Rusałka, until 1945 known as Westendsee (''West End Lake''), is a dam lake 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 ...

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 northern part of

Jan Kasprowicz Park The Jan Kasprowicz Park, also known as the Kasprowicz Park, and until 1945 known as Quistorp Park, is the biggest urban park in Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivo ...

. It's only

inflow Inflow may refer to: * Inflow (hydrology), the water entering a body of water * Inflow (meteorology) Inflow is the flow of a fluid into a large collection of that fluid. Within meteorology, inflow normally refers to the influx of warmth and mo ...

and discharge is Osówka stream. Its area is 0.03 km², it is 0.67 km long and 0.07 km wide.

History

Rusałka was formed druign the Middle Ages when the Osówka stream present in the area was dammed during the construction of nearby

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

s, one called Malzmühle the east and one, known as Lübsche Mühle, on the west side of the modern lake. The modern shape of the lake was formed in 1885 after the waters of Osówka were dammed again.Zakład Usług Komunalnych, Szczecin
/ref> The inhabitants of

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

(now Szczecin,

) could sail on the lake with rented boats and visit Haus am Westendsee

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

, that operated at the prior site of the Malzmühle gristmill. In the beginning of 1960s building got demolished and its foundations were buried. In 2008 a local catering company bought the location, with the intention of building a new coffeehouse on the foundations of Haus am Westendsee however the plans were canceled and the location was sold in 2009. In 1974–1976 the Summer Theatre was built next to the lake.

Characteristics

Rusałka has a single island known as the Łabędzia Island (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Łabędzia Wyspa'', translation: ''swan island'') located on the west side of it. The lake has two bridges, one built in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

style located at the middle of the lake and the second one on its east side being an extension of Jan Żupański Street. Along its northern coast runs Julisz Słowacki Street. There is one fountain adjacent to the lake.

References

Bibliography

GUGiK: ''Nazewnictwo geograficzne Polski. Tom 1. Hydronimy. Część 2. Wykaz nazw wód stojących'', page 299
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325061626/http://ksng.gugik.gov.pl/pliki/hydronimy2.pdf , date=2019-03-25 . * ''Województwo zachodniopomorskie – atrakcyjne szlaki turystyczne. Mały przewodnik krajoznawczy'' by A. Adamczak, Szczecin, 2000/2002. * ''Encyklopedia Szczecina'' by Tadeusz Białecki, Szczecin, 1999. * ''Westendsee, Weinberg, Buchheide... Parki i zielone kawiarenki dawnego Szczecina'' by W. Łopuch, PUBLISHER'S, Szczecin, 2002. * ''Zieleń Szczecina – ilustrowany przewodnik dendrologiczny'' by Aleksandra Stachak and others, Szczecin 2000. Rusalka (Szczecin) Rusalka (Szczecin) Rusalka (Szczecin) Rusalka (Szczecin) Rusalka (Szczecin)