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{{Short description|Fresh water lagoon on the Baltic Sea}} |
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[[Image:Vistula Lagoon.jpg|thumbnail|270px|right|Landsat photo of the Vistula Lagoon]] |
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{{Infobox body of water |
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| name = Vistula Lagoon |
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The '''Vistula Lagoon''' ({{lang-pl|Zalew Wiślany}}; {{lang-ru|Калининградский залив}} or ''Kaliningradskiy Zaliv''; {{lang-de|Frisches Haff}}; {{lang-lt|Aistmarės}}) 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 [[Gdańsk Bay]] by the [[Vistula Spit]]. It is now known as the '''Vistula Bay''' or '''Vistula Gulf'''. The modern German name, ''Frisches Haff'', is derived from an earlier form, ''Friesisches Haff''.<ref name=PWB>Erhard Riemann, Alfred Schoenfeldt, Ulrich Tolksdorf, Reinhard Goltz, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur (Germany), Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz, ''Preussisches Wörterbuch: Deutsche Mundarten Ost- und Westpreussens'', 6th edition, Wachholtz, 1974, p.595, {{ISBN|3-529-04611-6}}</ref> |
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| native_name = {{Native name list|tag1=pl|name1=Zalew Wiślany|tag2=ru|name2=Калининградский залив}} |
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| image = Vistula Lagoon.jpg |
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| caption = Landsat photo of the Vistula Lagoon |
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| location = [[Poland]], [[Russia]] |
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| type = [[Lagoon]] |
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| etymology = [[Vistula River]] |
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| inflow = Bauda, [[Elbląg (river)|Elbląg]], [[Nogat]], [[Pasłęka]], [[Szkarpawa]], [[Pregolya]], [[Prokhladnaya (river)|Prokhladnaya]], Wisła Królewiecka |
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| length = {{convert|90.7|km|abbr=on}} |
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| width = {{convert|13|km|abbr=on}} |
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| area = {{convert|838|km2|abbr=on}} |
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| depth = {{convert|2.7|m|abbr=on}} |
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| salinity = 3‰ |
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| cities = [[Tolkmicko]], [[Frombork]], [[Krynica Morska]], [[Baltiysk]], [[Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast|Primorsk]] |
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| pushpin_map = Poland#Baltic Sea#Europe |
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}} |
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The '''Vistula Lagoon'''{{efn|{{langx|pl|Zalew Wiślany}}; {{langx|de|Frisches Haff||fresh lagoon}}; {{langx|lt|Aistmarės}}}} 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]]. |
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==Geography== |
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The [[Poland–Russia border]] runs across the lagoon. |
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The lagoon is split between [[Poland]] (including the localities of [[Elbląg]], [[Tolkmicko]], [[Frombork]], and [[Krynica Morska]]) and [[Russia]]'s [[Kaliningrad Oblast]] (including the localities of [[Kaliningrad]], [[Baltiysk]], and [[Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast|Primorsk]]). Before 2022, the only water route from the lagoon out to the Gdańsk Bay was the [[Strait of Baltiysk]], in Russia's portion of the lagoon. The Polish port of [[Elbląg]] used to see a substantial amount of trading traffic on the lagoon, but that declined due to international tensions and silting. Between 2019 and 2022, Poland built the [[Vistula Spit canal]] in their own portion of the lagoon, to create another water route out of the lagoon. Kaliningrad and Baltiysk are currently major seaports on the lagoon. |
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It is an [[Important Bird Area]] of Poland.<ref>[http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/vistula-lagoon-iba-poland Vistula Lagoon], a fact sheet of [[BirdLife International]]</ref> |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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The earliest version of the name of Vistula Lagoon has been recorded in historical sources by Wulfstan |
The earliest version of the name of the Vistula Lagoon has been recorded in historical sources by [[Wulfstan of Hedeby]] at the end of the 9th Century as ''{{lang|ang|Estmere}}''.<ref>Janet Batley, Wulfstan's voyage and his description of Estland: the text and the language of the text, in: Wulfstan's Voyage. The Baltic Sea region in the early Viking Age as seen from shipboard, Maritime Culture of the North, 2, Roskilde 2009, p. 15.</ref> It is an Anglo-Saxon rendition of the [[Old Prussian language|Old Prussian]] ''{{lang|prg|Aīstinmari}}'',{{citation needed|reason=See talk page|date=November 2023}} which was the name for the lagoon. The name was the fusion of two Old Prussian words: |
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* ''[[Aesti|Aistei]]'' |
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==Proposed canal== |
