Wdzydze Lake, hidden in the picturesque surroundings of Kashuby, delights not only with its natural charm, but also with its rich history and extraordinary legends.
Kashuby Sea
The Wdzydze Lakes complex with an area of 1,455.6 ha is the largest lake complex in this part of Kashuby in the East Pomorskie Lake District. For this reason, it is called the Kashubian Sea or Great Water. The lake is 72 m deep, making it the sixth deepest lake in Poland.
It is a young glacial lake, formed from the waters of melting ice masses. The effect of this glacier action is the carving of two channels, which stretch meridionally (Jelenie Lake and Wdzydze Lake) and latitudinally (Radolne Lake and Golun Lake). The four lakes mentioned above form a complex that resembles a cross in shape. The shores of Wdzydze Lake have a varied relief, they are partially covered with forest, which rises from 7 to 10 meters above the water surface.
Wdzydze Landscape Park Lake Wdzydze, Zabrody peninsula and Kozłowiec peninsula photo by Wojciech Zdunek
The exceptional beauty of the Wdzydze lake complex, called the Great Waters, is due to the islands, of which there are as many as ten. These are the Ostrow Wielki, Ostrow Maly, Glonek, Sorka, Siodly, Przerosla, Cyronek, Mienica, Trzepczyn, Ostrowek Islands.
A natural peculiarity of the lake waters is the endemic Wdzydze trout, which does not migrate to the sea. It chooses spawning grounds nearby, and the eggs are laid in places with a gravel and stony bottom. The Wdzydze Lakes are located in the Wdzydze Landscape Park.
Islands of the Wdzydze lake
Northern arm – Jelenie Lake
Jelenie Lake is the narrowest lake, its width does not exceed 0.5 km, and its length is 3.5 km. In the middle of this channel there is a green, round Ostrowek Island.
Eastern arm – Golun Lake
The maximum width of Lake Golun is about 1 km, length is slightly over 6 km. The island of this part is Trzepczyn, according to legends it contains the hidden treasures of giants – Stolems. From the water side you can see the Kashuby Ethnographic Park in Wdzydze Kiszewskie.
Western arm – Radolne Lake
Radolne Lake is about 3 km long and its width reaches 0.7 km. In this part the Wda River flows into the lake at the Kozlowiec Peninsula, the largest on Lake Wdzydze.
Wdzydze, photo: Pomorskie Travel
Southern arm – Lake Wdzydze also known as the Great Waters
The largest lake arm of the Wdzydze cross, 8 km long and almost 3 km wide. There are seven islands here. In this part, the lake reaches its maximum depth of 72 m. The largest island of the reservoir, Ostrow Wielki means Ostrow the Great, emerges from its waters, with an area of 90.66 ha. It is inhabited seasonally, and a large part of it is covered with forests. It is the second largest intra-lake island in Poland.
The other islands are: Glonek (1 km long, 0.4 km wide), Sidly and the Little Ostrow, which is a floristic reserve and the second largest island in the complex. Sorka, which has the shape of a truncated cone, is located directly next to Wdzydze Tucholskie. There is a legend associated with this island, which is described below. The Przerosl Island has an interesting shape, resembling a submarine. Lyska and Cyronek Islands are popular with the waterfowl called water hens and wild ducks, which like to fly there. The Lipa Peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the waters of the lake, with a beach and an entrance to the lake, is a great place to relax. There is a year-round holiday resort here.
Legend of the lake's creation
According to legend, the lake was created by the Stolems and Wdzydzanka. In the past, it was a small lake with an island in the middle. The knight Sorka lived here with his daughter Wdzydzanka. Due to the death of his wife and numerous failures, he decided to leave this area. His only daughter did not want to part with the place where she was raised, among the forests and the lake. She asked a fairy for advice, and she told her “You can stay here forever, but you have to renounce your human form. If you want, I will transform you into a mermaid and you will live in the lake”.
After some thought, the girl agreed and the fairy changed her into a mermaid. Wdzydzanka bathed in the lake, sang songs to fishermen, until Stolem noticed her in the water. He fell in love with her at first sight. He decided to spend the rest of his life with her, but Wdzydzanka always ran away from him into the lake. As soon as he saw her, she disappeared under the water. Stolem decided to dig the ground in the place where she appeared to him. Each time she changed the places where she appeared to him. Stolem and his brothers dug deeper and deeper, until gutters were created, which filled with water. The Stolems did not manage to catch the mermaid, so they left the area. In memory of the beautiful mermaid, the lake was named Wdzydzkie, and one of the islands was named Sorka.
