Wda
River in Poland

The Wda (German: Schwarzwasser) is a river in Poland; it has a lowland character. The Wda is one of the 15 main canoe trails in Poland. It is 198 km long and the surface of its catchment area amounts to 2325 km2. The Wda's average gradient is 0.7‰ and its flow is 6.52 m3/s.
The Wda begins its course at Krążno Lake and ends in the Wisła in Świecie. The Wda is one of the longest rivers in Bory Tucholskie and one of the most important of Pomorze's river routes.
01Geography
The source of Wda is on Równina Charzykowska in Krężno Lake. The river flows through the area of Bory Tucholskie, Wdzydzki Landscape Park and Wdecki Landscape Park.
There is one river's canal below Wdzydze Lake. The river reaches Tleń, then flows across Wysoczyzna Świecka and ends in Wisła in Świecie on Dolina Fordońska.

02Lakes
03Settlements
04Flora and fauna
The Wda runs through many multispecies deciduous forests, in which contains diverse lichens. The river meanders also through riparian and alder forests. Rare mountain ash brekinii can be found in the Zygmunt Czubiński Reserve “Brzęki” in Szczerkowo. Next rare and protected plants on Wda's route are: lycopodium clavatum, diphasiastrum complanatum, lycopodium annotinum, sundew, western marsh orchid, heath spotted orchid, lesser butterfly-orchid, broad-leaved helleborine, european common twayblade and arctostaphylos uva-ursi, which are found in Wdecki Landscape Park. This region of Poland houses species like: cranes, common goldeneyes, goosanders, western marsh harriers, ruffs, kingfishers, trouts, common vipers, fire salamanders, tree frogs and great crested newts.
05History
The name “Wda” has been already used in the Middle Ages, but the river is also known as Czarna Woda. This name comes from dark brown colour of water caused by marshy banks, mineral molecules in water and sludge from tar factories in the 19th century. After World War I tourism started developing on Wda and about 40 years later Wda earned its title of The Queen of The Rivers of Kociew and The Beauty of The Land of Kociew.
06Hydroelectric power stations
07Attractions
Along the route of Wda some attractions can be found. First of them is a 19th-century Neogothic church in Lipusz. Next Kaszubski Park Etnograficzny, containing wooden dwelling houses, farms and windmills. The oldest ones date back to the 17th century. The archeological reserve “Kamienne Kręgi” near the towns of Odry and Miedzno consists of 12 mysterious stone circles and 20 burial mounds, which are remains from Goths and Gepids. Błędno has a memorial for the victory of Polish and Soviet guerrilla fighters over the German army (27 X 1944). Next monument on Wda's route is a castle of the Teutonic Knights in Świecie. This is a building surrounded by water. From two sides by Wda and Wisła, and from the third side by the moat. There are also remains of defensive walls in the Old Town of Świecie and monumental Gothic parish church.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Wda”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Most kolejowy Chojnice - Tczew nad Wdą.jpg by ryszardwojdowski, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Żur jaz na Wdzie2 01.07.10 p.jpg by Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0
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