Before Slavs settled along its banks, the Oder was an important trade route, and towns in Germania were documented along with many tribes living between the rivers Albis (Elbe), Oder, and Vistula.
Oder River, river of east-central Europe. It is one of the most significant rivers in the catchment basin of the Baltic Sea, second only to the Vistula in discharge and length. For the first 70 miles (112 kilometres) from its source, it passes through the Czech Republic.