The Przemsza () 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 the south of

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 ...

, and a tributary of the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

. According to one view, it originates at the confluence of the Black () Przemsza and White (''Biała'') Przemsza, between the towns of

Mysłowice Mysłowice (; ) is a city in Silesia in Poland, bordering Katowice. The population of the city is 72,124. It is located in the core of the Metropolis GZM in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza and Brynica rivers (tributaries of the Vistul ...

and

Jaworzno Jaworzno is a City with powiat rights, city county in southern Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship, near Katowice. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza river (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Jaworzno belongs to Lesser Pol ...

. For about it flows southwards to its Vistula mouth at Czarnuchowice (a district of

Bieruń Bieruń (, ) is a town in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland, seat of the Bieruń-Lędziny County in the Silesian Voivodeship. It is located about south of Katowice. Geography It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Gostynia river, a ...

). Another view places its beginning at the source of the Black Przemsza, giving it the length of 88 kilometers. The Przemsza is one of the most polluted rivers of Poland. It carries industrial waste from the

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

and

Zagłębie Dąbrowskie Zagłębie in Polish means coalfield. It can refer to: * Górnośląskie Zagłębie Węglowe, a mining region * Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, a mining region * Zagłębie Sosnowiec, an association football club * Zagłębie Lubin, an association footbal ...

Coal Basin, and its water is regarded as dead. Furthermore, due to high level of pollution, the Przemsza does not freeze over in winter. Among the towns located along the Przemsza are

Dąbrowa Górnicza Dąbrowa Górnicza () is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula Rive ...

Chełmek Chełmek is a town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. In 1975–1998 it belonged to Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has 8,810 inhabitants. Previously known for the ''Chełmek Shoe Factory'', which until 1947 wa ...

, and Jęzor, a district of

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...

. The Przemsza has been used for water transport since the mid-18th century. By the mid-19th century, it emerged as one of the most important waterways of the region. Large flat-bottomed rowing boats, called :pl:galars, were used to transport goods on the Przemsza to the

. One galar took up to 70 tons of coal or stone from quarries at Jeleń or Dziećkowice. In June 1926, the Piast Mine from

Lędziny Lędziny (; ; ) is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Outer town of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million which is located in the Silesian Highlands. The population of the town is 16,776 (2019). It ...

began mass water transportation of its coal, using a specially constructed port, located at the village of

Chełm Mały Chełm Mały () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Chełm Śląski, within Bieruń-Lędziny County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately east of Chełm Śląski, east of Bieruń, and south-east of the ...

. Other mines followed Piast, opening their own loading facilities. By 1937, there were eight such facilities along the Przemsza. The government of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

had far-reaching plans for the river. A river port at Niwka (a district of

) was to be built, a Mysłowice -

Spytkowice Spytkowice is a village in Wadowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Spytkowice. It lies approximately north of Wadowice and west of the regional capital ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

canal, and a waterway to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

terminated these plans. Since the 12th century, the river formed the eastern border of the

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

n Duchy of

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

, with

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

. From 1846 until 1918, the so-called

Three Emperors' Corner Three Emperors' Corner (, , ) is a former tripoint at the confluence of the Black and White Przemsza rivers, near the towns of Mysłowice, Sosnowiec and Jaworzno in the present-day Silesian Voivodeship of Poland. During the Partitions of Poland, f ...

at the confluence of Black and White Przemsza marked the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Nowadays the lower Przemsza is the border between the

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

in the west and the

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

in the east.

White and Black Przemsza

White Przemsza is 63.9 kilometers long, and begins in a

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

near

Wolbrom Wolbrom (, ) is a town in Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 8,942 people (2010). Wolbrom lies in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, which is also called the ''Polish Jura''. South of the town there is ''Kamienna M ...

. It flows southwest, in a wide valley. Upper White Przemsza has very clean water, which changes at the village of Klucze. Among others, the White Przemsza flows through the

Błędów Desert Błędów Desert (), is an area of sands and gravels located between Dąbrowa Górnicza, Błędów (part of Dąbrowa Górnicza in Metropolis GZM) and the villages of Chechło, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Chechło and Klucze, Lesser Poland Voivodesh ...

. Black Przemsza is 64.2 kilometers long, and its source is in Bzów, which has been a district of

Zawiercie Zawiercie () () is a town in southern Poland located in the Silesian Voivodeship with 49,334 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland near the source of the Warta River. The town lies near the historical region of Sil ...

since 1977. In its upper course, the water of the river is very clean, but its quality gets worse at

Przeczyce Przeczyce is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Mierzęcice, within Będzin County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north of Będzin and north-east of the regional capital Katowice Katowice (, ) ...

, where a reservoir was built in 1963. Both rivers were named after the color of the water. In the past, Black Przemsza's bed near Będzin contained shallow coal deposits, whilst White Przemsza flowed through limestone hills in the area of Olkusz, so its bottom was white.

Sources

{{Authority control Rivers of Poland Rivers of Silesian Voivodeship Rivers of Lesser Poland Voivodeship