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* *''mari'' - "[[lagoon]] (a body of water cut off from a larger body by a reef of sand), fresh water bay".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Klussis|first=Mikkels|title=Dictionary of revived Prussian: Prussian - English, English - Prussian|year=2006|location=[[Vilnius]]|pages=47}}</ref> |
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Digging a canal to connect the lagoon with the Baltic Sea is in consideration as a major [[European Union|EU]]-supported project. The canal, would re-activate the [[Elbląg]] river port. It would also free its dependence on Russia, which time and again revokes the right of passage for Polish ships through the [[Strait of Baltiysk]] as a form of pressure on Polish authorities.{{cn|date=October 2016}} |
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So, the oldest known meaning of the name of the Vistula Lagoon was "The lagoon or sea of the Aesti". The Old Prussian name is still used in [[Lithuanian language|Modern Lithuanian]] as ''Aistmarės'', which preserves the original meaning. |
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In October 2016 details of the project were confirmed by [[PiS]] leader, [[Jarosław Kaczyński]]. The {{convert|1.3|km|mi}} long, 80 metres wide and 5 metres deep canal shall be completed by 2020 at an estimated cost of [[Polish złoty|PLN]] 880 million.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Poland to Spend Quarter Billion Dollars on Canal 'to Break Off With Russia'|url= https://sputniknews.com/europe/201610151046362088-poland-russia-canal-feasibility-analysis/|newspaper= Sputnik News|date= 15 October 2016 |access-date= 15 October 2016}}</ref> However, major ecological considerations stand in the way. For example, mammal [[wikt:migration|migration]] along the lagoon could be disrupted. Also, the inflow of [[brackish water]]s from the Baltic sea could result in serious unbalancing of the lagoon's freshwater ecosystem.{{cn|date=September 2018}}{{dubious|lagoon is already open to the sea|date=September 2018}} |
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Over three hundred years later, in the first half of the 13th Century, the name of the Vistula Lagoon occurs in deeds issued by the [[Teutonic Order]] in Latin as ''Mare Recens'' (1246 - "''mare''" - a pool or lake or sea and "''recens''" - fresh) in contrast to the contemporaneous name for the Baltic Sea - ''Mare Salsum'' (Salty Sea). Then in 1251 there is a reference to ''Mare Recens et Neriam'' and finally in 1288 ''Recenti Mari '''Hab''''', which evidently corresponds with the German "Frisches Haff".<ref>Codex diplomaticus Warmiensis oder Regesten und Urkunden zur Geschichte Ermlands. Bd. 1, Urkunden der Jahre 1231-1340, (ed.) Johann Martin Saage, Carl Peter Woelky, Mainz 1860, No. 13, p. 18 - 22, No. 26, p. 46 - 49, No. 79, p. 133 - 136.</ref> The modern German name, ''Frisches Haff'', is derived from an earlier form, ''Friesisches Haff''.<ref>Erhard Riemann, Alfred Schoenfeldt, Ulrich Tolksdorf, Reinhard Goltz, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz, ''Preussisches Wörterbuch: Deutsche Mundarten Ost- und Westpreussens'', 6th edition, Wachholtz, 1974, p.595, {{ISBN|3-529-04611-6}}</ref> |
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The Russian name of the lagoon since 1946 is ''Kaliningradskiy zaliv'' (Калининградский залив), it means 'Kaliningrad Bay'. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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From the first half of the 13th c. the lagoon was part of the [[State of the Teutonic Order]]. In 1454, King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] incorporated the region to the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]] upon the request of the anti-Teutonic [[Prussian Confederation]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=Poznań|language=pl|pages=51, 56}}</ref> Following the [[Second Peace of Toruń|peace treaty of 1466]], it remained a part of Poland, with the western part forming part of the Polish provinces of [[Royal Prussia]] and [[Greater Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Greater Poland]], and the eastern part being a Polish [[fief]], held by the Teutonic Knights and [[Ducal Prussia]].<ref>Górski, pp. 88–90, 96–97, 206–207, 214–215</ref> The surrounding area was inhabited by [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Germans]] and [[Kursenieki]]. Following the [[First Partition of Poland]], the territory formed part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], which became part of the [[German Empire]] in 1871. From 1920 to 1939 it was split between Germany and the [[Free City of Danzig]]. In 1945, the western part, comprising 43.8%, became again part of Poland, whereas the eastern part fell to the [[Soviet Union]] (now within [[Russia]]). Administratively, it is divided between the Polish [[Pomeranian Voivodeship|Pomeranian]] and [[Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship|Warmian-Masurian]] [[voivodship]]s, and the Russian [[Kaliningrad Oblast]]. |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1979-084-05, Ostpreußen, Flüchtlingstreck.jpg|thumb|left|285px|East Prussian refugees after crossing the lagoon]] |
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From 1772 until 1918, the lagoon was part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], which had become part of the [[German Empire]] in 1871. Between 1920 and 1946 it was split between Germany and the [[Free City of Danzig]]. At present state since 1945 its eastern part belongs to [[Russia]] (formerly [[USSR]]), [[Poland]] has 43.8% of its area at lagoon's western side. The bordering administrative regions is Polish [[Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship]] and modern Russian [[Kaliningrad Oblast]], which had name [[Königsberg Oblast]] during half of 1946. |
