The Łeba is a river in Middle Pomerania

Middle Pomerania

The term Middle or Central Pomerania can refer to two distinct areas, depending on whether it is used as a translation of the corresponding German or Polish terms Mittelpommern or Pomorze Środkowe, respectively.-Mittelpommern, Mittelpommerscher Keil:Mittelpommern or Mittelpommerscher Keil in...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, that originates near the village of Borzestowo

Borzestowo

Borzestowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Chmielno, within Kartuzy County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Chmielno, west of Kartuzy, and west of the regional capital Gdańsk....

 west of Kartuzy

Kartuzy

Kartuzy is a town in the historic Eastern Pomerania region of northwestern Poland, located about west of Gdańsk with a population of 15,472...

, passes through Łebsko Lake and empties into the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

. It is 117 km long with a basin area of 1,801 km².

The town of Lębork

Lebork

Lębork is a town on the Łeba and Okalica rivers in Middle Pomerania region, north-western Poland with some 37,000 inhabitants.Lębork is also the capital of Lębork County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, formerly in Słupsk Voivodeship ....

 lies on the river Łeba, while the town of Łeba on the Baltic coast was originally located west of the present-day mouth of the river.
In the 12th century the lower Łeba had marked the eastern border of the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp

Lands of Schlawe and Stolp

The Lands of Schlawe and Stolp are a historical region in Pomerania, centered around the towns of Sławno and Słupsk in Farther Pomerania...

, ruled by the Pomeranian

House of Pomerania

The House of Griffins or House of Pomerania, , also known as House of Greifen; House of Gryf, was a dynasty of Royal dukes that ruled the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637, after their power was temporarily derivated to Prussian Royal House...

 (Griffin) duke Ratibor I

Ratibor I, Duke of Pomerania

Ratibor I of the House of Pomerania was Duke of Pomerania. He was married to Pribislawa, and was the ancestor of the Ratiborides sideline of the Griffins....

 and his descendants, while the territory beyond around the castellany of Białogarda was a possession of the Pomerelia

Pomerelia

Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...

n duke Sobieslaw I

Sobieslaw I, Duke of Pomerania

Sobieslaw I or Subislaw I was the first recorded Duke of Pomerelia of the Samborides dynasty....

 of the Samborides

Samborides

The Samborides or House of Sobiesław were a ruling dynasty in the historic region of Pomerania. They were first documented about 1155 as governors in the eastern Pomerelian lands serving the royal Piast dynasty of Poland, and from 1227 ruled as autonomous princes until 1294, at which time the...

 dynasty. After the Teutonic Order had concluded the Treaty of Soldin with Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg

Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal

Waldemar of Brandenburg was Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal, the last from the Ascanian House.-Life:He was a son of Conrad, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal and Constance, daughter of Przemysł I of Greater Poland...

 in 1309, the river again formed the western border of the Order's Pomerelian lands with the Duchy of Pomerania

Duchy of Pomerania

The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....

 under Duke Wartislaw IV

Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania

Wartislaw IV was Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1309 until his death. He was the only son of Duke Bogislaw IV of Pomerania and his wife Margareta, a daughter of Prince Wizlaw II of Rugia...

. From that time on the mouth of the Łeba on the Baltic coast marked the northeasternmost point of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

, while the adjacent Pomerelian lands of Lauenburg and Bütow

Lauenburg and Bütow Land

Lauenburg and Bütow Land formed a historical region in eastern in eastern Pomerania. Composed of two districts centered around the towns of Lauenburg and Bütow , it was on the western periphery of Pomerelia...

 became a fief of the Polish Crown according to the Second Peace of Thorn (1466).

External links

• Leba river basin - Poland, Institute for Environment and Sustainability
  Institute for Environment and Sustainability
  The Institute for Environment and Sustainability is a specialised institute of the Joint Research Centre directorate of the European Commission, based at Ispra, Italy...
  
  , European Commission - Joint Research Centre