Lake Solina () is an

artificial lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

in the

Bieszczady Mountains Bieszczady Mountains (; ; ; ) is a mountain range that runs from the extreme south-east of Poland and north-east of Slovakia through to western Ukraine. It forms the western part of the Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern B ...

region, in

Lesko County __NOTOC__ Lesko County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the Slovakia, Slovak border. It was created in 2002 out of five gminas which previously made up ...

of the

Subcarpathian Voivodship Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional Assembly. The name deriv ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Created in 1968, it is Poland's largest artificial lake as well as a major tourist attraction of the region. The

Solina Dam The Solina Dam () is a concrete gravity dam in south-eastern Poland. It is the largest dam in the country. It is located in Solina, Poland, Solina of Lesko County in the Bieszczady Mountains area of Poland. With the completion of the dam in 1968, ...

constructed in order to create the lake is also Poland's tallest dam and is used to produce

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

History

The first hydropower project concerning

San River The San (; ''Sian''; ) is a river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. With a length of , the San is the 6th-longest Polish river. It has a basin area of 16,877 km2, of which 14,426 k ...

was designed in 1921 by Prof. Karol Pomianowski of the

Warsaw University of Technology The Warsaw University of Technology () is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors (including 145 titular professors). The student body ...

. The initial geological and hydrological works were conducted between 1936–1937; however, these plans were interrupted by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The project was revived in 1955 and a new plan for the development of the San Valley was devised under the supervision of engineer Bolesław Kozłowski. The first works began in 1960. Nine villages, including Solina, had to be either completely or partially submerged under water and their population had to be resettled. The lake was ultimately created in 1968 by the construction of the

on the

at the cost of PLN 1.5 billion. An estimated 2,000 workers were involved in the construction of the lake. In 1966, Polish film director, Henryk Kluba, directed the film ''Chudy i inni'', which tells the story of the lives of workers employed during the construction of the lake. It also deals with the various controversies surrounding the project including the resettlement of the inhabintants of the villages that was needed for the construction of the lake.

Description

Solina Lake is located in the

Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional As ...

30 km east of

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...

and covers an area of . It contains of water, making it Poland's largest artificial lake. The

on the lake is 664 meters long and 82 meters tall, making it Poland's tallest dam. An estimated 820,000 cubic meters of cement was used for the construction of the dam, which weighs 2 million tonnes. The lake has a very developed shoreline with numerous bays and its total length is estimated at around 150-166 km depending on the water level. The average depth of the lake is 25 meters, the deepest place being 60 meters. There are three islands located on the lake. Below the dam, a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power plant with the installed capacity of 200 MW is located. The lake is rich in fish and plenty of fish species can be found in it including

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

bream Bream (, ) are species of freshwater fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Ballerus'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', '' Lepomis'', '' Gymnocranius'', ...

roach Roach or The Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * Cal ...

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

and

zander The zander (''Sander lucioperca''), sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the Family (biology), family Percidae, which also includes perch, Gymnocephalus, ruffe and Darter (fish), darter. It is found in freshwater and brackis ...

Tourism

It is the best known tourist attraction of the region, with waterside villages like Solina, Myczkowce, and

Polańczyk Polańczyk is a village in Lesko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies in, and serves as the seat of, the administrative district of Gmina Solina. Polańczyk lies approximately south-west of Solina, south-east of L ...

catering to watersports enthusiasts such as sailers, winfsurfers and

kitesurfer Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

s. The lake's great depth,

water clarity Water clarity is a descriptive term for how deeply visible light penetrates through water. In addition to light penetration, the term water clarity is also often used to describe underwater visibility. Water clarity is one way that humans measure ...

, and mountainous scenery makes it a very popular destination. The lake is also known as the ''Bieszczady Sea''. Starting in the 1970s, the Wojewódzkie Przedsiębiorstwo Turystyczne (State Tourism Enterprise) "Bieszczady" purchased a number of vessels for the lake and established the lake's White Fleet. The fleet's main ships offer cruises on the lake. In 2022, a

cableway Cable transport is a broad class of transport modes that have cables. They transport passengers and goods, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive, and items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by driv ...

over the

was officially opened becoming a major tourist attraction of the region. It runs from Mount Plasza to Mount Jawor over the distance of 1.5 km long.

Gallery

File:Polańczyk Solina lake.jpg, Solina Lake seen from

. File:Solińskie Lake, dam view from NE, San river, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland.jpg, The dam view from NE. File:02017 0267 Polanczyk, Solina.jpg, Ferryboat on the lake. File:02020 0242 Marina in Polańczyk.jpg, Marina on the lake. File:02023 0718 Lake Solina.jpg, Cableway over the Solina Dam. File:Solina Lake aerial 6.jpg, Aerial view. File:Wolkowyja.jpg, View of the lake from Wolkowyja. File:Lake Solina in Polańczyk.jpg, Solina Lake seen from the distance.

References

External links