Lake Strzeszyńskie in Poznań

Lake Strzeszyńskie, known to locals as Strzeszynek, is a glacial lake on the north-western edge of Poznań, about 10 km from the centre. It is ringed by woodland, has a municipal bathing beach in summer, and can be walked around on forest paths all year. The lake is also the source of the Bogdanka, the stream that forms the axis of Poznań's western green wedge.

The lake in numbers

Depending on the source, the water surface measures 32 to 34.9 ha. For a city lake Strzeszynek is deep: over 8 m on average and 17.8 m at its deepest point. The shoreline is 4.5 km long, and about 60% of the immediate catchment is forest. The city's tourism materials have described it as the cleanest lake in the area; its main fish is vendace, alongside eel, zander, pike and tench.

Crisis and recovery

In 2010 and 2011 the Złotnicki ditch, the lake's only inflow, carried in large amounts of nitrates and phosphates. Algal and cyanobacterial blooms, fish kills and oxygen depletion below 7 m followed, and in 2011 the bathing area hardly operated. Residents and local groups pushed for a quick response: the lake was restored in 2012, a wind-powered aerator was installed over the deepest point in 2013, and in 2018 a retention basin with a soil-and-plant filter was built on the Złotnicki ditch. More recently a floating macrophyte island planted with aquatic vegetation has also helped keep the water clean.

What to do at Strzeszynek

• Municipal bathing beach – a grass-and-sand beach for about 700 people, with lifeguards in season and regular sanitary checks. It is run by POSiR; in 2026 the bathing season opened on 20 June.
• Walk around the lake – 4.5 km of shoreline, much of it through deciduous woodland.
• Visual Park gallery – outdoor sculptures and installations, including Andrzej Bednarczyk's "Gulliver's Dream" (2014), viewed through a telescope from the opposite shore.
• Music – since 2011 Leszek Możdżer has hosted the Enter jazz festival here, and in summer POSiR runs free #NaFalach concerts.

Did you know?

The great fen-sedge grows on the north-western shore – its only site in Poznań. White water lilies bloom in the shallow bays, and the rare hornwort Ceratophyllum submersum has been recorded in the water.

Tripto tips

The shores and paths are free to visit all year. Lifeguards are on duty only during the bathing season, so do not swim outside it. A sports complex with accommodation and food outlets operates from Koszalińska Street. Allow 1.5–2 hours for a walk around the lake and longer for a beach day; for the summer concerts POSiR recommends public transport. By bike you can follow the green wedge along the Bogdanka from Lake Rusałka.