Lake Narach ( be, На́рач, ''Narač'' ; russian: На́рочь, ''Naročj''; lt, Narutis, pl, Narocz) is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in north-western

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

(

Myadzyel District Myadzel District ( be, Мядзельскі раён, ''Miadzielski rajon'') is a second-level administrative subdivision (raion) of the Minsk Region, Belarus. Its capital is the town of Myadzyel. Four of the main lakes of Belarus are situated in ...

Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk ...

), located in the basin of the Viliya river. It is the largest lake in Belarus (in 1921–39 it was the largest lake of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

). Narach is a part of the Narach lake group (the others being Miastra ( be, Мястра), Batoryn ( be, Баторын), Blednaje ( be, Бледнае). It was formed about 11 thousand years ago after the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

ice ages. It has a surface area of 79.6 km², a wider length of 12.8 km, a maximum depth of 24.8 m, average depth of 8.9 m, a volume of 710 million cubic meters. The lake is surrounded with pine forests. The Narach River flows out of it. Narach is an abode of 22 genera of fish, as the

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

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 ...

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. It is also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout. The species is closel ...

, etc. The shore and islets are nested by different birds, as the mute swan,

fish hawk Fish Hawk may refer to: * Fish hawk, an alternative name for the osprey * ''Fish Hawk (film) ''Fish Hawk'' is a 1979 Canadian drama film directed by Donald Shebib. The screenplay was written by Blanche Hanalis, based on the novel ''Old Fish Hawk' ...

, tarrock, dabchick.

History

People settled near the lake about 10 thousand years ago. Linguists think that its name is probably from the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

root *''nar''- often found in names of bodies of water (e.g., the

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

and

Neris The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman), at Kaunas, as ...

rivers).E.M. Pospelov, ''Geograficheskie nazvaniya mira'' (Moscow: Russkie slovari, 1998), p. 283. Archaeologists have excavated many burial mounds of the Baltic and Slavic people that lived around Narach. Since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the local inhabitants have lived mainly by fishing and farming. In the 19th century, the most profitable work was fishing of crayfish. In the 20th century, the

became the main marketable fish. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the surrounding area was a focal point of the

Lake Naroch Offensive The Lake Naroch offensive in 1916 was an unsuccessful Russian offensive on the Eastern Front in World War I. It was launched at the request of Marshal Joseph Joffre and intended to relieve the German pressure on French forces. Due to lack of reco ...

(March–April 1916), an inconclusive offensive operation mounted by forces of the Imperial Russian Army against the German army. In 1919, German composer

Siegfried Wagner Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner (6 June 18694 August 1930) was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930. Life Siegfried Wagner ...

set to music a poem by Günther Holstein (1892-1931) about a military battle, called ''Nacht am Narocz'' (Night at lake Narach). In the 1930s, the fishers of Narach rose against Polish authorities defending their right to exploit the lake. Since the 1950s, the lake has become a popular resort and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

site, located in the resort town of Narach. A

Young Pioneer camp Young Pioneer camp (russian: Пионерский лагерь) was the name for the vacation or summer camp of Young Pioneers. In the 20th century these camps existed in many socialist countries, particularly in the Soviet Union. The You ...

of national importance '' Zubryonok'' was located near the lake. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the camp was reformed into the National Children's Recreational Camp " Zubrania", which is now the most important children's recreational camp in Belarus. In 1999, the

government of Belarus The Government of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Урад Рэспублікі Беларусь), which consists of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus (), is the executive branch of state power in Belarus, and is appointed by the ...

created the Narachanski National Park.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Narach Geography of Minsk Region Myadzyel District

History

See also

References

External links