The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming 187 kilometres (116 mi) of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder–Neisse line. The river ultimately flows into the Szczecin Lagoon north of Szczecin and then into three branches (the Dziwna, Świna and Peene) that empty into the Gulf of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea. The Oder is 854 kilometres (531 miles) long: 112 km (70 miles) in the Czech Republic, 742 km (461 miles) in Poland (including 187 km (116 miles) on the border between Germany and Poland) and is the second longest river in Poland (after the Vistula). It drains a basin of 118,861 square kilometres (45,892 sq mi), 106,056 km2 (40,948 sq mi) of which are in Poland (89%), 7,217 km2 (2,786 sq mi) in the Czech Republic (6%), and 5,587 km2 (2,157 sq mi)in Germany (5%). Channels connect it to the Havel, Spree, Vistula system and Kłodnica. It flows through Silesian, Opole, Lower Silesian, Lubusz, and West Pomeranian voivodeships of Poland and the states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. The main branch empties into the Szczecin Lagoon near Police, Poland. The Szczecin Lagoon is bordered on the north by the islands of Usedom (west) and Wolin (east). Between these two islands, there is only a narrow channel (Świna) going to the Bay of Pomerania, which forms a part of the Baltic Sea. The largest city on the Oder is Wrocław, in Lower Silesia. The Oder is navigable over a large part of its total length, as far upstream as the town of Koźle, where the river connects to the Gliwice Canal. The upstream part of the river is canalized and permits larger barges (up to CEMT Class IV) to navigate between the industrial sites around the Wrocław area. Further downstream the river is free flowing, passing the towns of Eisenhüttenstadt (where the Oder–Spree Canal connects the river to the Spree in Berlin) and Frankfurt upon Oder. Downstream of Frankfurt the river Warta forms a navigable connection with Poznań and Bydgoszcz for smaller vessels. At Hohensaaten the Oder–Havel Canal connects with the Berlin waterways again.
Near its mouth the Oder reaches the city of Szczecin, a major maritime port. The river finally reaches the Baltic Sea through the Szczecin Lagoon and the river mouth at Świnoujście. he river in Germania Magna was known to the Romans as the Viadrus or Viadua in Classical Latin, as it was a branch of the Amber Road from the Baltic Sea to the Roman Empire (see via). In German language it was and is called the Oder, written in older records as Odera or Oddera in Medieval Latin documents. It was mentioned in the Dagome iudex, which described territory of the Duchy of Poland under Mieszko I of Poland ca. 990, as a part of duchies western frontier. Before Slavs settled along its banks, Oder was an important trade route and towns in Germania were documented along with many tribes living between the rivers Albis (aka Elbe), Oder and Vistula. Centuries later, after Germanic tribes were long gone, the Bavarian Geographer (ca. 845) specifies the following West Slavic peoples: Sleenzane, Dadosesani, Opoloni, Lupiglaa, and Gоlеnsizi in Silesia and Wolinians and Pyrzycans in Western Pomerania. A document of the Bishopric of Prague (1086) mentions Zlasane, Trebovyane, Poborane, and Dedositze in Silesia. In the 13th century, the first dams were built to protect agricultural lands. The Finow Canal, built for the first time in 1605, connects Oder and Havel. After completion of the more straight Oder–Havel Canal in 1914, its economic relevance decreased. The earliest important undertaking with a view of improving the waterway was due to the initiative of Frederick the Great, who recommended the diversion of the river into a new and straight channel in the swampy tract of land known as Oderbruch near Küstrin. The work was carried out in the years 1746–53, a large tract of marshland being brought under cultivation, a considerable detour cut off and the main stream successfully confined to a canal.
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