The Nida 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 central

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 A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

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 ...

river, into which it flows near Nowy Korczyn). The Nida has a length of 154 kilometres and a basin area of 3,844 km².Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland 2017
Statistics Poland, p. 85-86 This includes the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

called Nida Landscape Park. The Nida itself is made up of two smaller rivers, the White Nida and the Black Nida, which merge in the village of Brzegi (near Checiny). It is a typical lowland river, with little difference in the water level. The valley of the Nida is wide, and covered with meadows. At its narrowest, the river is only 6 m wide, while at its widest spot, the Nida is 79 m across. The depth ranges from 0,4 to 2,6 m. The Nida is one of the warmest rivers of Poland; in the summer, its temperature reaches up to 27 degrees C.

Nida River Valley

The Nida Valley is a geographic region in southern Poland, along the lower and middle Nida. It is 65 kilometres long and 2 - 6 kilometres wide. The bottom of the valley is flat and wet, with

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

appearing in several locations in the former

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

s. The valley is marked by numerous meadows and pastures, and its main urban centers are ancient

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 ...

towns of Pinczow, Wislica and Nowy Korczyn.

Ponidzie

The name Ponidzie refers to a region of

, which lies along the Nida, and which is much larger than the valley. It stretches from Checiny to Nowy Korczyn, with three landscape parks: Nida Landscape Park, Szaniec Landscape Park and Kozubow Landscape Park. Furthermore, there are several nature reserves, such as Przeslin, Skorocice, Krzyzanowice, Skotniki Gorne, Winiary Zagojskie, Gory Wschodnie, Grabowiec and Skowronno. In the north, the region is marked by

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

rocks, while in the south the landscape is flat. The region has two symbols, the Adonis vernalis, and the Gothic collegiate church in Wiślica. Ponidzie, which lies halfway between the historic centers of Lesser Poland,

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 ...

and

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

, was, in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, one of the most important regions of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

. Divided between Kraków Voivodeship and Sandomierz Voivodeship, it had several castles, and many significant events took place here, in the once-important local towns of Chęciny, Nowy Korczyn,

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. The population is 10,946 (2018). Pińczów belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland (Polish: ...

, Wiślica, Jędrzejów, Pacanów, Szydłów, Opatowiec, Chmielnik, and

Stopnica Stopnica is a town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Stopnica. It lies in Lesser Poland, approximately east of Busko-Zdrój and south-east o ...

. Destroyed and ransacked during the Swedish invasion of Poland, the region has never regained its greatness. In the 16th century, Ponidzie was one of Lesser Poland’s centres of

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, here Polish Brethren prayer houses and schools operated, with the most famous, the

Racovian Academy The Racovian Academy (') was a Socinian school operated from 1602 to 1638 by the Polish Brethren in Raków, Kielce County, Raków, Sandomierz Voivodeship of Lesser Poland. The communitarian Arianism, Arian settlement of Raków was founded in 1569 b ...

. Among Protestant activists who worked here are such names, as

Jan Łaski Jan Łaski or Johannes à Lasco (1499 – 8 January 1560) was a Polish Calvinist reformer. Owing to his influential work in England (1548–1553) during the English Reformation, he is known to the English-speaking world by the Anglicised form ...

, Samuel Przypkowski, and Marcin Ruar. Furthermore, Jan Chryzostom Pasek lived here for many years. Wojciech Belon dedicated one of his songs to Ponidzie, and one of the most popular tourist attractions of the region is a narrow gauge railway “Ciuchcia Express Ponidzie”.

Towns and townships along the Nida

* Sobków *

* Wiślica * Nowy Korczyn

References

Nida Valley online

The region of Ponidzie

External links

Ciuchcia Express Ponidzie narrow gauge railway

Nida River Valley

Ponidzie

Towns and townships along the Nida

References

External links

See also