O potrzebie badań nad dziejami, współczesnością i perspektywami rozwoju Odry i Nadodrza

Large rivers have played and continue to play a highly significant role in the development of societies and countries. The specific nature of the Oder River in the past was determined by the variability of state affiliations and the functions assigned to it. In the competition for dominion over the entire course of the river or over selected sections of it, Czech, Polish, German and Scandinavian influences clashed at different times. Today, a new definition of the role played by the Oder in the context of an increasingly integrated Europe and the evolution of the relevance of national borders is urgently needed. Previous research in this area is seriously inadequate. Studies written in German, as well as in Polish academic circles, should be considered factually incomplete and methodologically outdated. The authors propose a new program of research on the history, present day and prospects for the development of the Oder and the Oder River region. Their starting point should be detailed archival searches conducted in Poland and Germany, as well as an analysis of contemporary concepts of river use for the nations and communities along the Oder River. The article contains the main tenets of such research and its concept.