Lake Biskupin

Without this lake there would be no Biskupin. The water first allowed a fortified settlement to be built on a marshy island, then for centuries covered its wooden remains, and in 1933 – when the level dropped – it revealed timber posts that led archaeologists to a site now even compared with Pompeii. Today Lake Biskupin is a quiet, reed-fringed lake in the Pałuki region, best seen from the deck of the museum's boat.

The lake in numbers

The lake lies in the Żnin-Mogilno Lakeland, in the Żnin municipality; its southern, eastern and western shores form the boundary with the Gąsawa municipality. It connects directly with Lake Skrzynka. The average depth is 5.5 m and the maximum 13.7 m. Sources give widely differing areas, from 107 ha through 116.6 ha to 166.6 ha.

History: an island that became a peninsula

The settlement was built on an island of about 2 ha, rising only 0.8–1.2 m above the water. Tree-ring analysis showed that half of the oaks used were felled in 748 BC. Behind a 640-metre rampart stood about 106 houses along eleven timber-paved streets, home to perhaps 800–1,000 people. On the lake side, a breakwater of slanting posts protected the settlement. Around the 6th century BC it was abandoned – one reason being the rising water level of the lake.

In 1933 drainage works lowered the water and wooden beams emerged from the lake. Children from the village school told their teacher, Walenty Szwajcer, who alerted Professor Józef Kostrzewski in Poznań. Excavations began on 22 June 1934. The former island is now a peninsula with reconstructions of the settlement.

Interesting facts

• During the pre-war excavations, photographs of the site were taken with a camera lifted by a hydrogen balloon – a first in Poland.
• The lake still protects the site: the long-term conservation programme includes keeping the water level high, which stops the original timber from decaying.
• In 1994 the settlement was declared a Monument of History, Poland's top heritage designation.

Boat trip on the "Diabeł Wenecki"

The Archaeological Museum in Biskupin runs trips on the lake aboard the "Diabeł Wenecki" ("Devil of Wenecja"). The cruise lasts about 25 minutes; the guide talks about the excavations and what the settlement looked like, and from the water you see the site from a completely different angle. In 2026 the boat sailed from 14 April to 30 September, Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00–17:00; tickets cost PLN 21, and trips ran with at least 5 passengers. The landing stage is at the neck of the peninsula. There is no toilet on board.

Tripto tip

• The best views of the lake are from inside the museum grounds (Biskupin 3). In October the museum is open 9:00–17:00, from November to March 9:00–16:00; a standard ticket costs PLN 28, reduced PLN 19.
• Parking at the museum is free. There is no cash machine in Biskupin, and dogs are allowed in the grounds on a lead and muzzled.
• Getting there: the museum is about 5 km from the S5 expressway; buses run from Żnin and Gąsawa, and in the tourist season a narrow-gauge railway runs Żnin – Wenecja – Biskupin – Gąsawa, stopping right by the museum.
• Time: the cruise takes half an hour, but allow 2–3 hours with the open-air site.