Lake Malta, known also as the Maltański Reservoir,Gołdyn R., Kozak A., Kostka K. 1994. Causes of changes in the water quality of the restored Maltański Reservoir in Poznań. In: Gołdyn R. (ed.) Protection of the water of the catchment area of the river Cybina. Poznań: Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk (PTPN), pp. 33-58. is an artificial

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 ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

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 ...

. It was formed in 1952 as a result of the

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 ...

ming of the Cybina River. It is about 2.2 km long (with the circuit of 5,6 km), which makes the lake the biggest man-made lake of the city. The water is 3.1 m deep on average with a maximum about 5 m. There are a number of recreational attractions along the edge of the lake including: *an artificial

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

slope, *an artificial

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

, *a zoological garden, * Kolejka Parkowa Maltanka - a narrow gauge railway, *the

Mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher ...

of Freedom, *seasonal bikes rental - MaltaBike The lake also has one of the oldest man-made

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

venues in Europe - ''The Malta Regatta Course''. This dates back to 1952 and has held a number of

Rowing World Cup The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each ev ...

events. It also hosted the

ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). The World Cham ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

and 2001, and did so again in 2010. The lake also gives its name to the Malta theatre festival, held in Poznań annually in June, with some of the shows taking place next to the lake. The name of the lake comes from the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

also known as ''Knights of Malta''. The lake was built on land owned by

Church of St. John of Jerusalem Outside the Walls The Church of Saint John of Jerusalem outside the walls ( pl, Kościół św. Jana Jerozolimskiego za murami) is a Roman Catholic parish church in the city of Poznań in western Poland. The original church on this site was built at the end of th ...

, given to the order in 1187 by duke

Mieszko III the Old Mieszko III the Old (c. 1126/27 – 13 March 1202), of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesła ...

. Because of the importance of the lake for the city of Poznań, various methods to improve its water quality have been investigated.Gołdyn R. (ed.) Protection of the water of the catchment area of the river Cybina. Poznań: Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk (PTPN). File:Kopiec Wolności i Malta-Ski Poznań RB1.JPG, The Mound of Freedom and artificial ski slope "Malta-ski" File:Dno Malty.jpg, The bottom of the lake during winter 2004/2005. The Cybina river is visible.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malta Tourist attractions in Poznań Rowing venues Lakes of Greater Poland Voivodeship Parks in Poland Reservoirs in Poland