The Elbląg () 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 northern

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 ...

connecting

Lake Drużno A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

with the

Vistula Lagoon The Vistula Lagoon is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles (90 km) long, 6 to 15 miles (10 to 19 km) wide, and up to 17 feet (5 m) deep, separated from the Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit. Geography The lag ...

. The eponymous city of

Elbląg Elbląg (; ; ) is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 127,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. Elbląg is one of the ol ...

is situated on the river. The tributaries of the Elbląg include the Fiszewka, Kumiela and Tina. The oldest known mention of the river in the form ''Ilfing'' comes from the report of sailor Wulfstan from the end of the 9th century. The report was included in '' The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan'' which was written in Anglo-Saxon in

King Alfred Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when ...

's reign.

Etymology

Latest research suggest Scandinavian origin of the name. According to Elbląg museum the elusive

Truso Truso was a Viking Age port of trade (emporium) set up by the Scandinavians at the banks of the Nogat delta branch of the Vistula River, close to a bay (the modern Drużno lake), where it emptied into the shallow and brackish Vistula Lagoon. ...

settlement was founded and inhabited mostly by Scandinavians. The recent research shows that the name ''Ilfing'' was Anglo-Saxon form of a Scandinavian name, which could be reconstructed as Old-Nordic ''Elfeng'', ''Elfangr'' or ''Elfing'' from Old-Nordic ''elf-r'' - meaning "river", and Old-Nordic ''eng'', ''enge'', ''engi'' meaning "meadow". The 16th century German pastor, historian and cartographer Caspar Henneberger, wrote in his book ''Erklärung der preußischen größeren Landtafeln oder Mappen'' ("explanation of the larger Prussian maps"): :"Anno 1237. Zog. Herman Balck Landmeister/mit den zwey Schiffen/so ihm der Marggraff Heinrich aus Meissen/hat machen lassen/auf ein Werder in Pogezanien/bey dem Haff gelegen/mit dem Fluss Elbing beflossen/darauff bawet er eine Burg/und hies sie nach dem Fluss Elbing/oder von Oelfang/Eelfang". The theory of the Old Germanic origin of the name Elbing river has been also strongly supported by prominent Polish linguist

Jan Michał Rozwadowski Jan Michał Rozwadowski (7 December 1867 – 13 March 1935) was a Polish linguist and a professor at the Jagiellonian University. He was also the president of the Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or P ...

. Thus the meaning of the river's name would be "River flowing through boggy meadows".R.Panfil, ''Uwagi na temat Truso i jego zaplecza w świetle źródeł'', Elbląskie Studia Muzealne, t. 1, 2009, p. 43.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elblag River Rivers of Poland Rivers of Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Elbląg