Warta: the birdlife haven of the Warta Mouth

The Lubuskie Warta: from Skwierzyna to the Odra

The Warta is the longest tributary of the Odra and the third-longest river in Poland - about 808 km. It rises on the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, at Kromołów near Zawiercie, and swings in a broad arc to the north-west, across the Wielkopolska Lowland, until it empties into the Odra. Its final, lower stretch falls within the Lubuskie voivodeship: here the river enters from Skwierzyna, passes Santok and Gorzów Wielkopolski, and ends its course at Kostrzyn nad Odrą, giving up its waters to the Odra right on the border with Germany.

This is now a fully lowland river - wide, calm, with a broad valley, many meanders, oxbow lakes and wet meadows. And at the same time remarkably dense with content: at its very mouth lies the youngest national park in Poland and one of the most important bird refuges in this part of Europe; along the way you pass Santok, where in the 10th century the border of the first Piasts' state was guarded, and Gorzów - today's regional capital. The Lubuskie Warta is therefore a technically easy trail, and yet full of nature and history.

The route: Skwierzyna – Santok – Gorzów – Kostrzyn

The Lubuskie stretch of the Warta is about 90 km of calm, lowland river. The classic trail begins in Skwierzyna and, after roughly 24 km (about five hours of paddling), reaches Santok, at the mouth of the Noteć. From here the river flows on to Gorzów Wielkopolski, and from Gorzów there are still about 56 km to Kostrzyn nad Odrą. The whole thing is easily divided into one- or two-day stretches, matched to your own pace.

In terms of difficulty this is an easy trail, suitable for beginners too. The current is calm and lowland, the bed wide, without obstacles of the mountain-river kind - and, importantly for planning, on this stretch there are no dams, hydro plants or weirs to interrupt the trip. You do have to remember, though, that from Santok downstream the Warta belongs to the E70 International Waterway, so larger vessels appear here - it is best to keep to the bank and watch for the wash. The valley is wide and exposed, with no shortage of sun, so it is worth taking a hat, sun protection and a supply of water. Before the trip it is worth checking the current water level.

There is no trouble with facilities: landings and camping spots line the route, including in Skwierzyna, Santok (with a marina), Gorzów and near the park. The mouth area itself has to be treated separately - paddling the Warta through the park is permitted, and entry is free, but kayaks may only travel on the Warta. Hard rules apply: the park is open only from dawn to dusk, you may move only on the roads and paths opened to traffic, so you cannot leave the kayak wherever you like or pitch a tent in the middle of the park, and groups of more than twenty people must report their visit. The North Polder is sometimes closed during the spring floods and breeding season. The current rules are set by the park director's regulation - check them before you set off.

Nature – the broad Warta valley

From Skwierzyna downstream the Warta valley has kept its natural character: the river meanders among oxbow lakes, wet meadows and riverside carr, forming an important ecological corridor that links the valley of the Noteć with that of the Odra. It is an open, spacious landscape, where water, meadows and sky take up more room than forest - ideal for watching animals from water level.

The valley teems with life. White-tailed eagles hunt over the river, beavers and otters manage the banks, and thousands of water and wetland birds stop on the floodplains and meadows. The river itself holds the rich fish life typical of a large lowland river - from roach and bream to pike, zander, asp and catfish. The closer you get to the mouth, the wider and calmer the river and the richer the wildlife - all the way to its crown, the national park at the confluence of the Warta and the Odra.

Skwierzyna – a Warta-side town of three cultures

The trip begins in Skwierzyna, at the confluence of the Warta and the Obra. This was once a Slavic fishing settlement at a crossing on the old trade route from Szczecin to Kraków; town rights were granted to it around 1295 by King Przemysł II, and in 1406 Władysław Jagiełło renewed the foundation under Magdeburg law. The town's wealth was built on crafts, the famous Skwierzyna fairs and trade - weaving, shoemaking, brewing, and dealing in hides, grain and timber floated down the Warta. In 1790 Skwierzyna became a garrison of Polish troops on the western border of the Commonwealth.

For centuries, until the early 20th century, this was a town of three nations and three faiths - Poles, Germans and Jews lived side by side, Catholics, Lutherans and followers of Judaism. The local Jewish community was among the largest and most important in western Wielkopolska. Traces of that multicultural past remain in the fabric of the town: the Catholic parish church of St Nicholas by the market square, the Neo-Renaissance town hall of 1841 designed by the sought-after Prussian architect Friedrich August Stüler, and the memory of an imposing synagogue (completed in 1841, turned by the Germans into a grain store and burnt down in 1945).

Santok – the guard and key of the kingdom

A dozen or so kilometres downstream, where the Noteć meets the Warta, lies Santok - one of the most important places on the map of Poland's beginnings. Dendrochronological studies indicate that as early as around 970, in the time of Mieszko I, a hillfort and settlement stood here guarding the Piast state's border with Pomerania. The chronicler Gallus Anonymus called Santok "regni custodia et clavis" - the guard and key of the kingdom. The name itself, derived from the old word "Sątok", simply meant the place where two rivers come together.

Its position at the meeting of borders meant that for centuries a fierce rivalry over the Santok stronghold was fought among the Piasts, Pomerania and Brandenburg - it was captured, burnt and rebuilt many times, and its story is, in miniature, the history of the struggle for the western edge of the state. It was also an important administrative and church centre: it had a castellany and, from the 10th-11th century, a church too. Today its former glory is recalled by the hillfort, a viewing tower with a sweeping view over both rivers, and the Museum of the Santok Stronghold, which displays finds from the excavations.

Gorzów Wielkopolski – the capital on the Warta

The largest town on the route is Gorzów Wielkopolski - capital of the Lubuskie voivodeship and seat of the voivode, lying on the Warta at the mouth of the small Kłodawka. The town was founded on 2 July 1257 as Landsberg an der Warthe, by charter of Margrave John I of the Ascanian dynasty. For centuries it grew thanks to merchants and craftsmen, making use of its convenient position at the crossing of water and land routes; after 1945 the German Landsberg became the Polish Gorzów, and after the reform of 1999 - the capital of a new voivodeship.

The town's oldest monument is the Gothic cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the 13th century, towering over the riverside old town. On 1 July 2017 a dramatic fire consumed the tower - the upper storeys, the historic clock with its 19th-century mechanism and the viewing terrace all burnt down; the reconstruction took two and a half years. It is also worth going down to the river itself: Gorzów's Warta Boulevard runs along the right bank of the Warta, partly in niches beneath the monumental railway viaduct of 1910-1914, which is 2,116 metres long and the longest structure of its kind in Poland. The town's history can be explored at the Jan Dekert Lubusz Museum, housed in a historic granary from the second half of the 18th century.

Gorzów is also a town with a strong sporting identity. Its greatest pride is speedway - the local Stal Gorzów, nine-time team champion of Poland, racing at the stadium named after Edward Jancarz, the great Gorzów speedway rider. For many residents it is speedway, alongside the river, that most strongly defines the town.

Ujście Warty National Park – a birdlife haven

Beyond Gorzów the Warta enters its most valuable natural stretch - Ujście Warty National Park, established on 1 July 2001 at the confluence of the river with the Odra. It is the youngest national park in Poland; it covers 8,074 hectares of extensive floodplains, wet meadows, pastures, sedge beds and reed beds. The terrain is semi-natural - its open landscape is maintained not only by the river but also by people, through mowing the meadows and grazing, so that the place does not become overgrown with forest and stays friendly to birds.

What makes the park exceptional is the rhythm of the water. The northern part is the so-called North Polder, cut off from the river by a flood embankment and subjected to controlled flooding - in spring, most often in March and April, the water level rises high here, creating ideal conditions for water and wetland birds; at that time this fragment is closed to visitors. The southern part is separated from the Warta only by a low bank lip, so it floods naturally. Water is also brought by the Postomia - a former bed of the Warta, today a river in its own right, along which, at high levels and in strong winds, water pours deep into the park. It is these seasonal floodplains that are the heart of the whole ecosystem.

