Lake Rożnow () 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 ...

, built in 1935–1941. It is located in southernmost part of

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 ...

(

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

). The lake was built in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

to regulate the

Dunajec The Dunajec (; Goral dialects: ''Dónajec''; ) is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at ...

river flowing through the foothills of Beskid Mountains; and also, to provide electricity for the Rożnow Power Plant (''Elektrownia Rożnow'') built into the dam. The lake took two years to fill which took place during World War II, from mid 1941 until 1943. It was named after the village of Rożnow.

History

Lake Rożnow was created not long before the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, after a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

had been built on the 80th kilometre distance of the Dunajec river. It lies among the hills of the

Island Beskids The Island Beskids (in Polish language, Polish, ''Beskid Wyspowy'') is a mountain range in southern Poland, part of the Western Beskids of the Outer Western Carpathians, with significant natural resources, folk culture, medieval history, and dev ...

, in Nowy Sącz County, some 12 kilometers north of

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...

. The valley of the Dunajec narrows here, turning into a

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

. The lake has the shape of an irregular letter S, with length ranging from 18 to 20 kilometres, and width of 1 app. kilometre (in few spots, it widens to no more than 2 kilometres). The depth of the reservoir reaches up to 30 metres near the dam. The total area of Rożnow Lake ranges from 16 to 20 square kilometres. The

shoreline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

is marked by numerous peninsulas and bays, located at the mouths of several smaller rivers, which flow into the Dunajec. The lake is surrounded by forested hills, and its picturesque location makes it a very popular tourist center. Several tourist villagers are located along Lake Rożnow: Tegoborze, Znamirowice, Zbyszyce, Bartkowa, Grodek nad Dunajcem, Tabaszowa, Rożnow. Lake Rożnow has a small island, called Malpia Wyspa (Monkey Island). It used to be a hill with an ancient gord, which was turned into an island in 1942, after the Dunajec valley had been flooded. Currently, Monkey Island serves as a bird reserve, with as many 165 bird species living here. The idea of construction of a dam on the Dunajec river in Rożnow was born after the disastrous 1934 flood in Poland. Due to lack of funds, the project was postponed until 1937, when first land purchases were made. The dam was built by a Polish-French company, which constructed a special settlement for the workers and engineers (the so-called French Colony), together with narrow gauge rail line to a stone quarry at Marcinkowice. Construction was interrupted after the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, but as early as November 1939, German authorities of the

General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...

decided to continue it, using Polish plans. The dam together with the power plant was completed in 1942. It is built from concrete, with the height of 44 meters, and the length of 550 meters.

References

History and description of Lake Roznow

External links

Lake Roznow Tourist Service

Association of Lake Roznow Communes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Roznow Roznow Nowy Sącz County Roznow