Siting

THE area known today as the city of Kraków began as a hamlet on a hill beside the Vistula, which runs 651 miles from near the borders of Czechia and Slovakia to the Baltic.

Linguists generally agree the name of the river comes from an early Indo-European word meaning to flow slowly.

The Vistula lives up to its name while passing through Kraków

The Vistula was a major trading route and had many legends attached to it, perhaps the most famous being that of Princess Wanda.

According to the story, she became queen of the Poles on the death of her father, King Krak, and was courted by a German prince.

When she refused to marry him, he invaded, but was repelled. However Wanda committed suicide by drowning in the Vistula in the somewhat optimistic hope this would prevent future invasions.