Kamienna (river)
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The Kamienna is a river in central Poland, which is a left 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 ...
. Except for its source and mouth, the river flows in Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship. Its length is 138 kilometers, and the area of its basin 2007,9 km2. Geographers argue whether the source of the Kamienna is located in a swampy area near the village of Antoniow ( Szydłowiec County, 361 meters above sea level), or near the village of Borki (also Szydłowiec County). This results in differences in calculating the length of the river. Most sources state that it is 138 kilometers long, but by some accounts, the length varies from 127 to 156 kilometers. The mouth of the river lies near the village of Kepa Piotrowinska (
Lipsko Lipsko is a town in eastern Poland, in northern Lesser Poland, Masovian Voivodeship. It is the capital of Lipsko County. The population is 5,895 (2004). Lipsko’s coat of arms is the Dębno, which was used by previous owners of the town. Geogr ...
County). Unlike other rivers of southern Poland ( San or Nida), the Kamienna does not owe its name to the
Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
. According to
Zygmunt Gloger Zygmunt Gloger (3November 184516August 1910) was a Polish historian, archaeologist, geographer and ethnographer, bearer of the Wilczekosy coat of arms. Gloger founded the precursor of modern and widely popular Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Socie ...
, the river was first mentioned in 1228.
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
called it Kamionna, while on an 1815 map it is named Kaimienka. The name is of Slavic origin (the word kamien means stone); in the past it was spelled Camoni (1379), Camyonna (1437), Camyen (1399), Kamienie (1399), and Kamienne (1393). For its initial several kilometers, the Kamienna flows parallel to the Swietokrzyskie Mountains. It also has some character of a mountain river, as the source is located at the height of app. 360 meters above sea level, while the mouth is at 130 meters. After flowing through Wąchock, the Kamienna leaves hilly areas, to enter a wide valley, which narrows before Starachowice. The Kamienna valley in the sector from Soltykow to Cmielow (74 kilometers) makes a convenient transport corridor, in which a rail line from
Koluszki Koluszki () is a town, and a major railway junction, in central Poland, in Łódź Voivodeship, about 20 km east of Łódź with a population of 12,776 (2020). The junction in Koluszki serves trains that go from Warsaw to Łódź, Wrocław, Cz ...
to Ostrowiec was built in 1885. Near Cmielow the river changes its course, turning northwards. Finally, it discharges into the Vistula, but before that, it flows for some two kilometers in the ancient stream valley of the Vistula. Kamienna flows through the towns of
Skarżysko-Kamienna Skarżysko-Kamienna () is a city in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland by Kamienna (river), Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major cities. Prior to 1928, it bore the name ...
,
Wąchock Wąchock is a town in Starachowice County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland, near Starachowice, within the historical region of Lesser Poland. In 2006, it had 2,777 inhabitants. History Wachock received its town charter in 1 ...
,
Starachowice Starachowice is a city in southeastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), with 49,513 inhabitants (31.12.2017). It is the capital of Starachowice County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. It is situated upon the River Kamienna, a tributary of ...
, and
Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (), often referred to as Ostrowiec, is a city in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland, with 66,258 residents (as of 2021). The town is one of the historic centers of Polish industry and metallurgy ...
. There are four reservoirs on the river: ''Zalew Bliżyński'', , ''Zalew Starachowice-Pasternik'' or , and ''Zalew Brodzki'' or . The valley of the Kamienna is closely associated with early years of Polish industry. Here, Old-Polish Industrial Region lies, there also is a blue-color tourist trail called Along Traces of Technological Monuments of the Kamienna River, which goes from Skarżysko-Kamienna to Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. First industrial facilities appeared along the Kamienna in the 15th century. In a 1547 document, a mine in Starachowice is mentioned, which excavated iron ore. Local ironworks developed in the late 16th century, and during the reign of King
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...
, a
blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...
was built in Bartow on the Kamienna. Later on, other furnaces were added, at Ruda Baltowska, Cmielow, Antoniow, Aleksandrów, Stefankow. Due to efforts of Stanislaw Staszic, the region prospered in the first half of the 19th century. Staszic designed a number of metallurgical facilities, located along the Kamienna. They all were planned to create one large enterprise, called Ironworks of the Kamienna River. According to the estimates of Stanislaw Staszic, out of 172 iron ore mines in the Old Industrial Region, 54 were located along the river. All these plans collapsed after the
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
.


See also

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Rivers of Poland Following is a list of rivers, which are at least partially, if not predominantly located within Poland.KSNG (2002–2014)List of Names of Flowing Waters (Wykaz nazw wód płynacych)(PDF file, direct download 1.47 MB), Komisja Standaryzacji Nazw Ge ...
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Geography of Poland Poland () is a country that extends across the North European Plain from the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south to the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea in the north. Poland is the fifth-most populous country of the European Union an ...


References







{{Authority control Rivers of Poland Rivers of Masovian Voivodeship Rivers of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship