Top 14 Lakes around Szczeciński Park Krajobrazowy „Puszcza Bukowa”

Picturesque settlement in the heart of the Bukowa Forest. In the village itself, there are two ponds with piers and a historic church from the late 19th century.

A very picturesque settlement in the heart of the Bukowa Forest. It is worth visiting.

A former chalk and marl mine operated by the nearby "Stern" Portland cement factory, founded in 1862 and owned by the Toepffer family. In 1925, a sudden flood of groundwater through a layer of permeable sand led to the quarry's opening. The quarry quickly filled with water. People were immediately evacuated. The quarry was flooded. Emerald Lake was created, which owes its color and name to the high calcium carbonate content in the water and the reflection of light from the chalk bed. In good weather, railway wagons and even workers' tools can still be seen at the bottom of the lake. A concrete bridge, part of the railway track used to transport chalk output to the nearby cement plant, still stands near the lake today.

The Szczecin Landscape Park "Puszcza Bukowa" covers an area of about 15 km in length and 10 km in width, stretching along the southern borders of Szczecin, all the way to the Płonia River in the east. Most of this area is occupied by the Bukowe Hills covered with the Bukowa Forest. The northern and central part of the forest is the most elevated and undulating, with a varied terrain, with high and steep hills cut by ravines and valleys through which forest rivers and streams flow. The flora of the Bukowa Forest includes about 1,250 species of plants, including 53 species under full protection. In the forest we can also find about 140 species of birds, a dozen or so species of mammals and several species of reptiles. Among the birds we can meet the black stork, white-tailed eagle, lesser spotted eagle and red kite. There is also a very rich butterfly fauna, about 400 species.

The Szczecin Landscape Park "Puszcza Bukowa" is a vast forest complex on the outskirts of Szczecin, ideal for peaceful bike trips along gentle but sometimes sandy trails. The biggest attractions are the vast beech forests, picturesque hills and deep ravines, which look particularly impressive in autumn. It is worth visiting viewpoints such as Góra Bukowiec and stopping at Lake Szmaragdowe, which delights with the intense colour of its water. The trails in the Forest are well marked, but after rain they can be slippery, so tires with better tread are recommended.

This is where the beautiful landscape park begins. The small villages you drive through make you feel like you are back in the days gone by.

Church of St. Sacred Heart of Jesus The church was built in the 19th century on the foundations of other, earlier temples. The tower belonging to the church is made of stone on the ground floor and brick above. It was made in the shape of a quadrilateral, topped with a 6-sided ceramic dome with four turrets. Inside the church, at the junction of the nave and the presbytery, there are three tombstones. One of them is the tombstone of the Abbot of Kołbacki, Jan Jordani, who died in 1935. Made of limestone, it is particularly valuable for residents and tourists. This is due to the fact that it is one of the few plates showing tombstone art in Western Pomerania. The other two are: the plate of the prince's equerry, who died in 1615, and the plate of the hunter, who died in 1775.

Lake Binowskie is a lake with no outflow, its area covers 52.4 ha. The reservoir is 1,300 m long and 730 m wide, and the total length of the coastline is 4,125 m. It is a fairly shallow body of water, with an average depth of 5.5 m and a maximum depth of 9.4 m. You can dive in it, but from 5 m below the water surface it is know the muddy bottom about yourself. The western shores are dry and forested. The eastern and northern ones are marshy with reed beds and rushes. In the past, the lake had perfectly clean water and very rare plant species lived there, including: flexible lake, perennial whorl and single-flowered brine. The reservoir was also a habitat for many species of lake fish and crayfish. There was even a nature reserve to be established here. Unfortunately, progressive water pollution causes irreversible changes to occur in this reservoir. The waters are class II cleanliness, anglers can still fish here.