8 Magnificent Lakes in Poland’s Mazury
The stunning region of Mazury in north-east Poland is called the Land of a Thousand Lakes, but actually there are 2,600 of them. Many are sizeable and connected with one another, naturally or by canals, thanks to which the region offers explorers splendid sailing routes. Join us on a tour of some of the biggest and most amazing Mazurian lakes!
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View of Lake Śniardwy, photo: Łukasz Piecyk / Reporter / East News
We start off with the biggest lake in Poland, Śniardwy. This massive lake, located near the tourist resort of Mikołajki, has a surface area of approximately 113 square kilometres! Due to its impressive size, it’s sometimes called the Mazurian Sea. Indeed, the lake is so big that standing on its shore you may have trouble seeing the opposite bank, which can provoke maritime associations.
Just like a sea, Lake Śniardwy can be perilous to sailors. Powerful gushes of sudden wind, known as the white squall, occur here especially during sunny weather – if you don’t take appropriate measures in time (such as dropping your sails) your boat can even be capsized. Also during windy weather, huge waves reaching up to 1.5 metres in height can form on this lake.
The low banks of Lake Śniardwy are often rocky, muddy or covered with long stretches of reeds. Although the lake is popular with tourists you can still find quiet, remote places along its lengthy shorelines, which provide a great opportunity to peacefully get in touch with nature. One of the most beautiful spots on Śniardwy is said to be the quiet and wooded Kaczor Penninsula in the southern parts of the lake. The Mazurian Sea connects to a number of other lakes including Mikołajskie, Łuknajno and Roś.
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Still from the movie ‘Knife in the Water’ by Roman Polański, 1961, in the image: Jolanta Umecka, Leon Niemczyk, photo: Film / Forum archive
The second biggest lake in Poland, Mamry has a surface area of around 104 square kilometres and is actually a complex of six connected lakes: Northern Mamry, Kirsajty, Kisajno, Dargin, Święcajty and Dobskie. These lakes used to be separate entities but over the past 500 years Mamry’s water level rose by about 2 metres, resulting in the conjoining of the six neighbouring water bodies. The increase of the water level was caused by the gradual and natural raising of Mamry’s northern shore.
Lake Mamry lies near the town of Węgorzewo and is a popular destination for sailors. Its shores are home to beautiful woods and on its waters are over 30 islands. One of them, Upałty, has an area of 67 hectares, making it the biggest island in the Mazury region. Upałty has the status of a nature reserve and is covered with an over 200-year-old forest including oaks, beeches, poplars and lindens.
The picturesque scenery of Mamry’s Lake Kisajno (and Śniardwy as well) served as the filming location for Roman Polański’s Oscar-nominated drama Knife in the Water. This 1962 picture is set, for the most part, on a yacht sailing on Mazurian lake waters.
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Lake Niegocin near the village of Wilkasy, photo: Przemysław Skrzydło / AG
The third biggest lake in the region of Mazury is Niegocin. Plenty of people come here to sail on its 26 square kilometres, and not just in the summer – in the wintertime, when the lake is frozen, iceboating is a popular local activity. A number of tourism facilities like living quarters and yacht rentals can be found in the major tourist town of Giżycko located on the northern shore of Niegocin. A characteristic feature of this town is its old swing bridge dating back to the 19th century. The 100-tonne bridge leads over the Giżycko Canal which connects Niegocin and the aforementioned Lake Kisajno. Thanks to its special construction, the bridge is manually operated by a single person.
While Niegocin’s northern side has a connection to Kisajno, its southern parts are connected through a short canal with Lake Jagodne. From there, via a system of lakes and canals, you can travel all the way to Lake Śniardwy.
Niegocin is surrounded by fields, meadows and small woods; its pleasant shorelines are mostly flat, but some of them have little hillocks. It’s often listed as one of the most beautiful lakes in Mazury.
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The amphitheatre on Lake Czos in Mrągowo, photo: Wojciech Wojcik / Forum
Next up we have another lake with a major tourist town on its shores. Lake Czos is a modestly sized body of water – it has a surface area of 2.8 square kilometres – and its western and northern banks are basically parts of the town of Mrągowo. The steep eastern bank is covered with beautiful woods and dotted with numerous hotels. A characteristic element of Czos is the elongated peninsula in the centre of the lake where you can find the evocatively-named Mountain of Four Winds reaching up to 184 metres above sea level. This mountain even has ski lifts and in the wintertime you can enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience of skiing here, basically, in the middle of a lake!
But the unexpected skiing possibilities in Lake Czos aren’t the area’s most prominent feature. That title definitely belongs to the Piknik Country & Folk music festival which has been held in Mrągowo annually since 1983. This joyous event attracts tens of thousands of attendees and has seen performances by hundreds of Polish and foreign artists. The concerts take place at the turn of July and August in Mrągowo’s famed amphitheatre located picturesquely on Lake Czos.
