Lake Rożnów

This winding, S-shaped reservoir cuts into the Rożnów Foothills with fjord-like bays and peninsulas. Lake Rożnów exists because the Dunajec river kept flooding valleys all the way down to the Vistula, and the dam at Rożnów was built to stop it. Today it is one of the main sailing waters in the Małopolska region, with beaches at Gródek nad Dunajcem, a yacht harbour at Znamirowice and the ruins of Zawisza the Black's castle above the water.

History: from floods to hydropower

Plans to tame the Dunajec date back to the end of the First World War, and the first dam design was drawn up by Professor Karol Pomianowski. The project was shelved during the economic crisis until the disastrous flood of 18 July 1934 settled the matter. Construction began in June 1935 and was completed in 1941, by then under German occupation. There is a dark chapter too: between 1939 and 1942 the dam was built partly by prisoners of the Rożnów labour camp, most of them Jews from the Nowy Sącz ghetto. Filling began in the second half of 1941, and the lake reached full level in 1943.

The concrete dam is 550 m long and 32.5 m high. Built into its centre is a power station with four turbines and an available capacity of 56 MW, producing about 125 million kWh a year. Fish ladders in the eastern part of the dam let fish migrate upstream to spawn.

The lake in numbers

• Area about 1,600 ha, total capacity 167 million m³.
• Length 18–22 km depending on the water level, usually about 1 km wide, 2 km in places.
• Depth by the dam about 30 m; the southern part is shallow and silted.
• The Dunajec and its streams carry around 1.6 million m³ of sediment into the reservoir every year.

The reservoir lies about 12 km north of Nowy Sącz, between Kurów and Rożnów. The most scenic stretches are in the north: the basin below the castle and the "horned" basin with bays reaching into side valleys.

What to see by the water

• Gródek nad Dunajcem – the most popular resort, with bathing areas, campsites and marinas; tour boats leave from here.
• Znamirowice – home of the PTTK "Beskid" Yacht Club, the main base for racing sailors on the lake, with boat hire and courses.
• Grodzisko Island, nicknamed Monkey Island – a bird reserve where landing is forbidden. Around 165 bird species nest in the lake area, including the black stork.
• Rożnów Castle ruins – in 1426 the famous knight Zawisza the Black of Garbów bought half of the stronghold. Lower down stands a Renaissance bastion built in the 16th century by Jan Tarnowski.

Interesting facts

Znamirowice has Stach's Bridge, a stone structure 13 m high and 20 m long that local farmer Jan Stach built single-handedly in 1968–1971 after a neighbour banned him from using his road. The current landowners restrict access with no-entry signs. The Rożnów dam mattered far beyond the valley: in 1942 a 150 kV line was opened that carried Dunajec power all the way to the Warsaw area.

Tripto tip

For swimming, head to Gródek nad Dunajcem or Bartkowa-Posadowa, where the shore slopes gently into the water. The best view of the lake's outline and the dam is around Rożnów, where a walk through the castle ruins pairs well with a look at the dam. Boat schedules and parking fees change every season, so check with the operators before you go. Set aside a full day for a drive around the lake with several stops.