Harris
United Kingdom
Jun.22.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "Amazing country! A perfect holiday destination!!!!!!!" | Alex Harris
United Kingdom
Jun.15.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "mamy 11 lat i mieszkalismy w polsce kolo wisly!xD" | ola and kinga
United Kingdom
Jun.04.2009
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "my parents were born in poland and i am 9 years old" | victoria
United States
May.26.2009
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "well im doing a River Project on this river,I chosse this river becuasee its got an unusaul name,Intill i looked in the atlas i didnt know that this River actually was around !! its shows how use ffull things like that are ...:D" | Josie
United Kingdom
May.23.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "I Loved the whole experience, the air is so clean!!! I enjoyed it so much i'm going again this year! Poland's FAB!!!!!!" | Alex Harris
United Kingdom
May.18.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "An amazing river and city!" | Alex Harris
United Kingdom
May.18.2009
rates this page 5/5 |
| | "warszawa is a good place to live and the river wisla" | ania
Poland
Jan.23.2009
rates this page 1/5 |
| | "I am curious about the River: I just finished the Novel "Push Not the River"...I recommend it highly! (James Conroyd) author....one becomes connected with the history of it.
My Grandparents came over (to the US) in 1890 from Poznan. We visisted Poland two yrs ago; I LOVED being there!" | Kasha
United States
Apr.24.2008
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "my nephew and i are thinking about bicyling along the vistula this summer. any help would be much appreciated" | harvey t lyon
United States
Apr.12.2008
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "My grandfather built a bridge over the river wisla " | karolina
United Kingdom
Mar.14.2008
rates this page 3/5 |
| | "From the Old Town there are steps down to the river. You can take a nice walk along the concrete path North to the Citadel. "Watch out for the speeding guys on bicycles". The Citadel is a Russian fort built by Tsar Nicolas I to quell the Polish rebellion of 1830. Most of it is still a miltary base but there is a very good museum about the Polish quest for freedom from Russia from then thru the Cold War. Great visit for history buffs! " | Rodney Walton
United States
Sep.10.2007
rates this page 4/5 |
| | "plynie wisla plynie po polskiej krainie po polskiej krainie...hej" | olga
United States
Apr.10.2007
rates this page 3/5 |
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