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The nearly extinct ethnic group or [[Kursenieki]] lived on the Vistula Spit, by the lagoon. |
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===Kursenieki=== |
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{{details|Kursenieki}} |
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[[Image:Curonians kursenieki in 1649.png|thumb|right|150px|Curonian-populated area in 1649]] |
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While today the [[Kursenieki]], also known as Kuršininkai are a nearly extinct [[Balts|Baltic]] ethnic group living along the [[Curonian Spit]], in 1649 Kuršininkai settlement spanned from [[Klaipėda|Memel (Klaipėda)]] to [[Gdańsk|Danzig (Gdańsk)]], including the area around the Vistula Lagoon. The Kuršininkai were eventually assimilated by the [[Germans]], except along the Curonian Spit where some still live. The Kuršininkai were considered [[Latvians]] until after [[World War I]] when [[Latvia]] gained independence from the [[Russian Empire]], a consideration based on linguistic arguments. This was the rationale for Latvian claims over the Curonian Spit, [[Klaipėda|Memel]], and other territories of [[East Prussia]] which would be later dropped. |
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=== Historical events related to lagoon === |
=== Historical events related to the lagoon === |
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From January until March 1945 throughout the [[ |
From January until March 1945, throughout the [[evacuation of East Prussia]], refugees from [[East Prussia]] crossed the frozen lagoon on their way west after the [[Red Army]] reached the coast of the lagoon near [[Elbląg|Elbing]] on January 26. Attacked by Soviet aircraft, thousands of these refugees were killed or fell through the broken ice.<ref>[[Max Egremont]] ''Forgotten Land: Journeys Among the Ghosts of East Prussia'' (2012), {{ISBN|978-0374533564}}</ref><ref>Patricia Clough ''The Flight Across The Ice: The Escape of the East Prussian Horses'' (2009), {{ISBN|978-1906598341}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{Portal|Wetlands}} |
{{Portal|Wetlands}} |
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*[[Curonian Lagoon]] |
*[[Curonian Lagoon]] |
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*[[Aestian Island]] |
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==Notes== |
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{{Notelist}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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* [http://www.en.zalew-wislany.pl/ www.en.zalew-wislany.pl – Monitoring the Vistula Lagoon water quality on the basis of satellite remote sensing] |
* [http://www.en.zalew-wislany.pl/ www.en.zalew-wislany.pl – Monitoring the Vistula Lagoon water quality on the basis of satellite remote sensing] |
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* [[Battle of Vistula Lagoon]] |
* [[Battle of Vistula Lagoon]] |
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{{ |
{{Commons category}} |
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{{Tributaries of the Vistula}} |
{{Tributaries of the Vistula}} |
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{{Vistula}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:Lagoons of Europe]] |
[[Category:Lagoons of Europe]] |
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[[Category:Natura 2000 in Poland]] |
[[Category:Natura 2000 in Poland]] |
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[[Category:Poland–Russia border]] |
[[Category:Poland–Russia border]] |
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[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Poland]] |
Latest revision as of 16:00, 11 November 2024
Vistula Lagoon | |
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Location | Poland, Russia |
Coordinates | 54°27′N 19°45′E / 54.450°N 19.750°E |
Type | Lagoon |
Etymology | Vistula River |
Primary inflows | Bauda, Elbląg, Nogat, Pasłęka, Szkarpawa, Pregolya, Prokhladnaya, Wisła Królewiecka |
Max. length | 90.7 km (56.4 mi) |
Max. width | 13 km (8.1 mi) |
Surface area | 838 km2 (324 sq mi) |
Average depth | 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) |
Salinity | 3‰ |
Settlements | Tolkmicko, Frombork, Krynica Morska, Baltiysk, Primorsk |
The Vistula Lagoon[a] 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
[edit]The lagoon is a mouth of a few branches of the Vistula River, notably Nogat and Szkarpawa, and of the Pregolya River.
The lagoon is split between Poland (including the localities of Elbląg, Tolkmicko, Frombork, and Krynica Morska) and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast (including the localities of Kaliningrad, Baltiysk, and Primorsk). Before 2022, the only water route from the lagoon out to the Gdańsk Bay was the Strait of Baltiysk, in Russia's portion of the lagoon. The Polish port of Elbląg used to see a substantial amount of trading traffic on the lagoon, but that declined due to international tensions and silting. Between 2019 and 2022, Poland built the Vistula Spit canal in their own portion of the lagoon, to create another water route out of the lagoon. Kaliningrad and Baltiysk are currently major seaports on the lagoon.
