The Vistula Lagoon is a brackish waterlagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles long, 6 to 15 miles wide, and up to 17 feet deep, separated from Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit. It is now known as the Vistula Bay or Vistula Gulf. The modern German name, Frisches Haff, is derived from an earlier form, Friesisches Haff.
The earliest version of the name of Vistula Lagoon has been recorded in historical sources by Wulfstan, an Anglo-Saxon sailor and merchant at the end of the 9th Century as Estmere. It is an Anglo-Saxon translation of Old Prussian name for the lagoon - *Aīstinmari derived from Aistei - "Aestii" etc. and *mari - "lagoon, fresh water bay". So the oldest known meaning of the name of Vistula Lagoon was "The lagoon or sea of the Aesti". Over three hundred years later, in the first half of the 13th Century, the name of Vistula Lagoon occurs in deeds issued by Teutonic Order in Latin version as Mare Recens in contrast to the contemporary name for the Baltic Sea - Mare Salsum. Then in 1251 we find record about Mare Recens et Neriam and finally in 1288 Recenti Mari Hab which as one can see corresponds with later German "Frisches Haff" = "Fresh Lagoon".
Proposed canal
Digging a canal to connect the lagoon with the Baltic Sea is in consideration as a major EU-supported project. The canal, would re-activate the Elbląg river port. It would also free its dependence on Russia, which occasionally revokes the right of passage for Polish ships through the Strait of Baltiysk as a form of pressure on Polish authorities. In October 2016 details of the project were confirmed by PiS leader, Jarosław Kaczyński. The long, 80 metres wide and 5 metres deep canal shall be completed by 2020 at an estimated cost of PLN 880 million. However, major ecological considerations stand in the way. For example, mammal along the lagoon could be disrupted. Also, the inflow of brackish waters from the Baltic sea could result in serious unbalancing of the lagoon's freshwater ecosystem.
While today the Kursenieki, also known as Kuršininkai are a nearly extinct Baltic ethnic group living along the Curonian Spit, in 1649 Kuršininkai settlement spanned from Memel to Danzig, including the area around the Vistula Lagoon. The Kuršininkai were eventually assimilated by the Germans, except along the Curonian Spit where some still live. The Kuršininkai were considered Latvians until after World War I when Latvia gained independence from the Russian Empire, a consideration based on linguistic arguments. This was the rationale for Latvian claims over the Curonian Spit, Memel, and other territories of East Prussia which would be later dropped.
Historical events related to lagoon
From January until March 1945 throughout the Evacuation of East Prussia, refugees from East Prussia crossed the frozen lagoon on their way to the west after the Red Army had reached the coast of the lagoon near Elbing on January 26. Attacked by Soviet aircraft, thousands of these refugees were killed or fell through the broken ice.
