Lake Solina

Whole villages lie beneath the surface of Lake Solina — the historic village of Solina, Teleśnica Sanna, Horodek, Sokole, Chrewt and much of Wołkowyja disappeared under water when the reservoir began to fill in 1968. Today it is Poland's largest artificial lake by volume (472 million m³), squeezed between the forested ranges of the Bieszczady Mountains, with 166 km of shoreline, fjord-like bays and a dam that has been the highest in the country for more than half a century.

History: a dam first planned in 1921

The first plan to harness the San river for power was drawn up as early as 1921 by Professor Karol Pomianowski of Warsaw University of Technology. Geological surveys of the valley were carried out only in 1936–1937, and the war halted further work. A new plan was prepared in 1955, and the dam was sited at a narrowing of the valley just below the point where the Solinka flows into the San.

Construction began in 1960 and took almost nine years, employing more than 2,000 people. The first turbine was started on 9 March 1968, and on 20 July 1968 the dam went into service — two days before the communist-era national holiday of 22 July. The chief designer of the complex was the engineer Feliks Niczkie.

The dam and the lake in numbers

• The dam is 81.8 m high and 664 m long — the highest dam in Poland.
• The reservoir covers about 22 km², and its greatest depth, at the dam, is 60 m.
• The hydroelectric plant below the dam has an output of 200 MW.
• Each year around 200,000 m³ of rock from the eroding banks slides into the lake, slowly filling it in.

What to do at the lake

The essential walk is along the crest of the dam — the lake on one side, the San valley dozens of metres below on the other. From the crest you can easily spot big carp that come to be fed by visitors. In season, tour boats sail the lake, and since 2022 a gondola lift has run above the dam from Plasza to Mount Jawor — the line is 1,580 m long with a 100 m rise, and there is an observation tower on the slope of Jawor.

The whole lake is a quiet zone: combustion engines are banned (except for the police and the water rescue service), so sails, paddles and windsurfers rule. It is not easy water, though — the many bays and high banks make the wind changeable and unpredictable. Anglers fish here for zander, perch, pike and catfish.

Tripto tip

Swim only at designated beaches — elsewhere the banks are hard to reach and there are hidden obstacles under the water. Most accommodation and marinas are in the spa village of Polańczyk on the west shore and in Solina by the dam. In peak summer the dam area gets very crowded, so walk the crest early in the morning or come out of season — September and October bring quiet, empty trails and autumn colours over the water. Allow half a day for the dam, the gondola and a short boat trip.