Żywiec Lake (Polish: ''Jezioro Żywieckie'') is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
on the
Soła river in southern Poland, near the town of
Żywiec
Żywiec () (german: Saybusch) is a town in southern Poland with 31,194 inhabitants (2019). Between 1975 and 1998, it was located within the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship, but has since become part of the Silesian Voivodeship.It is the capital of Ż ...
. It was created in 1966, when several villages in the area, such as Zarzecze, Tresna, Zadziel and Old Żywiec were flooded following the construction of a dam. The lake has the area of around 10 square kilometres, and the earth-filled dam is 39 metres high and 310 metres long. The maximum depth of the lake is , and the average depth is . Near the dam there is a hydro-electric power plant with the capacity of . Żywiec Lake is used mostly for tourist purposes, to regulate the flow of water, and to protect the area from flooding.
On November 15, 1978, at 5 a.m., two
Autosan
Autosan Sp. z o.o. is a Polish bus and coach manufacturer. The company is located in Sanok, Poland.
Its sales network includes European (also non-EU countries), African and Asian countries.
Currently it produces approximately 300 buses a ...
PKS buses, in a 15-minute interval, skidded while driving along the lake, and fell into icy water. The buses were carrying coal miners to work at
Brzeszcze coal mine. Thirty people died, and nine survived. This tragedy is commemorated by a plaque near the bridge.
Sources
gmina Łodygowice located at the lake (official website)
Tourist information of Beskidy
Lakes of Poland
Reservoirs in Poland
Żywiec County
Lakes of Silesian Voivodeship
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