Domaša is a

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, aqua ...

along the Ondava River, situated in the mountains surrounding The

Low Beskids The Low Beskids () or Central Beskids (; ; ) are a mountain range in southeastern Poland and northeastern Slovakia. They constitute a middle (central) section of the Beskids, within the Outer Eastern Carpathians. Since there are several tradit ...

, in the north of the town

Vranov nad Topľou Vranov nad Topľou (Slovak language, Slovak before 1927 and from 1944–1969: ''Vranov''; / ''Vronau an der Töpl'' (rare); ; ) is a town of approximately 20,500 inhabitants in eastern Slovakia, situated near Košice and Prešov, and between ...

, in Eastern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Geography and history

The Domaša Dam Lake was built by blocking the Ondava river at the village of Veľká Domaša. The villages of Dobrá nad Ondavou, Trepec, Kelča, Valkov, and Petejovce and their environs were flooded. The construction began in 1962 and was completed in 1967. The lake’s water surface, which is long, wide and between deep, covers an area of . Domaša is spread over the area of the districts of

and

Stropkov Stropkov (; , , , ) is a town in Stropkov District, Prešov Region, Slovakia. History The first written data about the town is from 1404, when Stropkov was already labeled as an ''oppidum'' (a townlet). The first owner of the town after the king ...

at the average altitude of . With an agreeable climate and an average temperature of it guarantees pleasant swimming in clean water from June to mid-September.

Biology and ecology

The lake created by the dam is one of the few remnants of a belt of

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

that formerly stretched from the Tisa-Danube confluence to the

Vihorlat Mountains Vihorlat Mountains (; , ''Vyhorliat,'' Hungarian: Vihorlát) or colloquially Vihorlat is a volcanic mountain range in eastern Slovakia and western Ukraine. A part of the range is listed as a World Heritage Site. Etymology The name is of Sla ...

. The banks abound in a variety of water fowl, such as

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...

plover Plovers ( , ) are members of a widely distributed group of wader, wading birds of subfamily Charadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily, though only about half of them include it in their name. Species lis ...

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

and

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

. Representatives of some bird predators can also be spotted here.

Fishing

Fishermen can delight in calm places with rich occurrence of fish like

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

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 ...

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

silver salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often sold as medium re ...

barbell A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, consisting of a long bar, usually with weights attached at each end. Barbells range in length ...

. Rich fishing is available also in a neighbouring lake near the villages of

Malá Domaša Malá Domaša () is a village and municipality in Vranov nad Topľou District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1317. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 14 ...

and Slovenská Kajňa.

Tourism

The lake, surrounded by rolling hills, offers wide possibilities of recreation and water sports. The right bank of the lake is covered by forests, and on the opposite side woods alternate with meadows. The area is highly suitable for mushroom-pickers, hunters and lovers of long hikes in the country. There are five holiday destinations: Dobrá,

Poľany Poľany () is a village and municipality in the Trebišov District in the Košice Region of south-eastern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1214. Geography The village lies at an altitude of 103 metres a ...

Holčíkovce Holčíkovce (, until 1899: ) is a village and municipality in Vranov nad Topľou District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia. In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1408. The municipality lies at an altitude of 165 met ...

Nová Kelča Nová Kelča () is a village and municipality in Vranov nad Topľou District in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1404. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 180 ...

and

Valkov Valkov (, ) is a Slavic masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Valkova or Válková. Notable people with the surname include: *Aleksandr Valkov (born 1986), Russian football player * Diyan Valkov (born 1993), Bulgarian football player * Ga ...

. Its western bank is accessible from

Prešov Prešov () is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region () and Šariš. With a population of approximately 85,000 for the city, and in total more than 100,000 with the urban area, it is the second-largest city i ...

through

Hanušovce nad Topľou Hanušovce nad Topľou () is a town in the Vranov nad Topľou District, Prešov Region in eastern Slovakia, near the Topľa river. History The first written record about the town was in 1332 under name ''Hanusa''. Geography Hanušovce nad Topľ ...

by a long road leading through beech forests of the

and ending in the Dobrá recreation centre.

Infrastructure

Along the lake's eastern bank runs the main road from Vranov nad Topľou through Stropkov to

Dukla Dukla is a town and an eponymous municipality in southeastern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 2,017. The total area of the commune is . Dukla belongs to Lesser Poland, and until the Pa ...

, a Slovak – Polish border crossing. The same road offers access to the Poľany, Holčíkovce and Nová Kelča recreation centres. From the towns of

Giraltovce Giraltovce (, ) is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia. History The town was first mentioned in 1383 as ''Giralth''. It was named after a man called Geralth who was first hereditary scultetus (a locator serving a noble in founding a ...

, Stropkov and

Svidník Svidník (, , , ) is a town in eastern Slovakia, the capital of the Svidník District in the Prešov Region. It has a population of around 11,000. There is a monumental Soviet Army Memorial in the city, in memory of Battle of the Dukla Pass. Geog ...

there is another access route to the two recreation centres on the western bank of the lake, Bžany and Valkov. Each centre provides a network of shopping services, public toilets, drinking water supply, sports equipment rentals and parking lots.

Gallery

Image:Veľká Domaša 1.JPG Image:Veľká Domaša 3.jpg Image:Veľká Domaša 2.jpg

References

External links

Veľká Domaša
a
Slovakia Tourism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velka Domasa Dams in Slovakia