The Ślęza (; ) is a 78.6 km

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 Lower Silesia, southern

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 ...

, a left tributary of the Oder. It starts in the Niemcza Hills (), part of the Sudeten Foreland (''Przedgórze Sudeckie''), and flows near Mount Ślęża through the Silesian Lowland (''Nizina Śląska'') and enters the Oder in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. The most important tributary is the

Mała Ślęza Mała Ślęza is a river of Poland, a tributary of the Ślęza near Bartoszowa. Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lower Silesian Voivodeship {{Poland-river-stub ...

("Small Ślęza"). The most important towns on the river are: Niemcza, Tyniec nad Ślęzą, Jordanów Śląski and Wrocław. The name is probably derived from a Silesian word meaning "wet swampy place". In a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

from Hadrian IV in 1155, the river is called the Selenza. The names of the Ślęza and Mount Ślęża are both of Silesian origin, but the Ślęza is spelled with a standard '' z'' and Mount Ślęża is spelled with a '' ż'', pronounced like an English ''zh''.

References

Rivers of Poland Rivers of Lower Silesian Voivodeship {{Poland-river-stub

See also

References