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Lake Nidzkie, photo: Jan Wlodarczyk / Forum
While Lake Czos is associated with country and folk music, our next lake, Nidzkie, is often associated with the eminent Polish poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński (1905-1953). In the 1950s, he used to frequent the Pranie Forester’s Lodge on Lake Nidzkie’s western shore. The poet fell in love with the beautiful landscapes of the lake, which inspired him to create a number of works. Today the Pranie Forester’s Lodge houses a museum devoted to Gałczyński where you can find memorabilia, photographs, manuscripts and drawings linked to the esteemed author.
Indeed, Lake Nidzkie is considered one of the most slightly bodies of water in Mazury. With a surface area of approximately 18 square kilometres, it’s quite sizeable and most of its steep banks are covered by the dense greenery of the Piska Forest. Nidzkie is said to be the least human-transformed lake in Poland and is (partially) protected as a nature reserve. The use of engines is prohibited throughout most of the lake, thanks to which the area is quiet and peaceful.
Apart from Gałczyński, the beauty of Lake Nidzkie was also appreciated by other Polish artists. The quaint village of Krzyże located nearby the Pranie Forester’s Lodge used to attract the likes of the poet Agnieszka Osiecka, the actor Daniel Olbrychski, and the poet and satirist Wojciech Młynarski.
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Lake Łuknajno, a water-bird reserve, photo: Tomasz Waszczu / AG
Another Mazurian lake that’s protected as a nature reserve is Łuknajno. This body of water, located nearby the town of Mikołajki and connected to Lake Śniardwy by a canal, is safeguarded as an important natural area in its entirety. The lake’s biggest natural value lies in its role as a wildlife habitat – Łuknajno is considered one of Europe’s most important water-bird habitats.
Lake Łuknajno has a surface area of about 6.8 square kilometres and has a circular shape. It’s rather shallow with an average depth of 0.6 metres and its shores are difficult to access as they’re surrounded by a broad belt of reeds and damp meadows. Aside from flat and boggy areas near Łuknajno, you can also find little hillocks on the lake’s northern banks. All these conditions make this an ideal place for water birds.
Over 170 species of birds have been observed in the area of Lake Łuknajno and 95 of them nest here. Among the most important birds encountered in the lake are mute swans, red-crested pochards and the rare bearded reedlings that inhabit the reeds. In order to protect the local nature, the use of engines and even sailing are prohibited on Łuknajno.
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Cormorant Island on Lake Dobskie, photo: Przemysław Kozłowski / AG
Our next lake, Lake Dobskie, is also associated with birds, specifically cormorants. You can find the island Wysoki Ostrów here, an important nesting area for these animals. Wysoki Ostrów is often called simply Cormorant Island and has the status of a nature reserve – you’re not allowed to go onto it. The island is covered with trees but some are partially withered due to… the cormorants’ toxic droppings. These naturally damaged trees (and numerous cormorants) are a characteristic sight of Wysoki Ostrów.
Another well-known island on Lake Dobskie is Gilma, where the Baltic tribe of Galindians had a small settlement in the 13th century. After the settlement was destroyed, a small castle was built in its place by the Teutonic Order. The castle was later taken apart before a chapel was built on its spot in the 19th century. Today, the picturesque ruins of this chapel can still be found on the island.
As mentioned before, Lake Dobskie is part of Lake Mamry. Dobskie has a surface area of almost 18 square kilometres and its shores are mostly high and steep. It’s surrounded by woods, fields and meadows and has been declared an ‘area of quiet’ so engines should not be used here. Fortunately, sailing on this magnificent lake is allowed.
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Lake Gołdapiwo, photo: fot. Jan Wlodarczy / Forum
Another Mazurian lake that has the status of an ‘area of quiet’ and is therefore considered an engine-free zone is Gołdapiwo near the village of Kruklanki. Gołdapiwo is much less frequented than the more popular lakes of Mazury, thanks to which (as well as it’s aforementioned status) it is a rather peaceful area.
Gołdapiwo is a modestly sized lake at only 8.6 square kilometres. Most of its shores are high, hilly and covered with plant life; the northern bank is adjacent to woods. It’s worth adding that about 5 kilometres from the lake’s eastern shore lies Borecka Forest, a habitat for the majestic European Bison.
The small but slightly river Sapina flows through Gołdapiwo connecting it to a number of other nearby lakes: Sołtmany, Wilkus, Stręgiel and more. The calm Sapina is considered a great and safe route for kayakers. It leads through beautiful wooded areas but also lets you encounter intriguing man-made attractions such as the ruins of a 1908 railway bridge and the historical lock in Przerwanki, built in 1910.
That’s all the Mazurian lakes we have in store for you. Remember, if you’d ever like to spend time on a magnificent lake, Mazury is definitely the place to go!
Written by Marek Kępa, May 21