24th TERRA - VIŠLADA Festival. KAYAKING TOUR OF THE QUEEN OF POLISH RIVERS

VISTULA. KAYAKING TOUR OF THE QUEEN OF POLISH RIVERS

“Vistula” is an unhurried canoe trip through the waters of a large river. Rafting is a pretext to get to know its historical, cultural and natural heritage. It would seem that the presence of the Vistula is something obvious to us like air. How many of us know what a treasure it is? Do we know the story that its waters carry?

For years, the Vistula has been the backbone of Poland and its most important trade route. From Krakow to Gdansk, rafting ships loaded with goods sailed: galleys, schooners and dubas. Is there anything left of these boating traditions? Are there still boats on the Vistula created according to the art of folk boatbuilding?

Just as important as culture is nature in this story. Due to its unique character — preserved natural bed, river islands, clumps and lagoons, and even riverine forests — the Vistula is a home and refuge for bird species that we will not find anywhere else in the country. It is not without reason that along its length we find several dozen Natura 2000 reserves and areas, and some, such as the Małopolski Vistula Gorge or the Central Vistula Valley are even worth raising to the rank of national parks.

Despite its uniqueness, the Vistula does not resist human pressure. Although the times of the greatest poisoning of the river in the era of the Polish People's Republic are behind us, its heritage is still alive, and the Vistula is faced with many problems that destructively affect the ecosystem. What kind of problems are these? Is it possible to reconcile human needs with respect for the natural environment of the Vistula? And what does the Warsaw Mermaid have to do with all this?

Artur Chermak

Artur Czermak — born in '95, Wrocław traveler, photographer, graduate of journalism and history in public space at the University of Wrocław. Author of the books “Empyria. Reports from Twenty-Two and One Roads to the East” and “The Blue of Humility. A Yachtostop Across the Atlantic” and the blog “Where is Czermak?” He traveled, among others, in the Caucasus, the Middle East, the countries of Central Asia and, above all, South America. Lover of history and nature. In 2025, he was awarded in the “Journey” category at the Colossus Festival in Gdynia for the project “Odryseja. Canoe trip from the Czech Republic to the Baltic”.