Vistula Lagoon, Pol. Zalew Wiślany, shallow inlet of the Baltic Sea, 322 sq mi (834 sq km), c.60 mi (100 km) long and from 6 to 11 mi (9.7-18 km) wide, N Poland and W Russia, separated from the Gulf of Danzig by a narrow sand spit. The Nogat and Pregel rivers flow into the lagoon. A dredged channel cuts across the northern end of the inlet and links the Baltic Sea with the Kaliningrad ship canal. The lagoon's shoreline is generally marshy. Kaliningrad is the chief city on the lagoon.

Vistula, Pol. Wisła, longest river and principal waterway of Poland, c.665 mi (1,070 km) long. It rises in the West Beskid range of the Carpathians, S Poland, and flows NE past Kraków, NW past Warsaw and Toruń, and N past Grudziądz and Tczew to the Gulf of Danzig on the Baltic Sea. The two main branches of its estuary are the Nogat, which flows past Malbork to the Vistula Lagoon, and the Martwa Wisła [dead Vistula], which flows past Gdańsk. Navigable for small craft for almost its entire length, the Vistula is connected by canals with the Oder, Dnieper, Neman, and Pregel rivers. Among its tributaries are the Dunajec, San, and Narew (with the Bug) rivers. Coal is transported from SW Poland, and lumber is logged along the lower Vistula.

ancient Toletum

City (pop., 2001: 68,382), capital of Castile–La Mancha autonomous community, south-central Spain. On the Tagus River, it was the stronghold of the Carpentini, a powerful Iberian tribe, when it was conquered by Rome in 193 BC. In the 6th century AD it became the Visigoths' capital in Spain. Under the Moors (712–1085) it became a centre of Hebrew and Arabic culture, and it was noted for the manufacture of swords. Taken by Alfonso VI in 1085, it became the capital of New Castile and, in 1230, of the united kingdom of Castilla y León. Toledo was noted for its policy of religious tolerance toward Jews and Arabs during the 11th–15th centuries. It lost importance after Philip II moved the capital to Madrid in 1560. The French occupied Toledo during the Peninsular War (1808–14), and Nationalist forces besieged it (1936) in the Spanish Civil War. Known for its great wealth of notable architecture, the entire urban area is a national monument. It was the home of El Greco.

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