Niedzica Dam

Between Niedzica Castle and the ruins of Czorsztyn Castle, the Dunajec river is held back by a 404-metre bank of earth and gravel – the highest earth dam in Poland with a clay sealing core. You can walk along its crest, and underneath it, 50 m below the water, runs an inspection tunnel that can be visited with a guide. The dam proved itself on the very day it opened, during the "flood of the millennium" in 1997.

History: a century-old plan

The first plans to dam the Dunajec near Niedzica date from 1905, and one of the consultants was the hydraulic engineer Gabriel Narutowicz, later President of Poland. The reservoir complex now bears his name. The project was revived in 1968, but construction only began in 1975. In the 1980s and 1990s it met fierce protests from environmentalists, some of whom chained themselves to construction machinery. The dam, reservoir and power station were completed in 1997.

The official opening fell on 9 July 1997, in the middle of the flood of the millennium. The flood wave the dam held back that day was the second highest on record, surpassed only by the great flood of 1934.

Numbers worth knowing

• Height – up to 56 m measured from the gallery walkway; 1.7 million m³ of gravel went into the embankment.
• Crest – 7 m wide and open to pedestrians.
• Inspection and grouting gallery – a tunnel in the rock 256.2 m long with a 3 × 3 m cross-section.
• Capacity – the chute spillway can discharge up to 975 m³ of water per second.
• Power station – two reversible Deriaz turbines of 46.4 MW each; since 2001 it has run in turbine mode only.
• Lake Czorsztyn – 9 km long, with 29.7 km of shoreline and up to 231.9 million m³ of water; it is about 50 m deep near the dam.

What to look for

A large-format painting called "Moc Żywiołów" (The Power of the Elements) covers part of the crest; seen from the right spot it creates the illusion of a deep chasm at your feet, and it is the most popular photo stop. A plaque on site records that the Czorsztyn-Niedzica and Sromowce Wyżne reservoir complex went into service in July 1997. From the crest you get a good view of Niedzica Castle and, across the water, the ruins of Czorsztyn Castle.

Tripto tip

Walking the crest takes about 30 minutes. The power station and inspection gallery can only be visited on guided tours; we could not confirm current times and prices on the official website of the operator, Zespół Elektrowni Wodnych Niedzica, so check before you travel. The visit combines easily with Niedzica Castle right next door. The dam has also improved the local water supply and stabilised the level of the Dunajec, so the traditional raft trip through the Pieniny gorge can run without interruption.