Nature

Oxbow Lakes in the Stobrawa Landscape Park

In the bends of the former Odra riverbed in the Opole region stretches a landscape full of water. The Stobrawa Landscape Park, created in 1999, protects around 300 oxbow lakes — elongated, sickle-shaped lakes left in old river channels, today among the region's most valuable natural habitats.

What an oxbow lake is

Oxbow lakes are natural bodies of water that once formed part of the river's main channel and were cut off when its course changed. They have an elongated, curved shape that reveals former meanders. The best preserved hide in forests and on damp meadows; where fields reach the water, the reservoirs gradually disappear.

Where to look for them

The largest cluster lies between the road Stobrawa–Nowe Kolnie–Kościerzyce and the Odra channel: about 8 larger lakes and numerous smaller ones. The easiest route follows the flood embankment, reached in Nowe Kolnie — some 3 kilometres of cycling among backwaters leads to a bend of the Odra. From the embankment you can descend to small ponds, watching swans, ducks and, with a bit of luck, cranes and herons. Other clusters lie near Prędocin, between Czepielowice and Kościerzyce, and north of Wronów at the mouth of the Nysa Kłodzka.

Practical information

The area is open all year round and around the clock, admission is free, and you can leave your car free of charge on the roadside in Nowe Kolnie. A few kilometres away, in Brzeg, await the castle and the Church of Saint Nicholas.

Tripto tip: plan your visit by bike — the embankment runs flat and the views open across the whole Odra valley.