Żuławy Wiślane (plural from "żuława", meaning fen), in English known as the Vistula Fens, is the alluvial delta area of the river Vistula, in the northern part of Poland. It is a flat and deforested region comprising wetlands and agricultural plains that cover approximately 1,700 squared kilometres, with much of the land being situated below sea level. Poland's lowest point (1.8 metres below sea level) is located at Raczki Elbląskie in the Żuławy region. The area was largely reclaimed artificially by means of dykes, pumps, channels and an extensive drainage system. Its shape is similar to a reversed triangle formed by branching of Vistula into two separate rivers, Leniwka and Nogat at its height, confined by rivers themselves, and closed by the Vistula Lagoon at its base. Żuławy Wiślane extend from Poland's Pomerania Province in the west to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in the east, roughly between the cities of Elbląg, Malbork, Tczew and Gdańsk. The two largest towns which belong to the region are Nowy Dwór Gdański and Nowy Staw. Żuławy are also categorised as an ethnographic region, historically settled by immigrant Mennonites from Germany and the Netherlands (Friesland) who became collectively known as Hollanders, or Olęders in Polish. Much of the local architecture and other cultural aspects have been shaped by those communities. Etymology There is no definite statement for the origin of the name "Żuławy". The term is believed to be derived from the word "solov" in the now-extinct Prussian language, or from Polish noun "żuł" for mud. History Prehistory and initial settlement The first traces of settlements reach back to the period between 2,500 and 1,700 BC, being proved by excavation sites from Niedźwiedziówka, Lubieszewo, Ostaszewo, Kaczynos, Kończewice, Krasnołęka, Lasowice Wielkie or Lichnowy. They appear to have been of impermanent form as they served presumably for fishery and amber acquirement. The range and density of settlements had not changed in a course of the next centuries until around the ninth century, when emergence of the Baltic tribe Estowie boosted occupation of Żuławy Wiślane. One, the best known is Truso, a large fishery-trading center in present Janów Pomorski near Elbląg. Before the thirteenth century population was generally restricted to morainic heights around the delta, in the surroundings of Gdańsk, Miłobądzu, Gorzędzieju, Lichnowach and Węgrach (the Slavic people), and alongside lake Drużno and Wysoczyźnie Elbląskiej (for Old Prussians). Expansion In the 13th century by contrast, the local population experienced