It is an Important Bird Area of Poland.[1]
Etymology
[edit]The earliest version of the name of the Vistula Lagoon has been recorded in historical sources by Wulfstan of Hedeby at the end of the 9th Century as Estmere.[2] It is an Anglo-Saxon rendition of the Old Prussian Aīstinmari,[citation needed] which was the name for the lagoon. The name was the fusion of two Old Prussian words:
- Aistei
- *mari - "lagoon (a body of water cut off from a larger body by a reef of sand), fresh water bay".[3]
So, the oldest known meaning of the name of the Vistula Lagoon was "The lagoon or sea of the Aesti". The Old Prussian name is still used in Modern Lithuanian as Aistmarės, which preserves the original meaning.
Over three hundred years later, in the first half of the 13th Century, the name of the Vistula Lagoon occurs in deeds issued by the Teutonic Order in Latin as Mare Recens (1246 - "mare" - a pool or lake or sea and "recens" - fresh) in contrast to the contemporaneous name for the Baltic Sea - Mare Salsum (Salty Sea). Then in 1251 there is a reference to Mare Recens et Neriam and finally in 1288 Recenti Mari Hab, which evidently corresponds with the German "Frisches Haff".[4] The modern German name, Frisches Haff, is derived from an earlier form, Friesisches Haff.[5]
The Russian name of the lagoon since 1946 is Kaliningradskiy zaliv (Калининградский залив), it means 'Kaliningrad Bay'.
History
[edit]From the first half of the 13th c. the lagoon was part of the State of the Teutonic Order. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation.[6] Following the peace treaty of 1466, it remained a part of Poland, with the western part forming part of the Polish provinces of Royal Prussia and Greater Poland, and the eastern part being a Polish fief, held by the Teutonic Knights and Ducal Prussia.[7] The surrounding area was inhabited by Poles, Germans and Kursenieki. Following the First Partition of Poland, the territory formed part of the Kingdom of Prussia, which became part of the German Empire in 1871. From 1920 to 1939 it was split between Germany and the Free City of Danzig. In 1945, the western part, comprising 43.8%, became again part of Poland, whereas the eastern part fell to the Soviet Union (now within Russia). Administratively, it is divided between the Polish Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian voivodships, and the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast.
The nearly extinct ethnic group or Kursenieki lived on the Vistula Spit, by the lagoon.
Historical events related to the lagoon
[edit]From January until March 1945, throughout the evacuation of East Prussia, refugees from East Prussia crossed the frozen lagoon on their way west after the Red Army reached the coast of the lagoon near Elbing on January 26. Attacked by Soviet aircraft, thousands of these refugees were killed or fell through the broken ice.[8][9]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Polish: Zalew Wiślany; German: Frisches Haff, lit. 'fresh lagoon'; Lithuanian: Aistmarės
References
[edit]- ^ Vistula Lagoon, a fact sheet of BirdLife International
- ^ Janet Batley, Wulfstan's voyage and his description of Estland: the text and the language of the text, in: Wulfstan's Voyage. The Baltic Sea region in the early Viking Age as seen from shipboard, Maritime Culture of the North, 2, Roskilde 2009, p. 15.
- ^ Klussis, Mikkels (2006). Dictionary of revived Prussian: Prussian - English, English - Prussian. Vilnius. p. 47.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Codex diplomaticus Warmiensis oder Regesten und Urkunden zur Geschichte Ermlands. Bd. 1, Urkunden der Jahre 1231-1340, (ed.) Johann Martin Saage, Carl Peter Woelky, Mainz 1860, No. 13, p. 18 - 22, No. 26, p. 46 - 49, No. 79, p. 133 - 136.
- ^ Erhard Riemann, Alfred Schoenfeldt, Ulrich Tolksdorf, Reinhard Goltz, Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz, Preussisches Wörterbuch: Deutsche Mundarten Ost- und Westpreussens, 6th edition, Wachholtz, 1974, p.595, ISBN 3-529-04611-6
- ^ Górski, Karol (1949). Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. pp. 51, 56.
- ^ Górski, pp. 88–90, 96–97, 206–207, 214–215
- ^ Max Egremont Forgotten Land: Journeys Among the Ghosts of East Prussia (2012), ISBN 978-0374533564
- ^ Patricia Clough The Flight Across The Ice: The Escape of the East Prussian Horses (2009), ISBN 978-1906598341
External links
[edit]- www.en.zalew-wislany.pl – Monitoring the Vistula Lagoon water quality on the basis of satellite remote sensing
- Battle of Vistula Lagoon