The effect is spectacular. Over 280 bird species have been recorded here, of which more than 170 breeding, and 26 are listed in the Polish Red Book of Animals - it is hard to imagine a better address for a birdwatcher. Among the breeding birds the park is hugely important for the rare aquatic warbler, and also for the shelduck and the greylag goose, whose populations here are among the country's most important, as well as the shoveler and the spotted crake; on the drier meadows the corncrake can be heard, and on the floodplains numerous terns nest - common, little, black, whiskered and white-winged.

The greatest impression, though, is made by the migrations. In spring and autumn enormous flocks of geese stop on the floodplains - as many as four species, led by the tundra bean goose, which has been the park's symbol since 2020. At the peak of migration a record of close to 200,000 geese at once has been counted here - a sight and sound you never forget as long as you live. This richness is protected by the highest statuses: national park, Natura 2000 site, and inscription on the Ramsar Convention list (the former Słońsk reserve was added to it back in 1984).

Stretches of the Warta trip: from Skwierzyna to Kostrzyn

The Lubuskie course of the Warta is most conveniently paddled in stretches. Skwierzyna-Santok leads through a wide valley to the early-medieval hillfort at Santok, at the mouth of the Noteć. Santok-Gorzów runs to the regional capital on the Warta. The most interesting is the long lower stretch Gorzów-Kostrzyn, through Ujście Warty National Park - one of the most important bird havens in Europe - all the way to the mouth on the Odra. You can see every stretch on the map below - in "Take it easy" mode, with facilities and water levels along the way. And if you'd rather plan the trip your own way, you can draw your own route in "Your own way" mode.

See the trail on the interactive map Click to load the map with the route drawn in

Kostrzyn nad Odrą – the fortress, Katte and the Pompeii of the North

The trail ends in Kostrzyn nad Odrą, at the point where the Warta gives up its waters to the Odra on the border with Germany. This strategic confluence of rivers shielded the roads to Berlin, which is why the town was called the "gateway to Berlin". As early as the 16th century Margrave John of the Hohenzollerns made Kostrzyn his residence and began building a mighty five-bastion fortress - the oldest bastion fortress on Polish lands. Its walls, bastions and two gates - the Berlin and the Chyża gates - survive to this day.

One of the most dramatic scenes in Prussian history is linked to the fortress. In 1730 the heir to the throne, the future King Frederick II the Great, was imprisoned here after his failed attempt to flee to England. His friend, Lieutenant Hans Hermann von Katte, took the blame for the plot - and on 6 November 1730 he was beheaded in the fortress courtyard. Frederick, forced by his father to watch the execution from a castle window, is said to have fainted at the sight. The future king spent the years 1730-1732 in captivity in the Kostrzyn fortress.

The greatest impression, though, is made by Kostrzyn's Old Town, known as the "Pompeii of the North". In 1945 Festung Küstrin defended the approaches to Berlin; after a siege and assault lasting almost two months, over 90% of the buildings were destroyed, and the town effectively ceased to exist. The old town was never rebuilt - today, among the fortress walls, you walk empty streets, look at the outlines of former tenements and their foundations, and in the Philip Bastion the Kostrzyn Fortress Museum operates. It is an unusual, faintly melancholy end to the trip - here the river runs down to the Odra, and with it ends the story of several centuries of borderland.

The Lubuskie stretch of the Warta is a calm, wide river that in less than a hundred kilometres links the beginnings of Polish statehood, a regional capital and one of the most important bird reserves in Central Europe - and rounds it all off over the ruins of the "Pompeii of the North", at the mouth on the Odra. It is a trail for those who want to combine easy paddling with a really large dose of nature and history. The upper and middle course we describe separately: Warta.