Myśliborskie Lake is a large lake in western

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 ...

, located in

West Pomeranian Voivodeship West Pomeranian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals , and in 2021, it was inhabited by 1,682,003 people. It was established on 1 Janua ...

, in

Myślibórz County __NOTOC__ Myślibórz County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (a voivodeship, or province that is found in northwestern Poland along the German border). It came into being ...

, in

Gmina Myślibórz __NOTOC__ Gmina Myślibórz is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Myślibórz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. Its seat is the town of Myślibórz, which lies approximately south of the regional capital ...

, within the administrative boundaries of the town of

Myślibórz Myślibórz (; ) is a town in northwestern Poland, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the capital of the Myślibórz County, with a population of 11,867. It is home to the first monastery of the Congregation of Sisters of Merciful Jesus and a ...

Location and description

Myśliborskie Lake lies in the central part of

within the , where it is the largest body of water. The town of

extends along its southern shore. The surrounding area consists mainly of meadows and agricultural fields, with a belt of trees and shrubs directly bordering the lake. The lake's outflow is the river, which carries water southward. Several small streams feed the lake, including Kruszwin Canal from the west, Będziński Canal and Czółnów Canal from the east, and Głęboki Canal from the north. A small island is located in the southern part of the lake. The lake is suitable for sailing and water tourism. It hosts international regattas, such as the Leonid Teliga Regatta and the Blue Ribbon Regatta of Myśliborskie Lake. In addition to Myślibórz, several villages are situated around the lake, including Czółnów, Dąbrowa, Kruszwin, and Utonie.

Hydronymy

The lake is first mentioned in sources from 1780 as ''Soldinsche See'', followed by ''Soldiner See'' (1833), ''Soldyńskie'' (1883), ''Myśliborskie Jezioro'' (1951), and ''J. Myśliborze'' (1964). The current official name, ''Myśliborskie Jezioro'', was established on 4 April 1950.

Morphometry

According to the , the lake's surface area is 617.7 hectares. However, A. Choiński, using planimetric measurements on 1:50,000 maps, estimated the area at 595 hectares. The lake's uniform water body has an area of 637 hectares. The average depth is 8.4 meters, with a maximum depth of 22.3 meters. The lake's volume is 51,943.4 thousand cubic meters. Its maximum length is 6,500 meters, and its width is 1,600 meters. The shoreline length is 21 kilometers. According to ''Atlas jezior Polski'' (ed. J. Jańczak, 1996), the water surface is at 58 meters above sea level, while the digital terrain model from

Geoportal A geoportal is a type of web portal used to find and access geographic information (geospatial information) and associated geographic services (display, editing, analysis, etc.) via the Internet. Geoportals are important for effective use of geogra ...

indicates 58.2 meters. The lake lies within the sixth-level catchment area of the "Direct Catchment of Myśliborskie Lake" according to the Hydrographic Division Map of Poland. Its identifier is 191259.

Management

In the water management system, the lake forms a uniform water body with the code PLLW10946. The Regional Water Management Authority in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

administers the lake's waters. It has established a fishing circuit that includes the waters of Myśliborskie Lake, Czółnów Lake, , , and Wierzbnickie Lake (Myśliborskie Lake Fishing Circuit on the Myśla River – No. 5). Fishery management is conducted by Grzegorz Siwek Agricultural and Fishery Farm. Between 2010 and 2019, commercial fishing primarily yielded

common bream The common bream (''Abramis brama''), also known as the freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream, carp bream or sweaty bream, is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Leuciscidae. It is now considered to be the monotypic, only speci ...

, followed by

common roach The roach, or rutilus roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), also known as the common roach, is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the family Cyprinidae, native to most of Europe and western Asia. Fish called roach can be any species of the genera ''Rut ...

and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

. The lake also serves recreational purposes. Two bathing sites compliant with the Bathing Water Directive are designated: "Cienista Street Bathing Site in Myślibórz" and "Szarych Szeregów Street Bathing Site in Myślibórz". In 2023, the water quality at bathing sites was rated excellent at both locations.

Water quality and environmental protection

Until the late 1980s, the lake received significant urban pollution, leading to beach closures in 1983 and 1984 due to bacterial contamination. By the late 1980s, wastewater management improved with the construction of a municipal sewage treatment plant. However, in the early 1990s, the use of liquid manure from surrounding farms for agricultural fertilization remained a concern. In 1993, the lake's waters were classified as Class II water quality, with moderate nitrogen and phosphorus levels. Summer chlorophyll concentrations indicated increased

primary production In ecology, primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds from atmospheric or aqueous carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through ...

, and water transparency was approximately 2 meters. In 2014, the lake's waters were assessed as having a moderate ecological status, corresponding to Class III quality. The classification was based on the condition of

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), mea ...

and

macrophytes Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). In lakes, rivers and wetlands, aquatic vegetations provide cover for aquat ...

, while phytobenthos was rated as good. The chemical status of waters was deemed good, with no exceedances of tested parameters. In 2021, tests on fish tissues revealed exceedances of

PBDE Polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, are a class of organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardants. Like other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronic ...

and mercury levels among priority substances in water policy. The fish population, assessed over a decade of fishing, was in good condition. The lake is part of the

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

named ''B (Myślibórz)''. The northern shore borders areas designated as

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

special protection habitats, part of the ''Myślibórz Lake Land''

special area of conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

References

{{Reflist Lakes of Poland Myślibórz County West Pomeranian Voivodeship