Jezioro Pławno Nature Reserve

The Jezioro Pławno Nature Reserve protects two small forest lakes in the western part of Puszcza Zielonka forest north-east of Poznań – Pławno and Kociołek – together with the bogs and patches of woodland around them. There is no beach and no viewing tower. Instead you get silence, a belt of reeds and plants that are rare in Greater Poland, including carnivorous bladderworts.

History and what is protected

The reserve was created by an order of the Minister of Forestry dated 11 October 1978; it covers 16.71 ha in Murowana Goślina municipality. Lake Pławno itself is about 10 ha. The aim is to protect the landscape of both lakes and their rare aquatic and peat-bog vegetation, above all:

• greater spearwort – a large buttercup of reed beds,
• great fen-sedge (Cladium mariscus) – a tall, rare plant that forms its own type of reed bed,
• shining pondweed (Potamogeton rutilus) – a rare aquatic plant.

The reserve lies within Puszcza Zielonka Landscape Park and the Natura 2000 site "Uroczyska Puszczy Zielonki". Describing its lake reserves – Pławno and nearby Lake Czarne – the park also mentions stonewort meadows, carnivorous bladderworts (three species), round-leaved sundew and the marsh helleborine orchid.

A name with history

The nearby village of Kamińsko was founded in the 18th century by Dutch-law settlers (the so-called olędrzy) and was once called Kamińskie Olędry or Pławińskie Olędry – after this very lake. Old trade routes still cross Puszcza Zielonka, and one of them is called the Pławiński Trakt.

What to see

The main attraction is the landscape: two lakes ringed by reeds and peat bog, with forest beyond. Spring and summer show the most aquatic plants, in autumn the water mirrors the colours of the trees, and in winter the lakes freeze over and the reeds stand out against the ice. The shores are marshy, so you often cannot get right to the water – and should not try.

Tripto tip

Entry is free, but reserve rules apply: stay on roads and marked trails, keep off the peat bogs and do not pick plants. The park points out that walkers straying off the trails damage valuable habitats. There are no facilities and no car park in the reserve. Leave your car in Kamińsko (about 2 km west) or by the arboretum in Zielonka (about 3.5 km). Allow 30–60 minutes for a walk round the lakes. In summer combine the trip with the lifeguarded beach on Lake Kamińskie, and if you have more time, with the forest loop around Lake Zielonka.