Since the dawn of time, rivers have been faithful allies of man. Areas

along rivers provided food, easy access to drinking water, and natural protection against enemies. Settlements, and later fortified strongholds and cities, were established on islands, steep banks, and in hard-to-reach river forks. Often, riverbeds served as natural borders for tribal areas and political or administrative units. But rivers did not only divide; they also connected. Amidst dense forests and impassable wetlands, they formed communication routes; trade developed along the rivers, and towns located on the rivers cooperated with each other, creating axes of economic development (cf. e.g., E. Romer 1903).Since time immemorial, the Oder has served such functions for the lands located in its basin.
It is worth tracing how the communication significance of the Oder has changed over the centuries, how the riverbed was transformed for transport functions, and how the cultural landscape along its course has evolved. Many years of personal observations of the river, survey research among people living in this area and transforming the landscape, as well as actions taken by government and local authorities, allow for a broader view of the transport and recreational role of the Oder in the system of inland rivers of the European Union.
The aim of the work is to show the specificity of historical changes in the functions performed by the Oder.
A different political situation meant that it played a different role in history than the Vistula; the heyday of navigation occurred at a different time, tourist and recreational functions were shaped differently, and the symbolism of the river in the consciousness of Poles is also different. These issues remain little known.
Higher School of Economics and Transport in Szczecin
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